Friday, July 15, 2011

vermont yankee: NRC Recommends Safety Upgrades


A federal review prompted by the recent Japanese nuclear disaster recommends that plants such as Vermont Yankee adopt new safety upgrades.

Vermont Yankee says it doesn't yet know how much the changes will cost.

VPR's John Dillon reports.

(Dillon) The earthquake and tsunami that struck last March disabled emergency generators and left the Japanese reactors without power from the electric grid.

(Sheehan) "So they had no ability to get power to the pumps to get the water in to the fuel in the reactor covered and cooled."

(Dillon) Neil Sheehan is a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

(Sheehan) "So that is going to be a primary focus: How do we increase the ability to get power to these sites."

(Dillon) An NRC task force says that in light of the Japanese disaster, U.S. plants should have systems in place to keep fuel cool for 72 hours.

The task force also made specific recommendations for U.S. reactors, such as Vermont Yankee, that share the same design as the stricken Japanese nuclear power plants. Read More

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