FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                               Contact:  Jim Warren

MAY 26, 2005                                                                                                      919-416-5077

Expert Reveals Serious Problems at Shearon Harris Reactor

NC WARN Says Uncorrected Defects Prove Progress Energy, NRC Can’t Be Trusted

 To Build New Reactors

DURHAM, NC – In the wake of an announcement about a possible second reactor at Shearon Harris, a leading expert today revealed new information showing that the Wake County facility ranks among the nation’s most dangerous nuclear plants in two key categories that increase the risk of a disastrous radiation accident.  He said Progress Energy and federal regulators have known of the problems for years but have not corrected them, apparently due to an industry-wide cost-cutting mentality.

David Lochbaum, Nuclear Safety Engineer for the Washington-based nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists, spoke at a Raleigh news conference today.  He cited a recent federal study showing that Harris ranks worst in the U.S. for the chance of a meltdown caused by station blackout, a condition in which a nuclear plant loses electricity from off-site and the emergency diesel generators fail or are not in service.  The report by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) concludes that at Shearon Harris, station blackout represents 41% of the overall risk of meltdown.

Lochbaum also released a separate federal report showing that instead of correcting longstanding fire violations, Harris recently found dozens of additional pieces of safety equipment unprotected against fire.  It was the sixth inspection since 2002 that found unprotected pumps, valves and electrical cables.  All are central to safe cooling of the reactor and/or the ability to safely shut it down in the event of fire.  Nuclear plant fires constitute up to 50% of industry-wide risk of reactor meltdown, according to the NRC.

In still a third major risk category, Harris has not corrected a design flaw in its back-up cooling system that was identified years ago.  In 2003, Lochbaum, who worked in the industry for 17 years, used federal data to calculate an alarming 34% chance of a reactor meltdown in the United States within three years due to the cooling system flaw alone.

“Station blackouts, fires and cooling water circulation are all major safety factors at nuclear power plants,” said Lochbaum.  “The NRC should have forced Progress Energy to correct these serious problems many years ago.”  The engineer added that the industry is now pressing the federal agency to allow years longer before correcting such problems.  He cited the station blackout issue as an example of industry’s focus on cutting costs. The NRC now allows nuclear reactors to operate for up to 14 days with one of their diesel generators – required for reactor cooling if off-site power is lost – out of service. 

Durham-based NC WARN said today the latest batch of problems prove that Progress Energy should not be allowed to build another reactor at Harris, as the company has proposed.  “This company is pushing to streamline the approval process for new reactors?” asked Director Jim Warren at the news conference.  “It can’t even be trusted to put safety first – by fixing problems at plants it already operates.”   

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Warren noted that the latest revelations about the Harris plant add to the plant’s growing reputation as one

of the most dangerous nuclear plants in the United States.  A spate of sudden reactor shutdowns and cooling system failures in recent years has even perplexed plant workers, according to news accounts. 

Also, Shearon Harris is home to the nation’s largest nuclear waste cooling pools – partially filled but already containing one of the biggest stockpiles of highly radioactive “spent” fuel.  A new study by the National Academy of Sciences confirms that nuclear waste pools are vulnerable to a variety of terrorist attacks.  “Industry promoters are aggressively misrepresenting NAS findings,” said Jim Warren.

Progress Energy’s top nuclear official told NC WARN staff a year ago that Harris had corrected all its fire protection violations.  Instead, the new reports show even more unprotected safety equipment – in at least ten different physical areas – and the company seeking more time to correct them. 

The federal reports show Progress Energy’s other reactors also rank high in fire violations and other risk factors, as do those operated by Duke Energy, another NC-based utility proposing to build another nuclear plant.  Nationally, the nuclear power industry is tenaciously promoting itself as safer than ever, in an attempt to revive itself and start building new reactors.

Lochbaum said the public relations offensive on safety is “based on fiction.”  “There are three very troubling trends in the nuclear industry,” explained Lochbaum: “Aging reactors, cost-cutting by plant owners – such as fewer safety inspections – and an ineffective regulator …” He said, “Those are the ingredients for a nuclear disaster.”

Warren said the energy industry’s greatest public relations coup is the misconception that economical, clean energy is “years away.”   He said experts have long proven, and other countries are showing, that reducing electricity usage – using current technologies – can balance demand sufficiently to allow a full transition to renewable energy within a decade.  “Cutting the 50% of electricity now wasted can immediately begin reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution, while saving ratepayers billions.” 

Lochbaum said the best protection against the risks from aging reactors, new reactors, and terrorists is a consistently effective and aggressive regulator.  “Failure by Congress to fix the NRC may someday carry a huge price tag.”

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David Lochbaum will speak at a public meeting at 7pm tonight at the Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro.