March 5, 2004

* Clinton - fish kill (several hundred shad) when shut down for refueling

August 13, 2003

"For years nuclear power has been marketed as environmentally friendly," hammers StŽphane Lhomme, a spokesman for Get Out of Nuclear, a local group opposed to nuclear power, "well, the fa�ade has just crumbled." He says the hotter water could hurt the wildlife in rivers and cause other ecological damage.

[Source: Cheryl Heckler, "Europe's Summer of Infernos", The Christian Science Monitor, August 13, 2003]

Roselyne Bachelot, France's Environment Minister, yesterday agreed to suspend regulations that limit the temperature of water that power plants can release into rivers, allowing Electricite de France (EdF) to resume production at six nuclear and three conventional thermal stations.

Thus are the mighty fallen. EdF, the monopolistic juggernaut of the European power market, typically exports 10,000MW to neighbouring countries, including Britain. But the giant has been brought low, not by regulators in Brussels nor even rebellious French unions, but by the weather.

For the anti-nuclear movement, EdF's plight offers, at first glance, a huge propaganda victory. We knew that nuclear power stations were expensive and produced poisonous waste, but we did not expect them to die of thirst. French environmentalists condemned the suspension of waste-water temperature regulations and issued dark warnings of a public health risk from microbes breeding in the fetid waters of the Seine.

Unfortunately, the fug across the Continent has stifled the few green alternatives currently available. There is not a breath of wind to turn a mill, and empty Alpine reservoirs cannot spin hydro-electric turbines. In previous years, the Nordic power pool exported surplus hydropower to the Benelux countries and Germany, but precipitation has been weak in recent years and the Nordic hydro surplus is disappearing.

EdF's difficulties expose a wider problem with electricity. Power is a local market and security depends on a local solution. In June, EdF's supply problems caused blackouts in Italy, a wake-up call to a complacent Italian Government that had never questioned its dependence on French power.

[Source: Carl Mortished, "French power giant feels heat", The Times (London), August 13, 2003, p. 25

Ecologists warned yesterday that the ecosystems in France's rivers were at grave risk after the government's decision to relax environmental regulations governing the operation of nuclear stations in an attempt to avert power cuts caused by the heatwave.

Nuclear plants were granted permission late on Monday to pump their cooling water into nearby rivers at a higher temperature than usual to allow them to continue generating electricity, as temperatures across France continued to hit 40C (104F) for a second week.

... Demand for electricity has soared as the population turns up air conditioning and fridges, but nuclear power stations, which generate around 75% of France's electricity, have been operating at a much reduced capacity and several reactors have stopped working entirely.

In some regions, river water levels have dropped so low that the vital cooling process has become impossible, while elsewhere the water temperatures after the cooling process have exceeded environmental safety levels.

An exceptional exemption from the legal requirements was granted to six nuclear reactors and a number of conventional power stations, allowing them to discharge water one degree hotter than normal.

In another attempt to conserve energy for the nation, France, which is Europe's main electricity exporter, cut its power exports by more than half yesterday.

The environment minister, Roselyne Bachelot, said "sizeable blackouts" were still possible and called on consumers to cut back consumption. Air conditioning at her ministry was switched off as an example.

Michael Luze, a spokesman for Greenpeace France, said the government's decision reflected a willingness to put industrial concerns ahead of the environment, adding that since biodiversity in France's rivers was already suffering as a result of the heatwave it was dangerous to allow a further increase in temperatures.

"This incident serves as a reminder that France made the wrong choice when it opted for nuclear power - a system which no longer functions properly," he said.

Philippe Brousse, a spokesman for the Get out of Nuclear pressure group, said France was suffering from its overreliance on nuclear energy. "This is a scandalous dispensation, which has the sole aim of protecting the nuclear industry, and will cause grave damage to the environment." Further popular alarm about the safety of France's nuclear reactors was triggered last week when Electricite de France began experimenting with a new sprinkler system to cool the concrete walls of a power station which was nearing danger levels.

The precise consequences of the increase in river temperature are not clear. Many varieties of fish are threatened once temperatures reach 28C (82F) because the heat makes the oxygen concentrations in the river drop, which can asphyxiate the fish.

[Source: Amelia Gentleman, "France eases rules to avoid power cuts: Ecologists warn of threat to river life as nuclear stations get right to discharge warmer water", The Guardian (London), August 13, 2003, p. 13]

The CSN, Spain's nuclear safety commission, said that Spain's nuclear power stations are working normally because water is available for cooling in nearby rivers. Heavy rain in early 2003 means that reservoirs are at 70 per cent of their capacity. Over the last few days, between 10am and 5pm, Spain has been exporting about 1,000 MW to France. It is normally France which exports power to Spain. Domestic nuclear power stations generate about 30 per cent of Spain's electricity, and are coping well with the heat wave, despite the 18 per cent rise in power consumption.

[Ref: Expansion (Madrid), " Espana exporta electricidad a Francia ante la crisis nuclear", August 13, 2003

July 1, 2003

State considers possible criminal aspect of Oyster Creek fish kill event

In early June, four Oyster Creek workers alleged that, back in September, plant management ignored their warning that the maintenance to be performed on outflow dilution structure would likely result in significant fish kill. Local newspaper today reports that "One of the workers, Bill Timmons, said last week that he and other workers were recently interviewed about the incident by investigators with the state Division of Criminal Justice. ... "Based on the new information, we have decided to reopen our review," John Hagerty, spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office, said Monday... Such a review determines whether the state thinks it justified to launch a formal criminal investigation.

The article notes that Oyster Creek management "acknowledged that mistakes were made, but vigorously denied the workers' allegations that they deliberately chose to turn off a dilution pump knowing that a massive fish kill was likely. In a corrective action plan, plant management cited as causes of the fish kill 'a less than vigorous' approach to complying with state environmental law; 'inaccurate risk perceptions' and 'mental shortcuts'."

[Ref: Jim McElhatton, " Attorney GeneralÕs Office reopens inquiry on Oyster Creek fish kill", The Press of Atlantic City, July 1, 2003]

* Quad-Cities brings birds in winter, because River stays open; and the fishing is better now, too