Call for immediate quarantine at Limerick nuclear plant
Since Montgomery County officials were informed on March 16, 2020, that Exelon intended to proceed with the scheduled refueling of the Unit 1 reactor at Limerick Nuclear Plant, an unacceptable and irresponsible pattern of deceit and defiance has unfolded. County officials reviewed and rejected a Pandemic Plan for the site as inadequate. Exelon was asked to postpone the refueling until after cessation of statewide restrictions imposed to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
Company officials decided to refuse to postpone. Instead, they brought 1,400 or more contractors from multiple counties and states to the site, and decided to begin the project early, on March 27. An Exelon official suggested that they could not afford “the luxury” of postponing the refueling until it was deemed safe to do so by county and state officials.
What has unfolded since late March has been a disaster. To date, there have been at least three confirmed and admitted cases of COVID-19 among workers at the plant. Several instances of failures to observe social distancing protocols have been reported by terrified employees.
Hollow assurances from Exelon officials have been exposed as ineffective by the understandably worried employees they have failed to protect. Workers enter and leave the plant daily, spreading throughout the tri-county region while staying in numerous hotels, AirBnBs, private homes, campsites, and other rental units.
A courageous team of elected officials has stepped forward and attempted to help the workers at the plant and the thousands of residents who live in the area from ongoing threats of exposure to COVID-19. Montgomery County Commissioner Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, state Senator Katie Muth, and state Rep. Joe Ciresi immediately worked to protect our community during this crisis. Other leaders, experts, and community members have joined the fight daily.
It is critical that Gov. Tom Wolf take decisive action to protect every employee working at the plant, as well as thousands of families being exposed unnecessarily every day.
An immediate quarantine at Limerick Nuclear Plant is needed. Our governor and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine have the authority to take any measure appropriate to protect the public from the spread of infectious disease, such as COVID-19.
It is painfully evident that Exelon does not have the capability or resolve to prevent a serious problem from becoming tragically worse.
Please call Gov. Wolf at 717-787-2500, and Dr. Levine at 717-787-9857, and ask them to impose an immediate quarantine at Limerick Nuclear Plant.
For as long as it takes to be certain that no additional cases will be confirmed at the site. Additional refuelings planned or underway at other nuclear plants in Pennsylvania this year include Susquehanna, Beaver Valley and Peach Bottom. All of them must also be carefully monitored, or postponed, to avoid having the nightmare scenario at Limerick from being repeated again.
—Dr. Lewis Cuthbert,
President