Know Which Way the Wind Blows

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires nuclear energy plants  to monitor release of radioactive material on the sites of the plants. It does not require plant owners to monitor contaminated water or air off-site.

Entergy owns the in Manomet. Its federal license to operate the plant expires in less than a year. The company has asked for a 20-year renewal. That process invites public comment. Pilgrim Watch has not only commented, it has demanded off-site monitoring.

“In many, many ways they have trivialized off-site damages,” Mary Lampert of Pilgrim Watch said. “They’ve limited me to contend only meteorological modeling, so that’s what we’ve done.”

In nuke-speak, "contend" means to submit a filing that challenges some aspect of the relicensing process.

Pilgrim Watch has filed a request to the NRC to reconsider a ruling of the federal Atomic Safety and Licensing Board which called the proposed weather prediction models adequate. Lampert says the computer model follows wind patterns for only 24 hours.

“We know releases at have occurred over a five month period,” Lampert said. “My point is, this is yet another way in which they’re analysis is insufficient.”

As part of the relicensing process, Entergy had to submit plans to handle “Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives,” referred to as SAMAs.

“SAMAs are changes that could be made to the plant to help reduce the impacts of a severe accident,” Neil Sheehan, NRC Public Affairs Officer said.

When the NRC approves the SAMAs, they remain in place for the next 20 years. Lampert has used this window, since the relicensing process began in 2006, to fight for off-site monitoring not only during a severe accident, but continually.

The battle has caused Entergy and the NRC to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend Lampert’s attack.

She has offered a settlement. She will desist if the company and the government institute monitoring of water and air beyond the property lines of the power plant. Neither the company nor the federal government has responded.

“They will only do something if the public gets involved,” Lampert said.

Massachusetts government has responded. (D-Plymouth) and Gov. Deval Patrick have asked the Department of Public Health to take action. DPH has required Entergy to drill wells to monitor possible contamination of water coming off the site.

Air quality monitoring remains an open issue. From a technical point of view, the Pilgrim Watch filing asks that the SAMAs use a different computer modeling technique to predict wind direction. It serves as a prod to get to the second part of Lampert’s proposed settlement - off-site air quality monitoring.

The public has a new opportunity to get involved. The Nuclear Matters Committees of Plymouth and Duxbury will meet jointly in a public hearing with representative of the Department of Public Health Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. in the Duxbury Senior Community Center, 10 Mayflower St.