Oldest U.S. nuke plant under review

CTVNEWS

New Jersey to review oldest U.S. nuclear plant

The Associated Press Published Saturday, March 26, 2011 10:25AM EDT

A sign stands in front of the large square building that houses the nuclear reactor at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Forked River, N.J., the oldest nuclear power plant in the U.S., where safety and emergency plans are under review by a task force.

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LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. - New Jersey, the most densely populated state and home to the oldest nuclear power plant in the U.S., created a task force Friday to review safety and emergency response plans at nuclear plants in light of the disaster unfolding in Japan.

The state U.S. Department of Environmental Protection appointed the panel, composed of homeland security, state police and utility officials. It will start work next week and plans to visit the 41-year-old Oyster Creek plant in Lacey Township, as well as the three reactors in Lower Alloways Township in Salem County, called Hope Creek and Salem I and II.

Oyster Creek is a General Electric reactor, similar to the Fukushima Daiichi complex in Japan, whose reactors were damaged by an earthquake and tsunami that knocked out power to cooling systems, allowing radiation to escape. The same boiling-water reactor design at the Japanese plants is also used at Hope Creek.

"We want to ensure all proper safety protocols and preventative measures are in place to protect the residents of New Jersey from ever having to experience a nuclear emergency," said Gov. Chris Christie. "There may be lessons to be learned from what is happening in Japan that could make our preparedness even better and make the state's residents more secure. We have an obligation to explore those facts and will make necessary adjustments to our safety plans as appropriate."

Exelon Corp. and PSE&G, which own the reactors, have pledged to participate in the reviews. In December, Exelon and the state reached a deal to close Oyster Creek in 2019, 10 years earlier than called for under its current license.

Potential impacts from reactors in neighboring Pennsylvania and New York also will be examined.

Oyster Creek went online Dec. 1, 1969, the same day as the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station near Oswego, N.Y. But Oyster Creek's original license was granted first, technically making it the oldest of the nation's 104 commercial nuclear reactors that are still operating.

It has had problems including leaks of radioactive tritium from underground pipes, as well as malfunctioning electrical components. Environmentalists also say the metal containment liner has worn too thin, but Exelon and the NRC say the plant can be operated safely.

The early shutdown deal was reached to let the plant avoid having to build costly cooling towers that New Jersey officials insisted upon to vastly reduce the number of fish and small marine creatures the plant's operations kill each year.

Located about 60 miles east of Philadelphia and 75 miles south of New York City, Oyster Creek generates 636 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 600,000 homes a year, and provides 9 percent of New Jersey's electricity.