ACE Video/Blog – Part 6
April, 2013

HISTORIC FATAL FLAWS IN LIMERICK NUCLEAR PLANT’S EMERGENCY / EVACUATION PLANS
Safe Evacuation Was IMPOSSIBLE In 1980, Before Limerick Construction Was Completed!

 In 1980, Population Density Around Limerick Was Already DOUBLE The Number NRC Deemed Safe For Evacuation.
• After the 1979 partial TMI meltdown, NRC’s population criteria were determined for safe evacuation from a meltdown: 500 Persons Per Square Mile In A 30-Mile Radius of a Nuclear Plant Site.
• In 1980, Population Around Limerick Was Double That Density.
Since 1980, Population Around Limerick INCREASED Over 100%.
• Clearly, Safe Evacuation Is Merely An Illusion. We Can’t Evacuate Safely Now With 100% Population Increase From 1980. Limerick Nuclear Plant Should Have Been Scrapped In 1980,Like Shoram Nuclear Plant In New York

Neither Shoram Nor Limerick Nuclear Plant Could Be Evacuated Safety In 1980, Prior To Completion Of Construction. Shoram Was Scrapped, Limerick Was Completed. Why?
New York Elected Officials Valued Public Health And Safety Enough To Take Action.
Elected Officials In PA Did Not!

SHORAM NUCLEAR PLANT WAS SCRAPPED DUE TO IMPOSSIBILITY OF SAFE EVACUATION.
• 1983 (FEBRUARY): Resolution Passed Declaring Shoram Evacuation Plan Deficient: Suffolk County Legislature Passed A Resolution By A 15-1 Vote That Asserted That The County Could Not Be Safely Evacuated.
• 1989: Shoram Nuclear Plant: SCRAPPED BECAUSE Of EVACUATION PLANS. Governor Cuomo Ordered State Officials Not To Approve Any LILCO(owner)-Sponsored Evacuation Plan. State and local officials knew there was NO WAY to SAFELY EVAUCATE In Case Of An Emergency.
• 1992: Shoram Nuclear Plant was DISMANTLED DUE TO IMPOSSIBILITY OF SAFE EVACUATION.

With 100% Population Increase And Growing Risk Of Meltdowns At Limerick
Elected Officials In PA Should Get Limerick Shut Down Due To Impossibility Of Safe Evacuation, Before It Melts Down

CONTACT ALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS NOW:
TELL THEM WE CAN’T EVACUATE SAFELY. THEY NEED TO HELP US GET LIMERICK SHUT DOWN BEFORE IT MELTS DOWN!
1980 Pottstown Mercury News Provides Insight Into Limerick Nuclear Plant’s Evacuation Plan

Pottstown Mercury, May 28,1980
1980: HEARING ON THE NEED FOR EVACUATION PLAN FOR LIMERICK NUCLEAR PLANT
Held By The House Subcommittee On Energy And The Environment

Quotes Followed By ACE Comments Show PECO DECEIVED US FROM THE BEGINNING:
• 1980 – PECO Vice President Vincent S. Boyer Said, “Emergencies That Require Evacuation Will Not Occur.”
ACE Comment: He ignored the 1979 TMI partial meltdown with a dangerously delayed evacuation, that just happened in PA, not far from Limerick. Since then there was Chernobyl and Fukushima.

• 1980 – Boyer drew hisses and boos from the audience during a heated debate with the panel of four Congressmen.
ACE Comment: Our region’s residents recognized PECO deception in 1980.

• 1980 – Boyer claimed safety features at the Limerick Plant would not allow the escape of deadly radiation even if an accident did occur.
ACE Comment: Facts suggest even more deadly radiation would be released from a Limerick accident / meltdown due to Limerick’s substandard containment.
• 1980 – NRC Director Harold Denton said that prior to the mid-1970s, the NRC had no population criteria for nuclear plants. “Before Three Mile Island (1979 – 1 year earlier) if a plant met certain specifications, it was approved.” Denton said the NRC wanted only 500 persons per square mile in a 30-mile radius of the site. He said, “Limerick has about double that density today” (1980)
ACE Comments:
­ NRC expected that people within 30 miles would be harmed, yet today we have only an unprotective 10-mile evacuation radius.
­ In 1980 Limerick was surrounded by double the population density that NRC found acceptable for evacuation within 30 miles. With the drastic population increases around Limerick in the past 32 years, the population is far too dense for safe evacuation today.
• 1980 – Denton admitted that under the (population) standards in place …being applied to nuclear plants being planned (1980), the Limerick site would never be approved (in 1980).
ACE Comment: NRC knew in 1980 that it was not possible to evacuate safely around Limerick, yet NRC allowed Limerick’s construction to go forward.
• 1980 – Denton said special evacuation preparations must be made for … Pottstown Memorial Medical Center and the State Correctional Institution at Graterford.
ACE Comments:
­ More than 30 years later there still isn’t a realistic viable evacuation plan for either.
­ 2013 Evacuation Plans for Pottstown Hospital list an extraordinary number of ambulances that do not appear to exist. Even if vehicles could be found, it is unlikely there would enough qualified drivers.
­ The Phoenixville Hospital, not far from the Pottstown Hospital, also lists large numbers of ambulances and other vehicles. Unrealistic!
­ 2013 Evacuation Preparations for the prison do not exist – the plan is now to simply shelter in place, regardless of the radioactive threats. What about radioactive threats to all of the employees needed to operate the prison?
• 1980 – Congressional Subcommittee Chairman, Peter Kostmayer (D-Bucks County), said Evacuation plans should be required before the Limerick plant is licensed for operation.
ACE Comment: Now, over 30 years later, evacuation plans have been pared down, even though NRC is planning to relicense Limerick, a dangerous aging plant with increasing risks of meltdowns.
• 1980 – Congressional Subcommittee Member, Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said “Economic pressures have limited PE’s concern for safety.”
ACE Comment: Today, over 30 years later, pressures from the industry and regulators have further decreased concerns for safety related to emergency planning and evacuation.
• 1980 – Congressional Subcommittee Member, John Cavanaugh (D-NEB) accused Boyer (PECO) of having “A lack of concern for public fears and concerns”
ACE Comment: Today, Exelon and NRC not only have a lack of concern, they deny actual evidence from meltdowns that occurred both at Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima (2011).
• 1980 – Dr. Judith H. Johnsrud, Coalition on Nuclear Power, said, “Evacuating the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area would be impossible. The area’s dense population is one reason the nuclear plant should be scrapped.”
ACE Comment: Evacuating the Greater Philadelphia Region safely today is clearly impossible, given the drastic increases in population over the past 32 years. NRC knew Limerick should not have been licensed due to impossibility of safe evacuation. Now the impossibility of safe evacuation should stop Limerick relicensing in its tracks.
• 1980 – Federal, state and county officials said there is no detailed evacuation plan for the Limerick Plant, which is within 10 miles of 195,000 people and within 30 miles of 4 million people.
ACE Comments:
­ Today, over 30 years later, there is still no detailed evacuation plan that could avoid chaos and minimize radiation risk.
­ 293,000 people are now within 10 miles (2010 Population Data – www.nrdc.org)
Nearly 100,000 more people since 1980
­ Over 8 Million people are now within 50 miles (2010 Population Data – www.nrdc.org)
Since 1980, Millions more people live within 50 miles.
• 1980 – Not even one witness could explain how an evacuation could be carried out.
ACE Comment: In 2013, no one can still explain how the evacuation plan could be carried out.
• 1980 – Boyer from PECO offered advice to any Pottstown Area Resident who hears of a Limerick Nuclear accident: “Stay home, your house is a good shield. Cellars are the best place to go.”
ACE Comments:
­ Moving as far away from Limerick’s radiation, as fast as possible is the most protective choice.
­ While staying home is preferable to sitting in traffic under Limerick’s radioactive plume in the short-term, it is imperative to evacuate as soon as safely possible.
­ Staying home is not a safe long-term solution. Everything becomes radioactive, drastically increasing short and long-term health impacts..

IT WAS SHAMEFUL TO LIE ABOUT LIMERICK EVACUATION AND IGNORE THE TMI MELTDOWN

In 1980, PECO Vice President Vincent S. Boyer Testified During Limerick’s Hearing, Stating,
“Emergencies That Require Evacuation Will NOT Occur.”

Shame On PECO’s VP! One Already Had Happened 1 Year Earlier! The Three Mile Island Partial Meltdown March 28, 1979, Required Evacuation Right Here In Pa, Not Far From Limerick.

The PA Governor waited 3 days, leaving people unnecessarily exposed to TMI’s radiation releases. Delayed notification is likely to still happen today if Limerick has a radiation accident / meltdown.

TMI may be responsible for 50,000 to 100,000 Deaths. Details about consequences of TMI’s partial meltdown are available:
“Deadly Deceit: Low Level Radiation, High Level Cover-up” By Jay Gould and Ben Goldman, 1990
Gould Suggested: Infant Deaths Soared In Counties Surrounding TMI – 53% 1st Month, and 27% 1st Year
Birth Defect Deaths Higher : 10 Counties Closest to TMI – 15% to 35%

1983 – South Coventry Refused to Approve PE Evacuation Plans
(Pottstown Mercury, August 4, 1983)
• All municipalities within a 20-mile range of the Limerick site had been asked to research their communities and forward the information to their respective county governments. The state was ultimately responsible for a master evacuation plan.
• Richard Whitlock, South Coventry Chairman of Supervisors, said “There are too many gaps in the forms and alot of unanswered questions. We’re not going to approve something for the energy consultants to send to the NRC.”
• The Mercury reported that it was undetermined if an individual plan could be forced onto South Coventry without the approval of local officials.
 ACE Comment: If only elected officials in other local municipalities and our Pa Governor had refused to approve PE Evacuation Plans, Limerick construction could have been stopped. We wouldn’t face the risk of disaster today from Limerick meltdowns and the injustice of losing our health, homes, and all our possession.

1983 – GAO REPORT FOUND NUCLEAR EVACUATION PLANS DEFICIENT
(Pottstown Mercury, August 3, 1983) GAO (General Accounting Office – Investigative Arm of Congress) SAYS NUCLEAR EVACUATION PLANS ARE DEFICIENT.
GAO Official Ralph Carlone said,
• “The Federal Emergency Management Agency” has not established minimum standards that (TEST) exercises must meet and has approved exercises that did not provide ample opportunity to demonstrate response capabilities.”
• “Plans for training federal, state, and local government officials have not been implemented.”
• “FEMA does not always require that all plan elements are tested, or verify that they are complying with federal criteria.”
• There is no evidence that deficiencies from earlier exercises have been corrected.
• “Local communities that want to prevent or delay the start-up of a reactor, could use their refusal to participate in the emergency planning process to achieve their objectives.”

In 2011 – PEMA deputy press secretary told The Mercury, while the evacuation plan for Limerick was last updated in 2008, “There have been no serious changes to evacuation routes since they were first devised.”

The Mercury (http://www.pottsmerc.com) Wednesday, July 18,2012
GAO examines Limerick nuke plant’s evacuation plan
By Evan Brandt ebrandt@pottsmerc.com © 2012 The Mercury (http://www.pottsmerc.com)
• Limerick Nuclear Plant is 1 of 4 being profiled by the GAO for examination of disaster evacuation plans.
• U.S. Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., asked for a GAO investigation in 2011, of “whether evacuation planning has kept pace with population growth and increased power levels around nuclear plants.” “I called on the GAO to conduct this study because Pennsylvanians living near nuclear plants have a right to know that safety procedures and evacuation planning are in place in case of emergency.”
• Casey’s request was prompted by an Associated Press investigative series on aging nuclear reactors. The series reported that population within 10 miles of U.S. plants has risen an average of 62 percent over the past 30 years.
• Associated Press data shows, the population in a 10-mile radius around the Limerick nuclear plant has increased by 45 percent since 1990 — from 178,047 to 257,625. – An increase of nearly 80,000 people.
• In a 50-mile radius — the region evacuated during the Fukushima disaster in Japan — the population around Limerick has increased by more than 855,000 since 1990.
• Exelon officials insist the increases in population are taken into account in the emergency evacuation plans. However, in 2011, PEMA’s deputy press secretary told The Mercury:
 While the evacuation plan for Limerick was last updated in 2008, “there have been no serious changes to evacuation routes since they were first devised.”
• GAO staff met with Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and local emergency responders and plant personnel.
• Exelon’s PR person wrote: “Limerick’s responsive and scalable emergency plan is frequently tested to ensure that it can protect the health and safety of the public. Limerick’s emergency plan incorporates technological advances and lessons learned from recent events.”
• GAO will issue a report “early next year” based on three primary areas of inquiry.

In 2012 – NRC Pared Down Emergency and Evacuation Planning – NRC’s New Rules Make No Sense. Despite Devastating Lessons After Chernobyl and Fukushima:
1. NRC Requires FEWER Exercises for Major Radiation Accidents
2. NRC Recommends FEWER People Evacuate Right Away
3. NRC Allows Emergency Drills To Be Run Without Practicing for Radiation Releases
Many responders view NRC’s new rules as downright bizarre.

In 2012 – 2013 – GAO is currently examining Limerick Nuclear Plant’s evacuation plans, but is avoiding critical questions regarding radiation exposure, the major threat to millions associated with a Limerick Nuclear Plant meltdown.
GAO’s three primary areas of inquiry include:
1. “What are the roles and responsibilities of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and state and local entities in evacuation planning for U.S. nuclear power plants?”
2. “How do NRC and FEMA perform their evacuation planning roles and responsibilities?
3. “How do NRC and FEMA help communicate evacuation plans and the risks associated with a potential nuclear power plant accident to the public?”
 GAO’s New Report Doesn’t Appear To Address NRC’s Pared Down Planning, Eliminating Practicing For Radiation Releases or NO REQUIREMENT for IMMEDIATE Notification To Reduce Harmful Short and Long Health Consequences From Radiation Releases in A Limerick Accident / Meltdown.

Multiple Meltdowns Can Happen At Limerick Nuclear Power Plant.

1.It Only Takes Loss of Power and Cooling Water – This Can Be Triggered by Earthquakes, Other Natural Disasters, Fires, Terrorist Attacks, Human Error, or Mechanical Breakdown of Aging Equipment.

2.NRC Is Not Requiring Important Seismic Upgrades At Limerick Until After March 2017, 5 Years After Fukushima. By Then We Could Face Meltdowns. Limerick Is Now Ranked 3rd On The Nation’s Earthquake Risk List, With An Earthquake Fault Right Under The Site And Four Others Within 17 Miles. Earthquake Threats Are Increasing In PA, Including As A Result Of Thousands of Wells Drilled For Natural Gas Fracking In PA.

3.Limerick’s Reactors Are Similar to Nuclear Reactors That Exploded at Fukushima, Yet NRC Is Disregarding and Delaying Its Own Staff’s Most Important Safety Recommendations After Fukushima, Increasing Threats For Radiation Accidents / Meltdowns At Limerick.

4.Limerick Has Design Flaws That Can’t Be Corrected. Cement in Limerick’s Reactor Containment and Fuel Pools Is Substandard.

5.NRC Is Weakening Many Safeguards and Oversight For Limerick’s Aging Problems. Limerick’s Safety Evaluation Reports Verify Corrosion At Far Greater Rates Than Estimated, Plus Cracking, Pitting, Fatigue, Fouling, Thinning Through Loss of Material, Embrittlement, and Leaching of Steel and Other Metals Making Up Bolts, Piping, Welds, Ducts, Liners, Cladding, External Surfaces, and Walls. It’s Only A Matter of Time.

6.Even Though There Is Potential For Devastation Across Hundreds of Miles From A Limerick Radiation Accident/Meltdown, Limerick’s Emergency Plans Are Negligent, Reckless, and Fatally Flawed, Increasing Long-Term Devastating Health and Financial Risks For Millions.

Limerick Meltdowns Could Result In Catastrophic Consequences
For Millions In The Greater Philadelphia Region.
We Could Lose Our Homes, Possessions, Livelihoods, and Health.

1980 ACCIDENT ESTIMATES FOR LIMERICK NUCLEAR PLANT
74,000 Early Fatalities
610,000 Early Injuries (most any U.S. reactor)
34,000 Cancer Deaths
Population Increased Over 100% Since 1980
Numbers Above Would Be Drastically Higher Toady

Philadelphia Is Just 21 Miles Downwind, Downstream.

 In 1980, NRC expected that people within 30 miles would be harmed. In 1983, all municipalities within 20 miles of Limerick were asked to send information to the county for emergency planning. Yet, we ended up with only a 10 mile evacuation zone.

After Fukushima Meltdowns, NRC Told U.S. Citizens Within 50 Miles To Evacuate.
Over 8 Million People Live Within 50 Miles Of Limerick Nuclear Plant

1974 MELTDOWN CONSEQUENCES – From NRC’s Rasmussen Report
45,000 Radiation Sickness Cses (Requiring Hospitalization)
3,300 Deaths (From Acute Radiation Sickness)
45,000 Fatal Cancers (over 50 years)
250,000 Non-Fatal Cancers (over 50 years)
190 Defective Children Born PER YEAR
$14 BILLION Property Damage – NOT Insurable

Limerick’s Evacuation Plans Cannot and Will Not Minimize Radiation Sickness, Cancer, and Other Health Harms For Millions Of People.

POPULATION DENSITY AROUND LIMERICK MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO EVACUATE SAFELY.

CONTACT ALL OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TODAY:
TELLTHEM TO SPEAK UP TO GET LIMERICK SHUT DOWN BEFORE IT MELTS DOWN.