ACTION ALERT: Seabrook Licensing

In January, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was poised to sign off on plans for NextEra Energy Seabrook to manage the plant’s degraded concrete, granting a License Amendment Request (LAR) relative to the alkali-silica reaction (ASR) affecting concrete in all key safety structures at Seabrook Station.

They were also ready to award a twenty-year license extension for Seabrook to operate until 2050.

One problem: Seabrook is the first nuclear reactor in the nation known to be suffering from this irreversible concrete condition. While feelings about nuclear power are strong on all sides, there’s no escaping the fact that federal regulators have never dealt with “concrete cancer” as ASR is known, and that’s why this case deserves extra caution.

So, with 11 more years on its current license, why not take a go-slow approach? C-10 has been preparing for a public hearing we were granted by NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, where we’ll challenge the scientific underpinnings of the concrete testing methodology.

Members of Congress from New Hampshire and Massachusetts have asked NRC to wait until after the hearing later this year, and the full resolution of the concerns C-10’s experts will bring.

On February 13, while an NRC panel heard public comments on Seabrook’s license in a Hampton, N.H. hotel ballroom, C-10 had just filed an emergency petition with agency asking them to hold the phone.

This filing is unusual enough that the timing of a response from the Commissioners is unclear.  However, it is clear that both NextEra and NRC staff want the license extension granted without further delay. Your action is needed urgently!

Personal letters from affected citizens could help to persuade the Commissioners that regular people do care enough about what happens with Seabrook that they will take the time to write.

C-10 has been working on the LAR litigation for two years, and we’ve learned more than we care to about the concrete meant to protect the public from the most toxic stuff on earth.

Dear Chairman Svinicki and NRC Commissioners:

As a neighbor to Seabrook Station nuclear power plant, I am writing to urge you to seriously consider the Emergency Petition filed by C-10 on February 13, and to take no further action on the requested license amendment or extension until the full resolution of the contentions brought by C-10 relative to the plant’s degraded concrete. 

C-10 has raised serious concerns about the ability of Seabrook's concrete to continue protecting the public, and the inadequacy of the testing and analysis that underpin Seabrook's concrete aging management plans. C-10 is preparing for a hearing granted by NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, where they will provide the only independent peer review of the concrete testing methodology behind the plant’s license amendment request, which is based on a completely unprecedented approach to monitoring and managing alkali-silica reaction at a nuclear reactor.

The seriousness of this matter demands more caution, independent review and transparency than it has received. With 11 more years on Seabrook’s current operating license, there is time for the NRC to do it right. Please permit the democratic process to proceed. While NRC representatives have stated that C-10 will get their hearing later this year, we urge you to wait on any rulings relative to the plant's license amendment request, or license extension, until C-10's contentions are heard and evaluated by the ASLB. On behalf of my family, thank you.

Sincerely,

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Send your letters to:  Kristine L. Svinicki, Chairman, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman@nrc.gov                                                                                                                                              

Send this letter to your Members of Congress at the links below:

New Hampshire Delegation

Congressman Chris Pappas

Senator Margaret W. Hassan

Senator Jeanne Shaheen

Massachusetts Delegation

Congressman Seth Moulton

Senator Edward J. Markey

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Or look up your own member to call or write:

U.S. Senate

U.S. House of Representatives