Oyster Creek: Shutdown After Shutdown Shows The Plant Should Be Shut Down

By Jeff Tittel

We are glad the NRC believes there needs to be more oversight at Oyster Creek Nuclear Power plant, but oversight is not enough.

The Oyster Creek nuclear power plant has one shutdown after another. They seem to happen every few months There was a temporary shutdown a month ago after an electrical problem occurred in the steam pressure system There was another in December.

Last year, the plant experienced four emergency shutdowns (scrams). As a result, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission released a Supplemental Inspection Report, which raisedserious concerns by the NRC. The NRC is not typically critical of the nuclear power industry and often downplays problems like equipment malfunctions.

We need more then oversight at this aging plant. We are concerned a code yellow could one day lead to a code red.

Once again there is a finding by the NRC that there significant problems at the plant. Ever since this plant was relicensed there has been shutdown after shutdown, problem after problem.

A month ago there was another incident at Oyster Creek and this time it is a code yellow. The plant seems to mark the change of the seasons since every few months something happens. In December, the plant experienced a code white now and now this.

Oyster Creek is the oldest operating nuclear plant in the country and is showing its age. Tritium leaks, compressor problems, pump problems, drywall liner erosion…the list keeps growing. We believe the plant needs to close sooner than the planned 2020 closing. We can’t afford to wait until there is a disaster.

Closing the plant will also help protect the Barnegat Bay from thermal pollution and fish kills. This plant is like driving a 1969 Chevy Nova in the age of Tesla.

Shutdowns like these highlight a long series of problems that this plant has had in the past, including:

1. tritium leaks into the groundwater

2. substation failure

3. corrosion of the drywall liner

4. closure due to flooding during Superstorm Sandy

5. no waterproof air vents

6. above ground storage of spent fuel rods

7. problems with cooling pumps

By NRC standards, the January report was an alarm bell going off and now the April report is an alarm bell ringing . Now there has been another emergency shutdown and another report, which is even more cause for concern. The only reason the significance was considered low in NRC’s report was that Exelon didn’t violate any rules.

High significance would be considered a catastrophe like Fukushima, which was designed similarly to Forked River. The Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania was originally considered moderate until they later determined it was a meltdown at the core.

Not only do these shutdowns sound the alarm for the safety of Ocean County, but also the need to shut this plant sooner than its expected closure. The plant was only supposed to last for thirty years and recently marked its 45th year in operation. Shutting down the Oyster Creek plant would reduce the algae blooms, improve fish populations and help restore the overall ecosystem of the Barnegat Bay.

In January, more than 4,500 fish were killed at Oyster Creek, showing its negative impact to the Barnegat Bay and why this plant should have been required to have cooling towers or be closed earlier. In 2009, Governor Christie withdrew a proposal to have cooling towers at this plant. If he had not the plant would have closed 2 years ago.

The NRC has been a cheerleader for the industry they are supposed to regulate and now even they are concerned about Oyster Creek. This plant is a disaster waiting to happen. The longer it stays open, the greater chance that this facility will pollute Barnegat Bay and kill more fish. This plant should be closed as quickly as possible.