Coakley Appeals Decision to Reject Suspension of Pilgrim Relicensing

Last week, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board that is reviewing the Pilgrim license denied a request by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley to delay a final until the implications of the in Japan can be fully studied.

Thursday, Coakley appealed that decision to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, saying that the ASLB, a three-judge panel, ignored new information identified by the NRC’s task force recommending safety improvements at U.S. reactors in light of the new information identified by the NRC’s task force, recommending safety improvements at U.S. reactors in light of the Fukushima disaster,

The Fukushima power plant was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami that also severely damaged large areas of the northeastern coast of Japan, including Plymouth's sister-town Shichigahama.

The tsunami led to a large release of radioactive material into the Pacific Ocean, according to a Boston Globe story.

In 2006, at the beginning of Pilgrim's relicensing process, Coakley said that an accident invovling the spent fuel pool at Pilgrim could pose a significant public safety and environmental risk. Coakley's office wants the NRC to revise its regulations to address these risks.

The NRC refused, saying the risks posed by spent fuel pools were insignificant, officials said.