Exelon should have shut down Limerick plant to protect workers

In the two weeks between April 5 and April 19, The Mercury covered Exelon’s irresponsible decision to refuel Limerick’s Unit 1 reactor during this pandemic. Unit 1’s plume is visible again, suggesting that Limerick’s operations are back to normal. However, at Limerick, appearances have always been deceiving.

Exelon had already identified two COVID-19 cases prior to the outage. When local officials asked to see Exelon’s pandemic plans, they found them inadequate. Exelon was asked to postpone refueling but refused.

Three more COVID-positive cases were identified. Contractors arrived to find an appalling lack of preparation for even their most basic needs. Some workers emailed Montgomery County Commissioner Dr. Valerie Arkoosh and public safety officials about standing-room-only break rooms, shoulder-to-shoulder computer labs, a lack of hand sanitizer, and no basic wiping-down of equipment which created “a breeding ground, a cesspool” for coronavirus. Thirty-eight “employees or contractors” were reported quarantined.

A worker who remained anonymous for fear of losing his job said that, after conditions became public, Exelon made a half-hearted attempt at social distancing. State Sen. Katie Muth suggested instituting a 14-day controlled protocol that included cost-compensation to the workers for that time. Exelon ignored the suggestion.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean expressed concerns about Exelon’s handling of refueling, urging “heightened transparency to help manage the COVID–19 outbreak.” Our suspicion is that heightened transparency is the last thing on Exelon’s agenda.

In 1997, The Mercury published an excellent series on Limerick’s history. The headline, “PECO Gambled, Customers Lost” said it all, because Limerick was not built out of necessity. There was no lack of electricity and customers’ rates matched the national average when it was announced. PECO chose to build it because it could. Using the grid that it had helped to establish in 1927, it could send Limerick’s excess electricity to other states and sell it there at reduced rates, which would greatly increase its profits because its captive ratepayers would be charged for the lion’ share of Limerick’s construction and business costs.

PECO got ratepayer cooperation by asserting that Limerick rates would be “too cheap to meter” and that, without Limerick, the lights would go out. Years after Limerick was built, PECO’s senior VP for nuclear energy was asked if it was fair for local ratepayers to subsidize PECO’S sales of cheaper electricity to other states. He replied, “That’s the way the system works.”

Through the decades, Exelon used versions of the same basic excuses to fit any occasion. This time, it claimed it had to refuel during this pandemic because Limerick’s power was “vital to the region’s hospitals, emergency response centers, and essential businesses during the pandemic.” That tactic was followed by the traditional use of money as a tool of influence and reputation repair. On April 19, PECO and Exelon announced that their charitable foundation was contributing $1.1 million to coronavirus response — pennies compared to their profits. We feel that if

Exelon really cared, it would have shut Limerick down to protect its workers and whoever they came in contact with like other non-essential businesses were required to do.

On April 15, Mercury photos showcased first-responders saluting Pottstown Hospital’s medical staff, who are fighting at great personal sacrifice for our survival. Rep. Joe Ciresi sparked the idea, whose inspiration came from family members serving on other medical front lines. He observed that, at that moment, “outside of Philadelphia, Montgomery County is being hit about the hardest in all of Pennsylvania.”

Earlier this month, Dr. Arkoosh’s COVID-19 tracking-data for Montgomery County drew the attention of MSNBC’s host, Rachel Maddow.

She interviewed Dr. Arkoosh about her system of fact-gathering, a scientific approach that the commissioner attributed to her medical training.

The lack of cohesive planning for our country has put a heavy burden on emergency responders and medical teams as they try to function without the supplies they need to deal with the piecemeal consequences. They are heroes, putting their lives on the line around the clock. Elected officials have also been heroic as they’ve battled a system that marginalizes teamwork, science, and facts. Sincere thanks to all of you for your heroic efforts.

—Betty and Charlie Shank, Pottstown