Text

Press Release Re Explosion Rocks Nuclear Waste Silo at Point Beach Nuclear Plant
	ML20116C347
Person / Time
Site:	Point Beach
Issue date:	05/29/1996
From:	Dums D; CITIZENS' UTILITY BOARD
To:	;
Shared Package
ML20116B333	List: ML20116C129; ML20116C264; ML20116C347; ML20116C358;
References
	FOIA-96-244 PR-960529, NUDOCS 9607310103
	Download: ML20116C347 (9)
	v • d • e

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CITIZENS' UTTLITY BOARD o

16 N. Canoll St. Suite 300 Madison, WI 53703 + (608) 251-3322 FAX (608) 251 609 -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 29, 1996 EXPLOSION ROCKS NUCLEAR WASTE SILO AT POINT BEACH NUCLEAR PLANT IST RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE EXPLOSION IN U.S.

WEPCO CLOSES ABOVE-GROUND NUKE DUMP 2ND TIME IN FIVE MONTHS A gas explo:sion inside a high-level nuclear waste silo at Wisconsin Electric Power Company's (WEPCO) Point RAAch Nuclear Plant has closed Wisconsin's first above ground nuclear waste dump for the second time in five months.

"This is the first radicactive waste storage explosion at a U.S. nuclear plant," said David Merritt, Executive Director of the Citizens' Utility Board (CUB). "It's time for WEPCO to stop experimenting with nuclear waste on Lake Michigan," said Merritt.

According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initial report, at 2:45 a.m. on May 28Lh, un unidentified gas ignited inside a fully-loaded cask of nuclear wasta containing 14 tons of spent fuel rods causing an explosion. The explosion occurred just prior to the welding of the 9 inch thick cask lid that weighs about 4,400 pounds. The explosion inside the cask lifted the 2 ton lid, leaving it tipped an an angle with one edge 1 inch highe.c Lhan i 1

normal. There were no iniuries. '

WEPCO has suspended further loading of nuclear waste casks until it can determine the cause of the accident and whether any j spent fuel rods were damaged by the explosion. Each 18 foot high cask is loaded with 14 tons of radioactivc wasto, including 170 1

pounds of plutonium. Each loaded silo contains the equivalent j radioactivity of 240 Hiroshima-type explosions. According to Federal guidelines, the waste must be kept safe for 10,000 years.

On December 26, 1995, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Mark Frankel shut down the nuclear waste dump for the first tirte. Judge Frankel ruled that the Public Service Commission's (PSC) l l

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cnvironmental impact statement was faLally flawed because it failed to consider how long waste may need to be stored in Wisconsin and did not properly evaluate eccnontic energy alternatives. The PSC on May 20th issund its new order reopening the dump. CUB will likely file a lawsuit cnalienging the PSC's new order. WEPCO has placed two nuclear waste loaded casks on the outdoor ctorage pad prior to Tuesday's accident.

"WEPCO said a nuclear woete storage explosion could never happen," said Merritt. "It's one more reason to keep our Lake Michigan shoreline from becoming a defacLu permenent nucleer weste dump," concluded Merritt.

CUB will be asking for an immediate PSC investigation and an order reversing their recent decision to reopen the dump.

For more information, contact: David Morritt (608)-251-3322.

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Smal1 Fire Or Major Explosion?

Point Beach Ponders Accident mnday. May 30.1994 TRE ENERGY DAILY BY PAMELA (WWMAN A fire broke out early Tuesday morning in an abovsground spent h*1 Small Fire Or Major canister at Wiseensin Electric's Point Beach nuclear plant. And white .

'srnalt. th fire may have a big linpact:It le reinvigorating environmental Explosion?. .. ~ ,, ce.,

opposition to the plant and it reay hamper the ceility's plans to begin Wepco into how and when the gas was introduced is trplseleg the reactor s s:ssm Renerators this fall, Tne fire ignited inside a fully loaded canister around 243 a.m., a workers were weld:ng a nine Inch thick steel shield 114 la place. The shie!d

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lid is the first of three Ilds that mc used to acal a storage cask fillH with dlM las cP e Mdm ud radioactave (uel.The fire broke out is the second of 12 canisters that Wepco placed on a concrete pad outside the plant. And a third p;ars ts use at the site. . has ban on the pad since December, pet there a few The firc apparently started when a spark ignited hydrogcc gas that was months after the Wisconsin Public Servtee Commission inside ths e$(holding the spent fuel, causing an explosion that raised the granted the utility's request to bulld the dry eask storage two-t:n cask lid. The lid remained to place. but was tipped at a slight facility.

a,gle-with one edge about ene inch higher than normal. Wepco received permission May 16 from the com-Itis sttndard yocedure for fuel casks to be backfilled with Inert helium scission to begin ft!!!ng the canisters acd to complete gas to stabilize the fuel once the first two shictd tids are welded m place. construction of the $10 million storage facuity, which But ths hsliuas had not yet been added arid plant officials say they have no was halted in December by a state judge. In that deci.

<!ue as to how the hydrogen gas got into the cas)r An investigadvn by sion. the sommission also gave wepco perrnission to (Continued en page 2) replace Point Beach 2's steam generators daring the unit's fell 1976 refueling outage. acheduled te begin in itis salawful to photocopy this pale without written peradssies frors the pobtisber. early October.

Isilla] reports show that physical damage from the fire was minimal-the dame flared for just a few Mc-onds before going out by 1:self. However, the explosion

___._.._..--- may have rnajor lon3.tcrin impik.ations.

-~ For one, further loading of nuc

~~~~~~______._--- suspended until the corppany can termine the cause de, of lear wa.ste has be

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7 130* the accident. and whether any of the fuel rods were 7671 [ _a damaged. The fuel from the detnaged canister has beert post ite f ax Note - j go,, / loaded back in the pool, and the utility does not know g co -

whether the $300.000 cask is still usable. If not. Wepco coJoept.

ortklats say it will be sental monihe before another

" " _p canister eset be delivered to the plant site.

y;r,. l That in turn, would hamper Wepco's effort to clear encash reorn la the site's spent fucl gool to store Point Wire . 5 5 r> % i Ecach 2's fuel core this fall. While it as not necessary to cffload the anstre rvestus core during an outage, plant officials say it wi!! make generator replacement go more smeethly.

In addition. the incident has left WEFC0 open to atta:ks from local covironsnental groups that have long cpposed the dry storage facitity.

This is the first radioactive waste storage explcsicn at a U.S. nuclear plant." spid David Merritt, excentive director of the Citizens' Utility Board. Merritt's group was arnans thnse that challenged the commission's dry storage order over turned. "It's time for Wepco to stop experimenting with nuclear waste on Lake Michigan."

Nuclear Regulatory Cemmissien ofGuists contacted by the The Energy Daily said it is too early to deteratine whether the incident will have generic implications for the otherlicensees with plans to build dry cask storage.

"Obviously, we need to k: Low what the source of the hydregen was.* said Jan Strasma. spokesman for NRC's Region 3 office. Strasma also polrtted out that 13 VSC.

24 casks weis loaded recently witheat incident at (*.an.

surners Power's Palisades plant in Kalamszoo, Mich.

'What u're watching now is (Wepco's] recovery (tom the situa: ton /* he seld.

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clear power plant Wednesday ,

Steel Cask. banque ATE DOWN -Wiscon- for cIues to explain why a ^^883' t rate fell to 3.6% in storage cask filled with spent month:

cal for the month, the nuclear fuel briefly caught *

!nt reported, citing a fire, upending its two ton tid o8m (8"* d Wisconsin's economy that workers were prepanng {I,m to seal A Pointdesch,TwoCreeb,Ws. ,

'.ig, it will edge t Clbarich, state down labor s habe kland, Red W4v.). Mnn. securit While no radiation was re.

c Da48ene.PonCiinton,0No for son Story on 2D leased and no one was in.

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. to kill 4,000 people the utilhy that owna Point s over the Pacific Ocean Beach both said a short com- ,I Stnknd 6A bustion of hydro 6en gat -it .

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,dtWo,'a -quick, loud process, Strasma said that hy- hydro produced drogen inside of the cask caught the w.ter gen inside could thehave cesk, come since - fro'm gh fo/ce tA. move the lid. fire. However, no one is sure water is com l soth'strEs' ed there was no why hydrogen was in'the cask ansioxygen. posed.of hydrop'n ..

evidence of damage to the cask in the first place, he sald. * ,

"It 'Is strange," Emmert said.

1 and no debris was found. Gilbert Emmert, chairman of "I would not have expected that l

. ;put anti nuclear proponent the nudear engineering depart , to be there." l David Merritt said this:

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Utility' Board /said the Tuesday rnorning fird is evidence the power Industry has not ade-

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t rate fell to 3.6% in storage cask filled with spent mont cal for the month, the nuclear fuel briefly caught . No int reported, citing a fire, upending its two-ton lid ovnm Pl anne Wisconsin's economy that workers were prepanng d'Yd A lbbf derA TwoQeeb.Wts. , "Irn ig,it willedge down to seal .

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evidence of damage to the cask in t e rst place, he said. * ,

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I and no debris was found. Gilbert Emmert, chairman of I would not ave expected that l

. ;put anti nuclear proponent the nuclear engineering depart , to be there." l !

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Point Beach Wednesday

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"Wh . i l h (a'k. tol/['s'4h&' dirt'onf T9HW$1 % ' rlier,, the, cask had been ' 8 a ; i(414) 426-500Q + 'i . West 6f 5.: l , ,I d with spent nuclear fuel . i (. ,, g is,..,,.y 3 . .,q:,(414 .82 i p i i de of the storage pool. Once g 5 fill &d/the cask was lifted .i . ,FridayJoam ,9 ! 1 tside of dhe pool'with a crane esI ~ h foiproddcl ' ' * ' ~t " "'k*~ ttE Tl i - hefi y wu to be.eeated shut \

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l 1 3: : # n . r.3 ;c M .y *- t , a , 1 f u E0. 414221288; W S-33 E M FM fr_rydy,r V y'g-ii h.,. N E. 4u7sss3ci 7)~ g g7pm There was n enceetdam. re as , age to the 24 hi radtCactive 6 pent fuel assem es that had ' e Po.int Beach r$ymama.1% T e accident occurred In th's

~* 7 iidin,. 6 iecated nuke casli

next to the containment bulld.

ings that" house the twin reactors. IggdelQ(Uj ..,, James said the automatedwkl. der was about to begin work on . TWO CREEKS (AP) - Fed, the 11d wnen the accidwnt eralinspecters areinvestigating i occurred. Workers were moni. toring the process ftmotely and ., were not,[n danger, he.sald. , ; . , He said the' company would. use the resulte etinvest!gatten. ' Into the incident to' prevent fu- I Tucadey's accident was de. ture accidents from occurring.1 scribed as unique by a spokes. - The NBC said Wisconstn-man for the Nuclear Regulator Elecine planned to return the, . ! : poci for further towstigation.g". f erieneet like The cask involved Tuesdays we this have " NRCnothadspo exfcaman Jan was the third of12 thatthe PubHe4 Service Commission hat'giveri' Stranma said. Wkonsin Electric pennission tg < nsin">Wisconsin Electric Power Co.. load'with spent fuel '" (ro'm thed plant'e storage pool, . 2. - radiose, livity from the plant at the shore Like those of Lake Michiganin Manitowoc 'around the,at marty . ' Beach's storage poolIs dilingup notimmediatelyidentified. because thereis no permanent-But Wisconsin Electric ses- disposat $1te for high. level. dioactivewaste. . CUB won a' court case last? year cha'ttenging an covInnunen. headed to the plant . '. talimpact staternent the.PSC I from the cornmission'a regtenal; wrote on the dry cask storage le,111.to conduct their , dee Mre, Page_f,2)_,,,_,,,,,, I inciden as a " gas burn,"- flfe-- l Kontinuedoin Page A D . projectbecause it failed to ad- j of seconds"in,duratton,caidhis . dresa the possibility oflong term consin Eleetric spokesman Rick - storagein the casks.The PSC re-James, ' wrote the documen't and ap- said David Merritt executive G,"' the first 3 casks.Merritt saldthe scary thing ats I rector of the Ottlsens Utility - out Tuesda accidentwas that; Board, a censumer group that . It took util officials and state ' plantfeder .regulgors com. -- pound steel shield .t a sitght angle, about , of the concrcte and Steel cafk. found no measurable redeuctly. - >8 wis=nsin seme A WISCON5!NEMm0Y COW.PANY Vlecia Uoca":e DesTowettreo ny OctunNA1. MMRS! JOURNAL SENTINEL - 5/29/96

h. i ding ignites gas at nuclear power plant Bt LEE BritcQUIST of thejoumalSentinel staff government to find a perma- mission from the Wisconsin nent repository for spent nu. l'ublic Service Commission to A cornbustible gas burned clear waste. store the used, though still ra-Inexplicably early Tuesday at The incident at Point Death dioadive, fuel in the containers the Point Beach power plant occurred about 2:45 a.m. on a concrete pad outside the while workers welded the Tonday. Crews, standing plant. Both the storose cite and cover of a large cask that con- several feet away, were oper- the plant are located on the tained spent nuclear fuel ating the controls of an auto- shore of Lake Michigan near rods. matic welding machine that Two Creeks.

No one was injured, and sat atop an 18-foot tall steel and Thou h ", f,h' P ' PP* ,j; 8 to c nerete cask. The machine both fekeraWroved nd stateforregula-use by

{' welds two separate steellids tn- tors, the storage system has h e$ ease of ad atfo cI to Pl ace. A third 12d is then bolt- been criticized by opponents, ed on top. such,as the Madison-based Citt-curred at the Manitowoc zens Utility Board.

County plant, the utility said. But suddenly the welding But a burning incident like caused a " fairly vigorous burn" this has not happened before, 'I 8**< Perhaps hydrogen, uld so federal regulators said they Gary hser, manager ofindur-En*v'e'sti Ns* to 1 earn rnori mbuftible$$sYare'EoYs'u WALLI STREET JOURNAL -5!29/96 about t e situation. posed to be resent, he said. p , ElPasoErErgy Acquisition an[*, have noft ad h he akdo e d p1In't technicians, displaced the shield EL PASO, Texas - El Paso Energy ences like this,, said fan tid ! caving itin place but tipped Corp. said its El Paso Co. subsid14ry has Strasma, a spokesman for the at a slight angle, with ne edge completed its previously announced $115 Nuclear Regulatory Commis- niittion acquisition of Cornerstone Natural

I "- about 1 inch higher than not. Gas Inc. The purchase price indudes St.

l He was referring to the 10 mal," anPoint NRCBeacem{loyee who million in debt. l or so nuclear plants across the worb at wrote in a El Paso Energy provides natural-gas rep rt to the agency. transmicolon, gathering ard processirg I country whose crews are cur-rently removing spent fuel Plant employees had previ- services and nationwide naturat gas ar.d from deep pools inside plants ously loaded spent fuel rods in. power rnarketing services. to outside storage containers to two other casks without inci-Nuclear plants are running dent - one as recently as last out of inside storage capacity, week. and utilities across the coun. Wisconsin Electric, which try are wahi.g for the federal owns the plant, received per. ' ~ i kt {-I a 2 C WISCONSIN STATE JOLIRMAL 4 WISCONSIN 1 i . _ . _ = tt ! Gas ignites near nuclear fuel casif L h Until recenly. tne company . that would be," he said. "I ' mission. sfored its spent fuel endervater in 1- - N> Mary C4rpenter, a Wisconsin a concret=#Iined pool at the placr. spetulate that by the end o ~ e Electric spokeswoman, said com- But the PSC la January authorized Weeit we would have "" ide" #f ~ W3S in busttwe cas caused a born dttring Wn'onsir Electrie to balld a Tuesday. morning wekling.proce. dozen ;8-foot.Mgh storage casks r3 a wha occuM** Gomalez said the utili ill - dure. She said the accident oc. encase spent Arel rods in keep the PSC informed ab ut i I ' NrnIdOd L tnV curred while a shield lid wazbeing 30-inch thfek steel and cenerete. investigatlan inta the matter' ' mechanically welded to the top of hause of the burn. raid on. hud 6 m Dy Lee HawkirtsJr. a cask that had just been f1Iled , - WIstonsin Dectric'2 new stor - ?' e% ,, with rpent tuelear fuel. .; tale 2. t!te companyplans to tecipe. Proposal in January. Irane Count >' An unknown gas ign;ted at Wis. Nuetear Regulatory Cocamis. rarilyreturnthe fuel to the consin Electric Power Co.*s Point slon inspectors headed to the Merritt said his group wi con ,, Cirruit Court Jud e Mark Ftanke[l-in December ru th* the ageric did not andequatt% ese2uate Wis.' Beach lant Mariito. plantto conduct an tnvestigaEon. ; the a adect to try . E y hen a cz cfspect Tirtothy Esbtet, a spokescian' : sate rettdators to rescind an consin Electric's pl PrWel's rung m's# ~.- d ' N m woc 7u f i nuelcar feet was being welded or the Nu:Icar Regislatory Com- . carlier decIstonwhich a]owec, the y ' 4 misdoar in Milwaukee,said the gas t new starage plan. . public hearings k Mar-h and reard I g ' sM the utmty reported. i firment its approval of th ; - g *There was no raflation re* grdtion was powerful enoudt to leased and rio cae was injured." knock the 9-lach-th!ck. 4,400 ! vas"AccorditC neversupposed to to WEPOO happe.rt Itthis s fire plan in rald-April. Said SC;I 'c' e pound shield tid covering th6 cask I time to step experimenting with spokesmanGonzaler'.J Press ech.h.' i ^ said Victor Goarater, a spokesman aboutan lech higherthan nonnal. .The Associa!cd suelear waste."besald-for the state Putile Service ".om- 'Itsincident alarmed coosaner GaryKrteser runsagerofindus utedathisreport ,r try and regulatory services for Wis- --~ _ . _ ' and envirtrimerdalactivists- consin Eectric's nuclear power 8 - - - - - - Whtfe the utilitycalled tle inci I business unit, said the company is deizt a " gas bunt l* a plant critie trying to determbe the cause of .o saidit wasmorelikeanexpbsion. - the accident . $ *"1his truly was an explosion." **We're still trying to determine

said David Menitr, eaceutive di- what ese conibustible gas was. We m

reatcr . of the Clii2 ens Utility thinEit was probably hydrogert but , U Board, a ' consumer gruup th2t op- we don't knaw wtat the source of 2 poses speat-fuel storage outside ' the plant and wants the 25-year-old twin re~acbrs at Point-Beach shut down ^ MAY-29-96 WED 08:31 An EXTERHAL AFFAIRS ~FAXM.414512MI~ P.01 ~- ivrr-29-1996 18:1G Fit @t u!TI-Tu niumus -

22:38 Sees asa 7eep i ~ ~ - - - -

) es/as/se % Note 737; % j n ^^a cas, f-39 WC.* 2. m - "_~ &g }M. l con ~~. n , CmZENS' UT 3. z,_ m, ;;- , . . o , m - -r ,=, % = . =-- -- Q .._, EErrsumer ga2d M InsTE 5I34 at FOINF MIC12&R FKANT 13T 24FEchcrITE 1mSTE 33chh8E EIGrs.as3Em ZW U.s. 439C0 CEOSES Asays-emeWWp SEW am see T2aB 23r FITN ARM 25E ,a gas emplestem instee a hager-level masamer isante s110 at Wisconsin Elects:Ac Poser Ceepeng's (utpCO) Folat y meelear Flaut less ** w tr'-a= amen 's riast -l ~ ,.--

anclear weste dump for the second time la five ment 2us.

"This is the fizot *=diamative oeste steusye emplamises ak a U.S. neeleer plant, seia Derria Memmist, wive Dizeetese of the citiseme' Utility seead (CEIB) . alt's time fez mEPCO to step e-r4 --+'=a with amelear weets on I,ake =8-mi r-a," said w tt-noemeding to the Noeleer hogalatasy Commission (WC) 1Ritial , at 2:45 a.m. on Ingr 24th, ea ==8daatified gas ignited - asi a f*1&r-leeded eask of encanear weste ==*=***ee 14 toes of r- ,1 2 _- =.ing m an emplosias. the empleslea eccurred gast I ymier to time welding,4f the 9 i-** We omsk lid that weigne ebest 4,es= yim ;;r.. The . dies 'the ifted the 2 tem lid, letting it tapped at _ e with _ 1 inch higher thaa noenni. = we were no injamies. WEPCO has easyended fasther l#a; of neelear waste casks until it can does-t== the cause of the nee 1 dant and whethar aary eyent reel aves wese aessages nur the esplestem. Eaca is root magn ca k is leaded with is cens or medie stive weste, Ameloding 170 poemes of pistamisa. Emma leessa milo coateins the estivalent medAeestiviky er a40 mar ==ne==-eyys emp1.eiens. &comeding to i rederal guidelimes, the weste most he here safe far 10/000 roars,. ! on Doommets as, isn, neee counct cirsmic court andse mark Frankel shut does the analeer wusste og for the Elmst time. 01adge rzmak=t ==1 4 samt the roblic namvice cammission = (rse) l l umm mu mano. a v. m a tau f e n ~n _ . __ g}f /0N ~ MMS-86 NE9 00:32 ali EXTERNALAFFAIRS F6X N0. 4142212684 P* 02 e tW-29-1996 se:16 rn0M W1TI-TV M1unAG 70 922t2821 p. m , ~****= . , ausssee , atrae twoue ses oew .f . 1 enwisonmental sagast stateemosvem sete11y siemed meeense it *=nad to consider hos less weste may amed to me stored in wisenssia una did act, progmely eeminate aconento enesgr alceamatives. The Psc on assy 20th leseed ate usw emeer reegnatey the deep. Cus will li3tely tale a laessat challemsteg the sec's new eeder. uspco bem pieced too ame1==e weste loeded caske em the setenes storage pee 3perior to titesday's widaat. "WE#CO said e - 1==* emete steenge :-;' 8- could moveur heepea," saia mesritt. It's nem mese reassa to toep our zake Michigan abaseline from becoming a deseeto paenseems ancieer weste eeur," esealedad Elurries. cut ws11 be askier for as d===de =+- roc A_.._te-*<en and me ceder sTvessies their zooman d==imica to reopen the dunup. SM ror aero infeemetama, costaes: marid seescritt (80s)-2s1-3322. O A l 95/t9/99 31:38 TK/RX No.0643 P.002 3 TOTR. P,02 ) .. -

ML20116C347

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