Three Democratic members of the House of Representatives on Friday urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission not to cut inspections of spent-fuel storage facilities at U.S. nuclear power plants.
“It is our understanding that the Commission is reviewing a staff recommendation that would cut annual inspections of dry cask loading campaigns from 66 hours to 32 hours, a 51 percent reduction in yearly safety monitoring, as well as a 33 percent reduction in routine ISFSI inspection hours,” Reps. Andy Kim (N.J.), Mike Levin (Calif.), and Doris Matsui (Calif.) wrote in a letter to NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki. “A second recommendation proposes cutting dry cask loading inspections from 32 hours per year to just a little more than 6 hours per year, an 80 percent reduction.”
Such a move “would be detrimental to safety,” according to the three lawmakers, who noted they have retired and decommissioning nuclear power reactors in their home communities.
The agency is considering the recommendation from an internal working group of personnel from headquarters and its regional offices. The intent is to increase efficiency and decrease costs at the industry regulator. Implementation is planned by 2021.
The inspections cover operations ranging from preoperational tests to the actual movement of used fuel to long-term monitoring of that radioactive material in storage containers.
“Any reduction in either inspection hours or number of inspections conducted on ISFSI sites may erode public confidence in the Commission’s ability to protect health and safety,” according to the lawmakers. “We should work to increase the public’s faith in the NRC’s level of due diligence related to safety standards and a proposal such as this runs counter to that mission.”
Fifteen House members from California, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Oregon, and Wisconsin signed on to the letter, Levin’s office said in a press release.
