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環保人士嘗試將租約退回NRC手中
作者：布魯斯·哈密爾頓
在上個月的遲些時候，原子能管理委員會（NRC）同意延長馬里蘭州南部Calvert Cliffs核電廠的長期操作許可，觀察家認為此舉損害了公共安全。
Calvert Cliffs核電廠，丹．漢彌頓攝
由於此決定，被塞在沿著切薩皮克灣岸、具有田園景色半島上的這座核電廠，成為全美國 103座商業核反應爐中，第一個贏得延長20年操作許可的核電廠。環保人士害怕NRC的行動預示了全美展延核電廠操作許可證的新浪潮，正當核能工業被許多人認為漸成歷史遺跡之際，反而帶給核能工業成長高潮。至少 27 個核電廠可能在 2003 年以前尋求類似的延期。
儘管 Calvert Cliffs 核電廠的2個核反應爐之前的展延許可已分別擴延至2014和2016年，但電廠的擁有者巴爾的摩煤氣與電力公司( BGE ) ，要求提早展延許可的更新，以能在面臨電業自由化時預先做長期的規劃。此一延期將允許該核反應爐持續操作，直到2034和2036年為止。
公民和國家揭發者中心是兩個位於華盛頓特區的觀察家團體，指稱NRC將此一阻礙公眾對核電廠安全作充分詢問的更新過程合理化。去年國家揭發者中心控告NRC，說他們新的快速審查系統沒有給反對者足夠的時間對許可再發的事情成立一件審判案。
「自從NRC重寫了規則，他們基本上排除了任何公共的參與。」公民揭發者中心資深分析員詹姆士·裏西奧說。裏西奧進一步指稱，在更新展延許可的過程中，NRC並不公開部分相關的資訊，直到公聽會之後才公開。
在去年11月聯邦上訴法庭發現NRC的快速審查系統運作過快，並作出有利於國家揭發者中心的判決，但是經過一個不尋常的運作之後（很不尋常地？），在判決成立的11天後法庭否決了之前的判定並且指示舉行另一個聽證會。關於此爭論的新聽證會上個月上旬已舉行，結果案子仍然是懸而未決。但是NRC沒乖乖等待法庭對於此事件的最終判決就告訴Calvert Cliffs"去做吧"。
NRC = 沒有規章的標準？
裏西奧說NRC不管批評者在更新期間所提出的安全顧慮，仍對Calvert Cliffs做出未經充分思考的決定（草率的給予Calvert Cliffs核電廠核准？）。關懷科學家聯盟提交證詞，指責NRC在該廠的環境影響說明中關於核電廠對人們的潛在影響僅做出膚淺的考量。
反對者也痛批NRC忽略了堆積在Calvert Cliffs及全美其他商業核能電廠的核廢料對環境所造成的影響。Calvert Cliffs計劃繼續把它的核廢料放在地面上的乾式鋼筋混凝土建築中儲存，直到能源部成立一個國家級的核廢料儲存場為止。
在佛羅裏達Turkey Point核電廠中的暴龍--真正的恐龍是哪個呢？
核能資訊和資源服務中心的保羅·岡特說："NRC 就是代表【無管理標準No Regulatory Criteria】，其明顯阻撓許可再發的努力"，並說核廢料的問題"從未確實被考慮"(Never Really Considered)。
裏西奧譴責NRC與核能工業的關係有如寄生，他說："他們不想一次咬太大口以免殺死他們的寄主"。他表示馬里蘭的卡爾弗特郡也一樣，核能電廠是他們的經濟來源。"他們需要去想一個方法使自己能自核電廠斷奶"裏西奧說。
就像一個核子大家庭
但是許多馬里蘭南部的居民並不感覺需要做那些轉變。
Calvert Cliffs核電廠命名自沿著海灣的海岸線上那陡峭的高牆，從1968年它開始建造起已成為地方上的一個地標。發電廠的發電機、反應爐、渦輪機、和變壓器等等許多東西已完全嵌入Calvert Cliffs，發電廠已徹底地成為該郡生活的一部份。
本地的商界和社區領導人對於展延許可均表相當歡迎。"我們感到興奮且激動"琳達·瓦薩洛說，她是卡爾弗特郡的經濟發展主任。
「我想，整體來說，核電廠和電廠的員工對社區來說是一個正面的影響，」卡爾弗特郡委員大衛·黑爾如此表示。
核電廠在地方上是經濟的巨獸 。BGE擁有大約1,300人的地方勞動力, 使它成為郡中最大的私人雇主。根據金融主任特裏·尚嫩估計，它的資產大約佔全郡可課徵稅基的百分之三十。尚嫩說，去年BGE的財產稅貢獻了兩千一百萬美元到郡庫之中，亦即全郡預算的百分之十八左右, ，使得卡爾弗特的居民得以享受該州的最低稅率。
當NRC在1998年7月舉辦了一場關於該核電廠環境影響的公聽會時，大部分的證詞集中於非關環境的益處上。「當 Calvert Cliffs在這裏設立時，我們在一夜之間從本州最窮郡之一變成了最富有郡的一員」前郡委員瑪麗·克魯格說。該郡已是馬里蘭州中成長最快的郡。
一個好鄰居？
許多社區領導人也把 BGE 稱為一個良好的環境公民。在郡中該企業擁有大約 2,300 英畝的土地，但是只使用不到 300 英畝的地方做為核電廠的用地。它將一部分的資產捐作自然保育之用，並且將舊煙草穀倉和18世紀創建的農舍保留起來以點綴當地的田園景色。在1992年該公司開始與自然管理局合作，參與保護清教徒斑螫的自然保育行動, 它是一種住在懸崖附近，生活受到威脅的生物。
發電廠使用海灣內的海水作為冷卻水, 每分鐘打進兩百五十萬加侖的海水並再將其送回灣區。與BGE簽約的科學家研究了核電廠溫排水對切薩皮克區域的水化學、貝類、浮游生物和其他的水生生物的影響，結果發現並沒有負面的影響。
1999 年 5 月 NRC 檢查隊在電廠發現了"老化的影響將適當地被處理的合理保證"。並且 Calvert Cliffs的支持者指出該電廠具有安全操作的歷史記錄。
但是公民揭發者中心的裏西奧警告說過去的安全記錄不保證未來一定安全。"因為一些事情沒發生，就相信它做的不錯，那是一種心理的陷阱"，他說。
布魯斯·哈密爾頓是一位關注自然資源和環境議題的自由作家。他現住在華盛頓特區。
全文與圖片詳見: http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/
maindish/hamilton040600.stm
版權歸屬 Earth Day Network，環境信託基金會 ( 蔡宜宸 譯，李欣哲審校 )
中英對照譯稿：http://news.ngo.org.tw/issue/energy/
sub-energy00062001.htm |
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Enviros try to put the R back in the NRC
by Bruce Hamilton 04.06.00
watchdogs say the Nuclear Regulatory Commission compromised public safety with its decision late last month to grant long-term renewal of the operating licenses for the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in southern Maryland.
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.Photo: Dan Hamilton.
With the decision, the plant, tucked on a rural peninsula along the shore of the Chesapeake Bay, became the first of the nation's 103 commercial nuclear reactors to win a 20-year extension of its operating licenses. Environmentalists fear the NRC's move could portend a new wave of nuclear plant license extensions around the country, giving the nuclear industry a big boost at a time when many think it should be going the way of the dinosaur. At least 27 more nuclear plants are likely to seek similar extensions by 2003.
Though Calvert Cliffs' previous licenses for its two reactors extended through 2014 and 2016, the plant's owner, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), requested the early renewal so it could make long-term plans in the face of approaching utility deregulation. The extension will allow the reactors to keep operating until 2034 and 2036.
Public Citizen and the National Whistleblower Center, two Washington, D.C.-based watchdog groups, claim the NRC streamlined the renewal process in a way that prevented the public from adequately addressing questions about the plant's safety. The National Whistleblower Center sued the NRC last year, arguing that the new fast-track approval system did not give the opposition enough time to build a case against
relicensing.
"Since NRC rewrote the rules, they have basically obviated any public participation," said James Riccio, senior analyst for Public Citizen. Some information relevant to the renewal process was not made available by the NRC until after public hearings, Riccio claims.
A federal appeals court ruled in favor of the National Whistleblower Center last November, finding that the NRC's fast-track system moved too quickly, but in an unusual move, the court threw out that decision 11 days later and ordered another hearing. New arguments were heard early last month and the case is still pending. But the NRC didn't wait around for the court to issue a final ruling before giving Calvert Cliffs the go-ahead.
NRC = No Regulatory Criteria?
Riccio said the NRC gave Calvert Cliffs a "rubber stamp," despite safety concerns that critics raised during the renewal process. The Union of Concerned Scientists submitted testimony faulting the NRC's environmental impact statement on the plant for giving only superficial consideration to the plant's potential impact on people.
Opponents also lambasted the NRC for ignoring the environmental impact of nuclear waste that is piling up at Calvert Cliffs and other commercial reactors around the country. Calvert Cliffs plans to continue keeping its waste in above-ground dry storage in reinforced concrete buildings until the Department of Energy opens a national waste repository.
A T-rex at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant in Florida -- which is the real dinosaur?
"NRC stands for No Regulatory Criteria that can significantly challenge this re-licensing effort," said Paul Gunter of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. The issue of waste was "Never Really Considered," he said.
Riccio denounced the NRC's relationship with the nuclear industry as parasitic. "They don't want to take too big a bite for fear of killing their host," he said. He suggested the same of Maryland's Calvert County, whose economy has depended on the plant. "They need to figure out a way to wean themselves from the nuclear teat," Riccio said.
Just One Big Nuclear Family
But many southern Maryland residents see no need to make that transition.
Calvert Cliffs, named for the steep walls along the bay's shoreline, has been a landmark in the region since its construction began in 1968. Much as the plant's generators, reactors, turbines, and transformers are literally carved into the Calvert Cliffs at the water's edge, the plant itself has become thoroughly embedded in the county's life.
Local business and community leaders largely welcomed the extension. "We're thrilled," said Linda Vassallo, Calvert County's director of economic development.
"I think, in general, the plant and the employees who work there are considered a positive to the community," said Calvert County Commissioner David Hale.
The plant is an economic behemoth in the region. BGE has a local workforce of approximately 1,300, making it the county's largest single private employer. Its property constitutes about 30 percent of the county's assessable tax base, according to Finance Director Terry Shannon. Last year, BGE's property taxes contributed $21 million to county coffers, or about 18 percent of the total county budget, Shannon said. Calvert's residents enjoy the lowest tax rate in the state.
When the NRC held a public hearing on the plant's environmental impact in July of 1998, much of the testimony focused on the kind of green that doesn't grow on trees. "When Calvert Cliffs located here, we went virtually overnight from one of the poorest counties in the state to one of the richest," said former County Commissioner Mary Krug. The county is now the fastest growing in Maryland.
A Nice Neighbor?
Many community leaders also call BGE a good environmental citizen. The utility owns some 2,300 acres in the county but uses less than 300 for the nuclear plant. A portion of its property is dedicated to a nature preserve and trails, and old tobacco barns and the preserved foundations of an 18th century farmhouse dot the landscape. The company began working with the Nature Conservancy in 1992 to protect the Puritan tiger beetle, a threatened species that lives around the cliffs.
The power plant uses bay water as a coolant, taking in two and a half million gallons per minute and pumping it back out. Working under contract with BGE, scientists studied the effect of the plant's discharge on water chemistry, shellfish, plankton, and other aquatic organisms in the Chesapeake, and found no ill effects.
A May 1999 NRC inspection team found "reasonable assurance that the effects of aging will be adequately managed" at the plant. And Calvert Cliffs supporters point out that the plant has a history of safe operation.
But Riccio of Public Citizen warned that a record of past safety doesn't guarantee future safety. "It's a psychological trap to believe that because something hasn't happened, you're doing just fine," he said.
Bruce Hamilton is a freelance reporter who writes on natural resource and environmental issues. He lives in the Washington, D.C., area. |
