Feds: Millstone risk high in Category 4 hurricane
that “NRC actions taken to address risks to nuclear power plants from natural hazards post-Fukushima did not fully consider the effects of climate change.” The comment is in reference to the 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors in Japan. The event resulted in a meltdown of all the nuclear reactor cores.
“NRC officials we interviewed told us that while their regulatory processes — including licensing, license renewals, and inspections — do not use climate projections data to assess climate risks, they believe conservatism, safety margins, and defense-in-depth provide an adequate margin of safety to address climate risks to the safety of nuclear power plants,” the report’s conclusions read in part. The “NRC required licensees to assess flooding risk and enhance safety and emergency equipment, but NRC did not require licensees to use climate projections data to assess future flooding.”
In response to the GAO report, the NRC’s Acting Executive Director for Operations, Ray Furstenau, wrote to Frank Rusco, the GAO’s director of natural resources and the environment, in an letter in early March. Furstenau wrote: “the NRC’s mission is focused on nuclear safety; as such, we cannot impose requirements that would increase energy resilience or require consideration of potential future climate impacts without a sufficient nuclear safety justification.”
Furstenau added in his response to the draft report that “this is an important distinction.” The predominant concerns expressed often in the report are that a plant’s operations may be disrupted more frequently by climate change, and that the NRC should take future climate projections into consideration. “The NRC is focused on nuclear safety and any potential increase in the risk of a radiological release, consistent with the NRC’s mandate.”
An NRC spokesman said agency officials will respond to the report’s findings in greater detail in the coming months.
Millstone is not the only nuclear power plant operating in New England that the GAO warns is at a high risk for storm surge flooding from a Category 4 hurricane. The Seabrook nuclear plant, which is located along the New Hampshire seacoast, is also on the list.
Millstone is owned by Virginia-based Dominion Energy. Company officials were not immediately available for comment on Tuesday regarding the GAO’s findings.
Hearst Connecticut Media also sought comment from Waterford First Selectman Robert Brule on Tuesday regarding the findings of the GAO report, but did not receive a response.
This is not the first time the potential for flooding at Millstone has drawn scrutiny from federal officials.
Following Hurricane Ida, NRC officials issued a report that found Dominion Energy officials operating Millstone were too late in activating storm protection protocols when the remnants of the storm hit the East Coast in September 2021, resulting in minor flooding at the plant.
The report concluded that plant operators violated federal requirements, but deemed the violations of “very low safety significance” and the NRC did not issue penalties.
GAO is making three recommendations in this latest report: that the NRC assess whether its existing process adequately addresses climate risks, and develop and implement a plan to address any gaps identified. The NRC said the recommendations are consistent with actions that are either underway or under development.