Board's Oyster Creek decision due in late fall
Citizens coalition questions safety of nuke plant's drywell
An advisory board for the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission will rule by late November on a contention that the drywell surrounding the reactor at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant is unsafe.

The three judges of the Atomic Licensing and Safety Board listened to two days of testimony last week from experts from AmerGen, the plant's owner, and a citizens coalition that claims portions of the drywell could be dangerously corroded and improperly monitored.

"Whatever happens, the parties can then appeal to the commission [NRC] itself," said Neil A. Sheehan, an NRC spokesman.

Lawyers and experts for both sides have until Oct. 10 to submit their written briefs, he said.

"The parties have to wrap up their arguments, now that they have had a chance to present their cases before the judges," Sheehan said.

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station on Route 9 in Lacey Township is the oldest nuclear plant in the country. Amer- Gen wants the plant to be relicensed for another 20 years. Oyster Creek went online in 1969.

But the citizens coalition - a group of six environmental organizations that vigorously opposes the relicensing - fought back and submitted a contention that AmerGen's monitoring of the drywell shell is insufficient and that portions of the shell will not withstand another 20 years of operation.

The ASLB hearings were held on Sept. 24-25 at the Ocean County Administration Building in Toms River. The ASLB's decision to hear the citizens coalition's contention was a historic one. It was the first time in history the advisory board agreed to hear a contention raised about a nuclear plant.

Testimony on Sept. 25 focused on water sources that might corrode the drywell liner and the lifespan of the epoxy coating on the liner itself.

Expert witnesses for AmerGen said water is only present when the reactor needs to be refueled, an event that occurs every other year and lasts for about 26 days.

The last time the reactor was filled with water was on Oct. 18, 2006, and it was emptied on Nov. 3, 2006.

"There are no other operating conditions where water would be in the cavity," said Alex Polonsky, an attorney for AmerGen.

AmerGen's experts testified that water no longer gets trapped inside the reactor since the sand, which held the water against the base of the shell and led to corrosion, was removed in 1992.

But the citizens coalition contends there is water present even when the reactor isn't refueling.

"They have found water in the upper drywell shell, but they cannot identify where it is coming from," said Brick Township resident Janet Tauro, a member of Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Nuclear Safety, one of the groups in the coalition. "They have never been able to address that and as long as there is continual water there is corrosion."

AmerGen representatives said there is very little chance that the epoxy coating on the drywell liner, which is meant to protect the shell from corrosion, will fail.

AmerGen experts testified that the epoxy's manufacturer expects the coating to maintain its integrity because of its environment. And if a failure of the coating were to occur, it would have done so in the first few years after it was initially applied, they said.

When corrosion was found in the lower level of the liner in 1992 the sand was removed, the drywell shell cleaned and the epoxy coating was applied, they said.

AmerGen plans to reapply the epoxy as part of its maintenance plan for the plant and to inspect the liner and make any necessary repairs.

Rudolf H. Hausler, the citizens coalition's expert, said there were pinholes in the epoxy coating which could eventually become corroded.

"I think it is reasonable to postulate that pinholes can occur when the epoxy coating is applied," Hausler said. "AmerGen hasn't found pinholes because they haven't looked for them."

But AmerGen experts maintained that the epoxy coating itself helps to prevent pinholes because it is made of solid material and does not contain any solvents, which are common causes of pinholes.

The epoxy's gray color also makes it visually easy to spot rust spots, AmerGen said.

Hausler also questioned whether the entire drywell line was coated with the epoxy. He specifically cited a gap region between a vent pipe and the shell that might be vulnerable to corrosion.

AmerGen said the sand bed region is completely coated down to the floor and that there is not any sand in the gap area in question.

The thickness of the drywell shell, which is designed to contain radiation in the event of an accident, has been called into question by critics of the plant who say it barely meets federal regulations.

AmerGen maintains that its plan to measure the drywell shell once every four years is sufficient, while the citizens groups want measurements taken more than once per year.

ASLB Judge E. Roy Hawkens said the decision can be appealed to the NRC, and the NRC's decision can be further appealed to a federal appeals court and eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court.

- Patricia A. Miller & Danielle Medina