有鑑於已發生一個多月卻仍未落幕的日本福島第一核電廠核災危機，來自全美各地的45個團體和個人，11日正式向美國核能管理委員會提出要求，希望能立即暫停核發所有核電廠使用執照，並停止分布於15個州21個規劃中的核能計畫作業，直到完成美國核能的影響調查為止。
東京電力公司所經營的福島第一核電廠，位於日本太平洋沿岸。因為3月11日所發生的地震和海嘯，六個反應爐中的四個遭到破壞，反應爐持續釋放高度輻射。
在美國方面，請願者希望核能管理委員會在發布反應爐使用執照或更新執照之前，能針對1979年嚴重的三哩島核電廠核洩漏事故後所建立的發照程序，進行調查和比較。
來自Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg律師事務所的請願者黛安．科倫律師表示，核能管理委員會同時也應該成立一個獨立的總統調查委員會，就像三哩島事件發生後的處理方式一般。
科倫律師表示：「我們要求核能管理委員會，透過研究和應用這次福島事件的教訓，並結合之前三哩島事件的經驗，建立一個具有公信力的的發照程序。」
歐巴馬總統已經指示核能管理委員會，針對全美分布於31州的104座核電廠進行檢測，以確保這些核電廠在遭受地震或其他災難時仍可運作。美國20%的電力來自於核能。
此次所遞交的請願書中，要求延後更新6個目前正在使用中的反應爐執照，這6個反應爐分別位於Columbia核電廠、 Davis-Besse核電廠、Diablo Canyon核電廠、Indian Point核電廠、 Pilgrim核電廠以及Seabrook核電廠。
據核能管理委員會表示，自1979年以來，美國五大危險核能事件中，兩件就發生於Davis-Besse核電廠。
請願書中要求延後核發13座新反應爐的建設和使用執照，包含Bellefonte核電廠第3及4號機組、Bell Bend電廠, Callaway, 電廠 Calvert Cliffs電廠, Comanche Peak電廠, Fermi, Levy County電廠, North Anna電廠, Shearon Harris電廠, South Texas電廠, Turkey Point電廠, Vogtle電廠, and William States Lee電廠。
對於Bellefonte電廠第1及2機組，請願書中則希望暫停其建設許可；而Watts Bar核電廠，則是暫停核發其使用執照。
此外，請願書中也要求核能管理委員會，停止批准AP1000型ESBWR反應爐標準化設計。
請願書中提到，核能管理委員會在核發及更新所有核電廠的使用執照時，應該將其對環境所造成的影響納入考量，而仔細檢討2011年3月11日東北地方太平洋地震及輻射事件，所帶來的最新且值得注意的訊息，也應包含其中。
核能管理委員會的緊急行動是必須的，因為等待中的執照申請已接近完成，包含Pilgrim和Vogtle核電廠，以及AP1000的設計認證。
能源與環境研究所(Institute for Energy and Environmental Research)所長 ，同時也是陳情者之一的Arjun Makhijani博士表示：「福島第一核電廠重寫了核子反應爐災害的歷史。有多個主要來源的排放，同時來自同一地點，其中包含不只一個反應爐和不只一個核廢料池。」
核能工程師Makhijani 表示：「這是第一次發生這樣的形況。三個反應爐的主建築物因氫氣爆炸而被破壞。備用電源嚴重不足，淡水無法長時間提供必要的冷卻功能。 事件發生已超過一個月，但情況仍未能控制。」
他表示：「若核能管理委員會，在面對這樣前所未有、極為複雜且仍未結束的福島災難，仍持續照常核發執照和反應爐認證將是輕率的，並與其確保安全並保障公眾健康的任務背道而馳。」
根據核能管理委員會的資料顯示，美國有23個反應爐分布在13個州。這些反應爐和福島第一核電廠中損壞的反應爐是一樣的設計，皆為包含控制放射性的GE馬克第一系統(Mark I systems)GE沸水反應爐。
除此之外，分布於7個州的12作反應爐，則為GE的後續的馬克第二或馬克(Mark II)第三(Mark III)控制系統。
來自麻州Duxbury的請願團體Pilgrim 觀察家主任Mary Lampert，擔心Pilgrim核電反應爐執照是否將獲得更新。她說：「位在我們家鄉的Pilgrim核電廠，和福島核電廠是一樣的設計。但Pilgrim核電廠比其他的核電廠更老舊，而且其單一的廢燃料池放有更多核廢料。」
她說：「福島災害的主要起因是廠外電源喪失，但它不單單是由一個海嘯所造成的。核能管理委員會警告所有的美國人民須撤離福島50英哩外，但是幾百萬人卻居住在Pilgrim 核電廠的50英哩半徑範圍內。」
請願者要求委員會，在擱置的換照程序中，爲了喚起福島事件相關的新議題，必須制定程序和時間表。
他們要求委員會允許目前所有干預執照核發程序的人士、尋求再開放使用執照和更新執照的請願者，以及尋求針對設計許可規則提出意見的團體，可以在60天內，針對福島反應爐事件相關的新議題，發布管理規則或環境決議。
In view of the month-long and ongoing nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 45 groups and individuals from across the nation today formally asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to immediately suspend all licensing and other activities at 21 proposed nuclear reactor projects in 15 states until implications for U.S. nuclear power are investigated.
Operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., the Fukushima Daiichi power plant on Japan's Pacific coast is releasing high levels of radiation after four of its six reactors were damaged by the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami.
Before licensing or relicensing any reactors in the United States, the petitioners want the NRC to complete an inquiry comparable to the process set up after the serious 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
The Commission also should request the appointment of an independent Presidential Commission, as was done after the Three Mile Island accident, said an attorney for the petitioners, Diane Curran of Harmon, Curran, Spielberg & Eisenberg, LLP.
"We demand that the NRC establish a credible process for studying and applying the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident, in keeping with the precedent created after Three Mile Island," said Curran.
President Barack Obama has directed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to examine how the nation's 104 nuclear power plants, located in 31 states, would fare during earthquakes or other disasters. Nuclear power generates 20 percent of the nation's electricity.
The petition filed today seeks suspension of six existing reactor license renewal decisions at Columbia, Davis-Besse, Diablo Canyon, Indian Point, Pilgrim, and Seabrook nuclear power plants.
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Davis-Besse has been the source of two of the top five most dangerous nuclear incidents in the United States since 1979.
The petition seeks suspension of 13 new reactor combined construction permit and operating license decisions - Bellefonte Units 3 and 4, Bell Bend, Callaway, Calvert Cliffs, Comanche Peak, Fermi, Levy County, North Anna, Shearon Harris, South Texas, Turkey Point, Vogtle, and William States Lee.
Suspension of a construction permit decision is sought for Bellefonte Units 1 and 2; and an operating license decision at Watts Bar.
In addition, the petition asks the NRC to halt proceedings to approve the standardized AP1000 and ESBWR reactor designs.
The NRC review should include a close look at "whether the March 11, 2011 Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyo-Oki earthquake and ensuing radiological accident poses new and significant information that must be considered in environmental impact statements to support the licensing decisions for all new reactors and renewed licenses," the petition states.
Emergency action by the NRC is necessary because a number of the pending licensing proceedings are approaching completion, including for Pilgrim, Vogtle, and the AP1000 design certification proceeding.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani, president, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, one of the petitioning groups, said, "The Fukushima Daiichi plant is rewriting the book on nuclear reactor accidents. There are multiple major sources of emissions from the same site at the same time, including more than one reactor and more than one spent fuel pool."
"For the first time, major portions of three reactor buildings have been blown away by hydrogen explosions. Backup power arrangements have been shown to be grossly inadequate.
Freshwater was not available for essential cooling functions for an extended period," said Makhijani, a nuclear engineer. "The situation is far from being under control more than one month after the start of the accident."
"Continuing business as usual in licensing and reactor certification in the face of the unprecedented, hugely complicated, and ongoing Fukushima accident would be rash and contrary to the mandate of the NRC to ensure safety and protect public health," he said.
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission database, there are 23 American reactors in 13 states of the same design as the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant - GE boiling-water reactors with GE's Mark I systems for containing radioactivity.
In addition, 12 American reactors in seven states have the later Mark II or Mark III containment system from GE.
Mary Lampert, director of petitioning group Pilgrim Watch of Duxbury, Massachusetts, is concerned about the Pilgrim nuclear reactor which is up for license renewal. "Pilgrim, located in America's Hometown, is the same design as the Fukushima plants, is older than most of them, and has even more spent fuel in its single spent fuel pool," Lampert said.
"The major cause of the Fukushima disaster was the loss of off-site power; but it doesn't take a tsunami to cause that," she said. "The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission told all Americans within 50 miles of Fukushima to evacuate; several million people live within a 50 mile radius of Pilgrim."
The petitioners are asking the Commission to establish procedures and a timetable for raising new issues relevant to the Fukushima accident in pending licensing proceedings.
They ask that the Commission allow all current intervenors in NRC licensing proceedings, all petitioners who seek to re-open closed licensing and relicensing proceedings, and all parties who seek to comment on design certification proposed rules, a period of 60 days following the publication of proposed regulatory measures or environmental decisions, in which to raise new issues relating to the Fukushima reactor accidents.
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