COVID-19 & Nuclear Risk: Refueling Nukes Isn’t A NASCAR Pit-stop!
/Refueling a nuclear power plant should not be like refueling a NASCAR racer!
According to NASCAR, a pit crew can change four tires and fill a gas tank in 12 seconds.
Moreover, under the cover of the COVID-19 pandemic, atomic power plant owners are pushing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to waive safety inspections so this spring’s planned nuclear refueling outages can be shortened significantly by delaying long-standing required safety inspections for a period of several more years.
Why the rush? Did you know that when a nuclear power plant achieves an ultrafast refueling, it is called a trophy outage. An additional little-known fact is that Senior Nuclear Managers may be motivated to receive 40% bonuses tied to a short refueling outage. At an additional 40% of the manager’s original salary and that is oftentimes more than a $100,000 bonus! How does that increase the risk level of operating nuclear power plants? As Upton Sinclair once said, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
Join Solartopia host, Harvey Wasserman, Fairewinds’ Maggie and Arnie Gundersen, and Paul Gunter of Beyond Nuclear, as they discuss their concerns caused by lax oversight and reducing safety inspections at nuclear power refueling outages because of #COVID-19. What’s the rush?
Fairewinds Reading Recommendation
We at Fairewinds believe that the world at large is experiencing an unprecedented and equally unfortunate event. Issues surrounding atomic power and nuclear weapons production is at the forefront of what we know and do! With that being said, our government’s top priority should be to protect doctors and nurses and other medical and healthcare professionals.
A Geiger counter shows increased radiation level at the forest fire near Chernobyl. Photograph: Yaroslav Yemelianenko/AP
#COVID-19 is reducing available protective gear (PPE) worldwide. Atomic power reactors undergoing refueling outages are placing new demands on PPE manufacturers for their maintenance employees and contractors. Even still, the decommissioning and ongoing clean-up efforts at Fukushima are impacted too! Let’s put nurses, doctors, EMS, and medical technicians before profits!
Fires at Chernobyl, Fukushima, Santa Susanna Field Lab, and the Los Alamos site prove that radiation knows no borders. Radiation is now on the move following a major forest fire in the Chernobyl exclusion zone! As we proved in Japan, post-meltdown radiation that has contaminated any soil or dust can re-volatilize and spread into areas previously considered “clean”.
