Taxpayers Unfairly Burdened | The Alliance for a Clean Environment

“Bomb Trains” Should Not Travel Through The Limerick Site – Detailed Information

Posted on November 6, 2015 by The Alliance for a Clean Environment

BE AWARE!

MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THE GREATER PHILADELPHIA REGION FACE CATASTROPHIC THREATS TO LIFE, PROPERTY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

OUR REGION COULD BECOME A TOXIC WASTELAND FOR GENERATIONS.

100-CAR CRUDE OIL “BOMB TRAINS” TRAVEL 1/8 OF A MILE FROM LIMERICK NUCLEAR PLANT’S REACTORS AND FUEL POOLS

“BOMB TRAIN” DERAILMENT, EXPLOSIONS, AND EXTENDED FIRES COULD TRIGGER DEVASTATING LIMERICK NUCLEAR MELTDOWNS, CAUSING MILLIONS OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA REGION’S RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES TO LOSE EVERYTHING.

Recent reports of crude oil derailment disasters show “bomb trains” keep exploding and turning into huge fireballs that burn for days, requiring miles-wide evacuations and resulting in devastating losses.
These unstoppable fires result in days-long thick black toxic smoke that are difficult, if not impossible to extinguish.
Crude oil trains travel frequently though Pottstown. Officials expressed serious concerns. (8-18-15 AP).

MILLIONS OF VICTIMS WOULD FACE UNPRECEDENTED CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF LIMERICK NUCLEAR MELTDOWNS PLUS A CRUDE OIL DISASTER. VICTIMS WOULD NOT BE COMPENSATED FOR THEIR DEVASTATING LOSSES.

Millions of people would lose their homes, businesses, and health.
Drinking water for almost two million people (Pottstown to Philadelphia) would become radioactive/toxic.
Long-term ecological damage would leave ghost towns that can’t be cleaned up safely.

WHO WOULD PAY TO DEAL WITH IRREVERSIBLE DEVASTATION FROM CRUDE OIL EXPLOSIONS/FIRE AND LIMERICK MELTDOWNS? BOTTOM LINE: NO ONE!

NOT insurance companies that refuse to cover radiological accidents
NOT Exelon, with its government guaranteed limited liability protection
NOT the railroad industry, already fighting for exemption from strict liability for derailment damages
NOT Pennsylvania, already burdened with an enormous deficit
NOT the federal government, already trillions of dollars in debt and totally dysfunctional

TO AVOID CATASTROPHIC DISASTER COMMUNITY LEADERS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS MUST GET THE CRUDE-OIL “BOMB TRAIN” ROUTE MOVED NOW

EVERY CITIZEN MUST SPEAK UP TO COMMUNITY LEADERS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS, TO DEMAND THAT THE CRUDE-OIL “BOMB TRAIN” ROUTE BE MOVED NO CLOSER THAN SEVERAL MILES OUTSIDE THE NUCLEAR PLANT BORDER.

PLEASE REVIEW ATTACHED DETAILED INFORMATION

Compiled By The Alliance For A Clean Environment (ACE) November, 2015

aceactivists@comcast.net acereport.org (610) 326-2387

CRUDE-OIL BOMB TRAINS SHOULD NOT TRAVEL WITHIN 1/8 OF A MILE FROM LIMERICK NUCLEAR REACTORS/FUEL POOLS OR ANYWHERE ON THE SITE. IT’S FAR TOO RISKY!

LIMERICK, A TICKING TIME BOMB + A BOMB TRAIN DERAILMENT =

CATASTROPHIC DISASTER!!!

Millions of people in the Greater Philadelphia Region face devastating risk from frequent railroad transport of millions of gallons of explosive, flammable, hazardous crude oil, only 1/8 of a mile from Limerick’s reactors and fuel pools.

Each shipment of explosive, flammable, hazardous crude oil traveling near Limerick’s reactors and fuel pools is estimated to contain:

30,000 gallons in each rail car. 100 or more rail cars can contain over 3 million gallons.
Heat from the rupture and ignition of just one 30,000-gallon car can set off a chain reaction, causing other cars to explode, releasing a days-long fireball that is difficult, if not impossible to extinguish. Basically, responders must let it burn out.

Train derailment disasters should be anticipated. ProPublica data (2011-2014) reveals that incidents have occurred in over 250 municipalities. Whole towns have already had to evacuate from crude-oil trains and fires. No one should assume or suggest there will not be a crude-oil train derailment, explosion, and fire on or near the Limerick Nuclear property.

The worst of eight major crude oil train accidents and risks include:

A train derailment and explosion killed 47 and destroyed 30 buildings in Quebec.
2,300 residents were evacuated in North Dakota. The fireball was observed several states away.
Serious crude-oil train derailments and fires are occurring with more frequency. Many have occurred just since the beginning of 2015.
A fuel-oil train already derailed a few miles from Philadelphia. Sixty-five tank cars bound for Philadelphia had loose, leaking, or missing safety components to prevent flammable, hazardous contents from escaping (Hazmat report – last two years).

Safer trains aren’t the answer. A new train with a safer-design derailed in February 2015 in West Virginia, despite adhering to the speed limit.

Hundreds of families had to flee their homes in frigid weather
Burning continued for days
Drinking water and electricity were lost
Leaking crude oil poisoned the water supply
Fireballs erupted from crumbled tank cars, underscoring volatility of crude oil’s propane, and butane
Toxic water and dirt are difficult and very costly to attempt to clean up

Hoping it doesn’t happen doesn’t eliminate catastrophic risk! Denial allows risks to continue and increase.

Richard Lengel, Pottstown’s Fire Chief, said in the Mercury 2-23-15, “If something catastrophic happens, there’s no municipality along the railroad that can handle it, the volume [crude oil] is too great. We just have to hope that nothing happens, honestly.”
The Pottstown Mercury 3-1-15 editorial got it right concluding, “Clearly, hope is not enough to maintain safety…”
No matter what claims the oil, rail, or nuclear industries make, there is no emergency plan that could effectively deal with a disaster of this magnitude within 1/8 of a mile of Limerick’s fuel pools.

Fire fighters and emergency responders shouldn’t be expected to be on the front lines of such devastating uncontrollable disasters.

Emergency responders are smart to be concerned.
Authorities say most fire and emergency departments are only capable of responding to a 9,000 gallon tanker truck incident, but DOT-111 crude oil cars hold 30,000 gallons, exceeding the response capacity.

Catastrophic disasters from crude oil explosions/fires near Limerick Nuclear Plant can and must be prevented with foresight and political will to face this unnecessary risk and take action.

WHY CRUDE OIL BOMB TRAIN EXPLOSIONS AND FIRES ON OR NEAR THE LIMERICK NUCLEAR PLANT SITE CAN TRIGGER MELTDOWNS:

LIMERICK NUCLEAR PLANT IS ALREADY VULNERABLE TO CATASTROPHIC MULTIPLE MELTDOWNS. LIMERICK HAS REACTOR SHUTDOWN PROBLEMS.

Limerick has a history of chronic shutdown problems. Publically available official reports show that Limerick’s reactors may not be able to be shut down safely in an emergency.

An explosion and days-long fire from a crude oil “bomb train” derailment could require immediate Limerick reactor shutdowns to avoid meltdowns. This may not be possible.

LIMERICK ISSUES RELATED TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF A BOMB TRAIN EXPLOSION FOLLOWED BY A DAYS-LONG FIREBALL PRODUCING THICK BLACK SMOKE:

Entire towns have been forced to evacuate after a bomb train disaster. Limerick workers, including guards, so close to the disaster should certainly be evacuated for their own health and safety. Yet, evacuation of Limerick workers could increase meltdown risks in Limerick’s 2 reactors and 2 fuel pools.

Limerick workers might be unable to access all necessary emergency equipment vital to preventing meltdowns, due to a crude oil explosion, massive heat, and extended days of thick black smoke.

Limerick’s control room would likely be impacted from days of thick black smoke. Even Occidental Chemical’s vinyl chloride powder accidents (.7 of a mile from Limerick Nuclear Plant) caused Limerick’s operators to “button up” Limerick’s control room. What would happen in days of thick black soot from a huge crude oil fire?

Extreme heat and soot could disturb the natural air flow needed for casks holding high-level radioactive wastes. Blocked cask vents could go undetected in thick black smoke leading to overheating of the stored high-level radioactive wastes.

LIMERICK’S DANGEROUSLY RELAXED FIRE SAFETY REGULATIONS

NRC weakened Limerick’s fire safety regulations, and still fails to enforce the weakened regulations.

Limerick does not use the safest fire barrier systems in all areas, to protect cables important to safe shutdown. Even Limerick’s recent 4-5-15 fire in a reactor panel shows that Limerick is extremely vulnerable to fire that could lead to meltdowns.

Reduced fire safety at Limerick has new meaning in relation to days-long crude oil fires because Limerick’s fire barriers are only required to protect cables for 1 hour.

Without the safest fire barriers, fire detection and suppression systems, and spatial separations, Limerick plant stability is compromised. Fires can erupt in many ways at a nuclear plant. Fires from crude oil bomb trains add significantly to Limerick’s risk of meltdowns due to fire.

Reactors and fuel pools need a constant supply of water to prevent meltdowns. A crude oil fire could disable Limerick’s cooling water delivery system, resulting in simultaneous meltdowns in Limerick’s 2 reactors and 2 fuel pools.

Exelon’s liability limit encourages cutting corners to save money.

A CRUDE OIL DISASTER ON THE LIMERICK SITE INCREASES OPPORTUNITIES FOR TERRORISM.

Evacuation of security guards could increase risk of a terrorist attack.

Terrorists could trigger a bomb train derailment, initiating crude oil explosions and fires at any point along the lengthy rail track route on the nuclear plant site.

A “BOMB TRAIN” DISASTER AT LIMERICK NUCLEAR PLANT MUST BE AVOIDED!

SAFE EVACUATION IS IMPOSSIBLE:

A CRUDE OIL TRAIN DISASTER TRIGGERING LIMERICK MELTDOWNS MUST BE PREVENTED

LIMERICK NUCLEAR PLANT’S EVACUATION PLAN IS UNREALISTIC, UNWORKABLE, AND DEFINITELY NOT “ROBUST”.

ACE’s evaluation of Exelon’s fatally flawed 2012 “Evacuation Time Estimate (ETE) For Limerick’s Plume Exposure Pathway” is useless as a planning tool for safe evacuation

Exelon’s ETE is self-serving fiction riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, fact-free spin, unsubstantiated suppositions and assumptions, illogical conclusions.

Exelon’s ETE is not realistic and must be rejected.

To understand why Limerick Nuclear Plant’s emergency and evacuation plans are fatally flawed and inadequate, we urge you to review the 8-part ACE video-blog series on Emergency and Evacuation Plans for Limerick at www.acereport.org. It serves as a wake-up call to millions in the Greater Philadelphia Region about Limerick Nuclear Plant’s negligent emergency and evacuation planning:

ACE Analysis of Exelon’s Evacuation Time Estimate For Limerick’s Plume Exposure Pathway(Video / Blog Part 7)

This analysis reveals self-serving, unrealistic, unworkable fiction, with suppositions, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies, featuring fact-free spin with illogical conclusions.

Historic Fatal Flaws In Limerick’s Emergency – Evacuation Plans (Video / Blog – Part 6)

In 2012, NRC Pared Down Emergency and Evacuation Plans, Even After Fukushima (Video / Blog – Part 1)

Calls For Immediate Notification And Expanded Evacuation and Ingestion Pathway Zones (Video /Blog – Part 2)

The Truth and Consequences of Radiation Exposure From Nuclear Plant Accidents / Meltdowns (Video / Blog – Part 3)

What Really Happened After Fukushima, Chernobyl, and TMI Meltdowns (Video / Blog – Part 4)

Financial Injustice To The Public From A Radiation Accident / Meltdown (Video / Blog -Part 5)

Until Limerick Closes, Changes That Must Be Made To Limerick’s Evacuation Plan, To Minimize Radiation Exposure Risks After A Limerick Radiation Accident and/or Meltdowns (Video / Blog – Part 8)

In 1980 NRC publicly admitted that safe evacuation from Limerick was impossible. NRC testified at Limerick’s 1980 public hearing that Limerick had double the population density for a safe evacuation. NRC admitted that people within 30 miles would be harmed. Things are far worse now, since the population around Limerick has increased dramatically in the past 35 years.

Thomas Sullivan, Montgomery County Director of Public Safety, testified at a public hearing for Limerick Nuclear Plant relicensing in 2011 that many local, county, and state roads used for evacuation that feed the local highways were no longer suitable for the amount of traffic that Limerick’s EPZ evacuation could produce. Traffic conditions have worsened, yet in 2015 Thomas Sullivan, claimed, “Because of the Limerick generating plant, we have robust plans…” (Mercury 2-23-15), dismissing potential dangers associated with the transport of crude oil. The serious problems and flaws with Limerick’s Emergency and Evacuation plans have been ignored by Mr. Sullivan and others.

WILLFUL BLINDNESS IS JEOPARDIZING OUR FUTURE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE ADDED RISK FROM A BOMB TRAIN DISASTER

Limerick Steps On The Gas, Driving Recklessly Toward The Cliff

Posted on February 6, 2015 by The Alliance for a Clean Environment

Limerick Steps On The Gas, Driving Recklessly Toward The Cliff

The Mercury (http://www.pottsmerc.com)Top of Form

Limerick Plant Heading Over Catastrophic Nuclear Cliff

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Instead of relicensing Limerick Nuclear Plant, the NRC should have revoked its licenses to slow Limerick’s speed as it drives toward a potentially catastrophic nuclear cliff. But from the start, NRC bent its own rules and regulations so it could license Limerick, enabling PECO/Exelon to profit from Limerick’s nuclear energy at the public’s expense.

Limerick’s relicensing has been one of the most heavily contested in the nation. Limerick’s history has included a judicial ruling in favor of public safety concerns, local and national petitions, and individual objections leveled against Limerick, but all have fallen on NRC’s deaf ears. Although NRC claims it “considers” public concerns, in reality NRC just tosses aside evidence of deficiencies and threats to public safety and the environment.

NRC and Exelon don’t really have an incentive to stop Limerick from threatening the public because even if Limerick melts down, the Price Anderson Act caps Exelon’s liability to a miniscule fraction of the estimated trillion dollar cost for a Limerick catastrophe. Taxpayers will end up paying the lion’s share of the costs if Limerick melts down.

Taxpayers will also end up paying for storing Limerick’s massive amount of high-level radioactive waste, unfairly burdening future generations of taxpayers forever. Closing Limerick would end the production of this deadly waste.

Reports show that Limerick’s equipment is aging faster than hypothetical models calculated. Yet, NRC allows Limerick to continue speeding toward potential catastrophe, bending and eliminating inconvenient regulations that the public believes are the “rules of the road”. For instance:

∙ Despite Limerick’s already accelerated reactor aging, NRC irresponsibly approved a Limerick “power uprate”, the packing of its reactors with extra fuel rods, which means the reactors run hotter and as a result, degrade faster. This accelerates Limerick’s speed toward the nuclear cliff.

· The first of Limerick’s reactor components arrived on-site starting in 1972. They were defective upon delivery: earlier that year the same reactor design had caused a nuclear accident at another nuclear plant, exposing the design defect.

· Many of Limerick’s deteriorating systems, structures and components will be half-a-century old by the time its original licenses expire in 2024 and 2029. Limerick could go over the nuclear cliff before then.

When an NRC safety inspection report revealed accelerated corrosion in Limerick’s suppression pools, NRC staff recommended immediate recoating, but Exelon preferred not to. So in deference to Exelon, NRC irresponsibly allowed a delay of 10 years for recoating. This saved Exelon money in the short-term, but increased public safety risks.

NRC’s initial post-Fukushima recommendation to install vents with filters on both of Limerick’s defective reactors was meant to minimize public radiation exposure in a Limerick accident or meltdown. Filtered vents should have been imperative for Limerick from the start. NRC eliminated the requirement for filters from its recommendations to save Exelon money, even though vents without filters become a fire hose of radiation into the sky during a meltdown, exposing the public to massively increased radiation doses. Over eight million people live within 50 miles of Limerick, the second most densely populated evacuation zone in the nation. There have never been workable evacuation plans.

NRC even allowed Exelon to remove a critical safety test of its aging equipment from Limerick’s license renewal application, in spite of the fact that NRC told Exelon how dangerous it would be. Amazingly NRC relicensed Limerick untested.

It is worrisome that Exelon and its nuclear industry lobbyists control the NRC. The NRC should be in control of Exelon, not the other way around. However, it’s not too late for NRC to close Limerick, fulfilling its stated mission “to protect people and the environment.”

NRC could and should revoke Limerick’s licenses now, before Limerick runs off the nuclear cliff, taking the greater Philadelphia Region and beyond with it.

Betty and Charlie Shank

Pottstown

Terrorist Threats At Limerick Pose Catastrophic Risks

Posted on October 25, 2014 by The Alliance for a Clean Environment

Terrorist Threats At Limerick Pose Catastrophic Risks

ACE wants a safer future for you and your family.

A 2013 Defense Department analysis said NO U.S. nuclear plant is protected against terrorist attacks, and all pose catastrophic risks.

We can avoid a Limerick Nuclear Plant catastrophe if our elected officials and government agencies stop dodging the harsh reality of risk and take action.

To insure a safer future we must transition to safer energy immediately, and close Limerick now before a terrorist attack triggers a meltdown which can be caused by loss of power and/or water.

Millions of people would suffer irreparable health harms from Limerick’s radioactive plume contaminating everything.

We would be financially ruined and permanently displaced. It’s insanity to allow that kind of unnecessary risk to continue.

After 9/11, ACE started investigating Limerick’s vulnerabilities to terrorism, plus security and evacuation problems. For details: www.acereport.org #13 “Terrorists Threats: Precaution Is Inadequate” and Video Blog Series 1-8. The reality is alarming. It’s not fear-mongering to report it in hope of prevention.

On July 30, 2014, the Mercury printed Evan Brandt’s article, “NRC Mum about Security Problem at Limerick Nuclear Plant”. It’s unacceptable for NRC to withhold information about risks from those who would be most impacted by the consequences.

For a year following 9/11, taxpayers paid for Limerick’s air defense. Since then, NRC refused to require Exelon to pay for that, despite extraordinary risks from terrorists’ planes or missiles.. If a plane or missile crashed into a fuel pool, it could result in loss of water, meltdown, and fire.

One expert reported that a fuel pool fire could cause fatal radiation-induced cancer in thousands of people as far as 500 miles from the site. “Spent fuel” rods (among the deadliest materials on earth) are jam packed in Limerick’s extremely vulnerable fuel pools, constructed with substandard cement and without extra containment walls. Like Fukushima’s, they’re directly above Limerick’s reactors.
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On September 24, 2014, a PBS documentary, “Cyber Security, Rise of the Hackers”, revealed the reality of high-stakes cyber attacks. For example: the Stuxnet virus targeted an Iranian nuclear plant in 2010, destroying over 1,000 centrifuges before detection. Stuxnet, capable of spreading, could be a blueprint for cyber attacks on U.S. nuclear plants. Even a cyber attack on the grid could lead to extended loss of power and water, triggering meltdowns at Limerick.

Limerick security and NRC oversight are so lax that an Al-Qaida suspect worked undetected for 5 years (2002-2007) during Limerick re-fueling.

Inexplicably, in 2012, even after lessons from Fukushima, NRC pared down emergency evacuation planning for radiation exposure after meltdowns.

Nearly 8 million people live within 50 miles of Limerick, the evacuation zone that NRC recommended after Fukushima. Millions of people, in all directions, would suffer health harms, financial ruin, and permanent displacement, while Exelon would be liable for only a tiny fraction of the estimated one trillion dollar cost.

We can’t evacuate safely! No workable evacuation plan exists. Escape routes would be completely gridlocked.

The Montgomery County Planning Commission and the Department of Safety both warned NRC about inadequate infrastructure to support safe evacuation. Where would everyone go, with Philadelphia just over 20 miles downwind and downstream from Limerick?

The price of ignoring the public’s health and financial risks are incalculable, yet almost all our elected and agency officials have displayed callous disregard for the extraordinary terrorist threats we face related to Limerick Nuclear Plant and our future.

We can’t afford to elect more politicians like Tom Quigley, who took contributions from Exelon and publicly supported Limerick relicensing until 2049, despite ACE repeatedly informing him of irrefutable catastrophic risks, including terrorism.

Before voting 11-4-14, ask each candidate if they will help close Limerick now to protect your family.

We also encourage you to review just released 2013-2014 environmental voting records of PA state senators and representatives at www.conservationpa.org.

ACE Video Blog 5 on Financial Injustice $$ & Limerick Nuclear Plant

Posted on February 6, 2013 by The Alliance for a Clean Environment

Video / Blog
Part 5

Financial Injustice To The Public
Related To A Nuclear Plant Radiation Accident / Meltdown

Taxpayers Unfairly Saddled With Staggering Financial Burden by Congressional Act

• The Price Anderson Act Guarantees The Nuclear Industry That It Won’t Have To Pay More Than $12 Billion for a U.S. Nuclear Plant Accident / Meltdown.
 NRC documents suggest that Exelon is only required to set aside $375 MILLION in preparation for a meltdown.
 As of 2012, Exelon has only set aside $223.8 MILLION of the $375 MILLION.

• NRC and Independent Experts Agree That A Nuclear Plant Meltdown Would Cost At Least $1 Trillion.

The Evacuation Zone Becomes A Key Factor In Which Victims Even Have An Opportunity To Apply For Temporary Housing, Reimbursement Costs For Lost Property and Possessions, or Relocation Costs.
 Evacuation costs are calculated on the number of people living in the evacuation area.
 Cost is an obvious reason NRC is refusing to require Exelon to expand Limerick Nuclear Plant’s evacuation zone, even after Fukushima proved expanded evacuation and ingestion pathway zones are needed to protect public health and safety.

• Taxpayers Are Unfairly Burdened With The Lion’s Share (Almost $900 Billion) Of The $1 Trillion Cost.

With a shrinking federal budget and high national debt, it is doubtful that hundreds of billions of dollars would be provided for compensation claims from nuclear refugees.
 Note the difficulty of getting $60 billion from Congress for victims of Hurricane Sandy.
 Some in the Gulf still haven’t been fully compensated for loss of property and businesses for the BP oil spill.
These disasters were highly visible and still victims are not being fully compensated.

With a nuclear meltdown, radiation is invisible.
 Radiation from a meltdown would cause unprecedented long-term harmful health impacts and decades of environment devastation.
 Just as in Japan, nuclear refugees would be lose everything.
 Survivors would have a difficult time even getting temporary housing, let alone compensation for relocation and long-term medical care.

Other Costs and Consequences to the Public

Once a large amount of radiation enters an ecosystem, it quickly becomes widespread, contaminating water, soil, plants and animals making a large area around the nuclear plant an uninhabitable dead zone for generations. Nuclear refugees can lose everything they own. Homes inside the exclusion zone would be uninhabitable but owners may be forced to continue to make mortgage payments. Those outside the declared evacuation zone where radiation levels are still dangerously high, would not even get modest compensation to cover costs of living as evacuees. Only the wealthy could afford to escape radiation exposure.

No Agency Wants Responsibility for Attempting Clean Up After a Nuclear Disaster. Agencies Ignore or Miss the Fact That Nuclear “Accidents” NEVER End.
• No agency admits the obvious – that a nuclear plant radiation accident / meltdown is likely to be impossible to clean up.
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) struggle to determine which agency, and with what money and legal authority, would oversee cleanup in the event of a large-scale accident at a nuclear power plant that disperses radiation over vast areas impacted by meltdowns.
• NRC informed the other agencies that it does not plan to take the lead in overseeing such a cleanup and that money in an industry-funded insurance account for nuclear accidents would likely not be available – According to documents obtained by Inside EPA under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). (Request Part 1, Request Part 2)
• Refusal to even address the issues – Questions regarding whether or how EPA or others would attempt a clean-up after a nuclear power plant incident were “based on hypothetical situations / scenarios” and that EPA could not “give an assessment on something that [was] hypothetical.”
Source: “Agencies Struggle To Craft Offsite Cleanup Plan For Nuclear Power Accidents” November 10, 2010 http://insideepa.com/Inside-EPA-General/Inside-EPA-Public-Content/agencies-struggle-to-craft-offsite-cleanup-plan-for-nuclear-power-accidents/menu-id-565.html (Published 09/11/11)

Evacuees Escaping Radiation Become Nuclear Refugees.
• A Radioactive Accident / Meltdown creates a dead zone, where homes and properties are uninhabitable for generations.
• People whose homes and businesses are in the “Dead Zone” lose their homes, businesses, and possessions.
• Evidence shows that “Dead Zones” go far beyond 10-miles, Limerick’s current evacuation zone.
• People outside the 10-Mile evacuation zone who suffer the same damages inside the designated evacuation zone would get NO compensation.
• Tragically, many people could NOT move because they could NOT afford to rent or buy another home.
• Homeowners insurance is NOT available to residents and small business owners to cover sustained losses from a Limerick Nuclear Plant radiological accident.
• Currently, even in the 10-Mile Evacuation Zone, there seems to be NO specific plan for temporary housing for the hundreds of thousands of people for as long as needed, much less full reimbursement for displacement.

FINANCIAL QUESTIONS THAT MUST BE ANSWERED BEFORE A LIMERICK NUCLEAR PLANT RADIOACTIVE ACCIDENT / MELTDOWN:
• Which agency is in charge of providing funding for temporary housing for the hundreds of thousands of evacuated residents within the 10-mile evacuation zone?
 Which federal agency would be responsible to oversee claims? NRC, EPA, or FEMA?
 Is there reimbursement compensation guaranteed to victims from the evacuation / dead zone?
 What proof would home and business owners need to produce to validate the legitimacy of claims for loss of radioactive property and possessions?
 The gulf disaster shows why Exelon, Limerick’s owner, can’t be left to control the process.

• Victims of a nuclear disaster should anticipate lengthy delays in receiving compensation, compared to victims of Hurricane Sandy, where even when a clear plan was established prior to the disaster, and people were forced to wait months for reimbursement.

• Inside the Limerick Nuclear Plant 10-Mile Evacuation Zone, hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars would be needed to compensate victims for losses due to radioactive contamination of:
 Homes – Personal property – Furniture – Vehicles
 Private insurers do not cover radioactive contaminated property or possessions due to a Limerick Nuclear Plant radiation accident / meltdown.
 Will home owners and business owners be obligated to continue to pay mortgages for radioactive properties that can’t be safely occupied? Homeowners are obligated to continue paying mortgages on radiation uninhabitable properties in Japan.

• Anyone with a job once held in the evacuation zone would lose their livelihood.
 How would they pay for new living expenses following a meltdown?
 In this highly populated Philadelphia Region, especially during a recession, how would the millions of evacuated victims find new jobs?

• How could business owners from evacuation zones be fully compensated for:
 Loss of Income from Operations?
 Loss of A Building or Plant For Safe Operations?
 Loss of Business Equipment and Vehicles?
 Farmland?

• Who would pay the astronomical medical expenses for hundreds of thousands or even millions of people who may need:
 Treatment For Radiation Sickness?
 Long -Term Medical Treatment for the broad range of human health impacts, in addition to cancer, resulting from radiation exposure after a meltdown, such as those suffered after Chernobyl?

• Who would pay for:
 Final expenses and burial costs?

• Local governments, police and fire departments whose facilities are also radioactive will need to move their operations
 Will Exelon or taxpayers bear the costs?

• Who will pay to evacuate hospitals that are in the evacuation zone like Pottstown and Phoenixville?
 Who pays for emergency responders and the radiation-protective gear that would be needed for such a massive rescue effort?

• Would the industrial rail line which runs directly through the Limerick Nuclear Plant site have to be closed down?
 How would that impact other businesses?
Fukushima’s Financial Meltdown
Costs and Consequences of Fukushima Provide Evidence of What Could Happen Here

The precise value of the abandoned cities, towns, agricultural lands, businesses, homes and property located within the roughly 310 square miles of the exclusion (“dead”) zone has not even been established. Independent experts say industry estimates of economic loss are grossly underestimated, to date, ranging from $250-$500 billion U.S.

September 2012, Fukushima officials stated that 159,128 people had been evicted from the exclusion (“dead”) zones, losing their homes and virtually all their possessions. (That was a sparsely populated area compared to our Philadelphia Region.)
• Most have received only a small compensation to cover their costs of living as evacuees.
• Many are forced to make mortgage payments on the homes they left inside the exclusion zones.
• In the beginning, they were not told that their homes will never again be habitable.
• TEPCO, Fukushima’s owner, refuses to take responsibility to compensate people for the radioactive fallout destroying their homes, businesses, food, and water.
• The company actually claimed in court that radiation is no longer their responsibility once it spreads off-site.
• People outside the zone were not told to evacuate, even though radiation levels were extremely dangerous. Outside Japan’s official evacuation zone, people got NO compensation even for costs of living as evacuees.
• Only the wealthy could afford to evacuate and leave everything behind.

Efforts to clean up highly contaminated areas are failing.
• Melting snow and rainwater run off the contaminated hills and return to recontaminate homes and land.
• Diversion ditches have failed to stop the process.
• Areas significantly contaminated with radioactive cesium and other long-lived radionuclides can no longer sell and export agricultural crops.

News Articles Listed Below Show Government and TEPCO Exhibited Absolute Disregard For Victims.

Japanese Officials Exposed Their Own People To Dangerous Radiation And Financial Threats, Rather Than Expose TEPCO, Fukushima’s Owner, to Financial Risk.

• Over 13,000 File Second Criminal Complaint Against TEPCO. Reported 11-16-12
 TEPCO, owner of Fukushima reactors, faces prosecution for withholding crucial information that may have prevented some radiation exposures and for operating after being warned about the inadequacy of its protections against disasters.
 The criminal complaint was filed against Japanese government officials, 33 TEPCO executives, and experts for their role in the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
 TEPCO executives are accused of inadequate safety measures.
 People are demanding answers for the evacuation procedures and accountability for deaths due to the nuclear disaster.
 The complaint outlines professional negligence resulting in deaths and injuries and violation of Japan’s environmental laws.

• Fukushima Nuclear Plant Owner Added Insult to Injury – Claiming Radioactive Fallout Isn’t Theirs (Reported January 16, 2012)
 A Golf Club Demanding Decontamination of the Golf Course Hauled TEPCO into Tokyo District Court, Reported October 31, 2011
 TEPCO lawyers claimed the company isn’t liable because it no longer “owned” the radioactive poisons that were spewed from its destroyed reactors.
 TEPCO attorneys assert radiation from the meltdowns is now the property of each property owner.
• The Entire Fukushima City (50 Kilometers From Meltdowns) Needs To Be Decontaminated All Fukushima City Residents Outside the Evacuation Zone Are Expected To Decontaminate Their Own Radioactive Homes and Property Using Government Distributed Manuals.
 Why? To avoid clean-up costs for TEPCO, Fukushima’s owner
 These Japanese residents should have been evacuated. Instead they are being victimized to save money for the nuclear plant owner.

• The Japan Times Reported “Economic Meltdowns Begin” (6-14-11)

• Fallout from Fukushima Continues to Blight Japan’s Agricultural Heartlands, Authorities Revealed
(Reported 6-17-11)

• Tokyo Soil Samples From Public Parks, Playgrounds, and Rooftop Gardens (140 miles from Fukushima Meltdowns) Would Be Considered Nuclear Waste In The U.S. (Reported 4/30/12) http://www.fairewinds.com/content/tokyo-soil-samples-would-be-considered-nuclear-waste-us
• Farmers Lost Their Livelihoods – Crops Were Radioactive and Couldn’t Be Sold
Dairy Farmer Commits Suicide (Reported – June 13, 2011)
 He lost everything, thanks to the nuke plant. He already killed his cows and gave up on dairy farming.
He left a note, which said “If only there was no nuke plant…”
 There would be no compensation [from the government]. He was not in the evacuation zone.

• Over 2,500 Fukushima Farmers and Fisherman Suffered Heavy Losses Due to Fukushima Meltdowns
Fukushima Farmers and Fisherman Protested Over the Nuclear Crisis. They called for prompt compensation from TEPCO and Japan government. (Reported 8-13-11)

• Japanese Beef – Cattle Shipments Banned (Reported 8-2-11)

• Radiation Bankrupts Japanese Cattle Ranch with $5.6 Billion in Liabilities (Reported 8-23-11)

• Japan says it is ok for residents to return at 2,000 millirem / yr – 12-16-11
Some wonder what the eventual health costs will be.

• A Reporter Revealed The Financial Incentive For Japan To Deny Deaths Caused By Fukushima Meltdowns. (Reported 2-5-12) – http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120204003191.htm
Japanese government has to approve deaths claimed to be related to Fukushima. 634 deaths in one prefecture were cleared to undergo screening for being related to the nuclear disaster. Japan admits at least 573 deaths ‘related to nuclear crisis’.
 If a municipality certifies the cause of death is directly associated to a disaster, a condolence grant is paid to the victim’s family. Associated costs would include final burial.
 If the person was a breadwinner, 5 million yen is paid.

• Fukushima’s Owner, TEPCO, is seeking 2 Trillion Yen in Government Loans to Remain Solvent (Reported 1-12)
 TEPCO, owner of Fukushima power plant, has drastically underestimated costs for compensation and clean-up.
 TEPCO claims only $350 Billion in compensation and cleanup costs (Reported 1-12)

• (Reported 1-16-12) TEPCO Faces Prosecution:
 For Withholding crucial information that may have prevented some radiation exposures
 For operating Fukushima Nuclear Plant after being warned about the inadequacy of its protections against disasters

• Japan’s Environmental Ministry began a decontamination program with a budget of $4.8 billion for 2012 alone.
 A small army of workers were employed to scrape away top soil, denude trees and scrub down buildings in Okuma and other evacuated communities.
 The ministry admitted an experimental effort to decontaminate a 42-acre area in Okuma had failed to reduce radiation dosages by as much as had been hoped, leading officials to declare most of the town uninhabitable for at least another five years. Okuma’s officials target date for repopulating the town changed to 2022, instead of 2014.

Eight U.S. Sailors Sue Japan Over Fukushima
Courthouse News Service By ELIZABETH WARMERDAM 12-26-12
 The Fukushima nuclear disaster exposed Navy rescue workers on the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan to dangerous levels of radiation, which the government-owned power plant covered up.
 Sailors say they “face additional and irreparable harm to their life expectancy, which has been shortened and cannot be restored to its prior condition.”
 They seek $10 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages for fraud, negligence, strict liability, failure to warn, public and private nuisance, and defective design.
 They also want TEPCO ordered to establish a fund of $100 million to pay for their medical expenses.
 The complaint says:
1) The Japanese government and TEPCO conspired to intentionally conceal dangerous levels of radiation in the environment of US Navy rescue crews working off the coast of Japan, to lull the U.S. Navy “into a false sense of security”. They lied through their teeth about the threat to human life from the meltdowns at Fukushima.
2) Radiation data shows radiation levels exceeded the levels of exposure to which those living the same distance from Chernobyl experienced who subsequently developed cancer.

A Few Of Chernobyl’s Large Economic Impacts Include:
• The disruption of large areas downwind of the radiation source due to evacuations
• Shutdown of plants and facilities
• Decontamination activities
• Impact of radiation on agriculture, especially the dairy industry
• Pollution of water supplies, especially downstream

Limerick Nuclear Plant Owners Financially Victimized Ratepayers and Taxpayers From The Beginning.

Limerick’s Past Financial Injustice To Ratepayers and Taxpayers Show Why We Should Be Concerned That Nuclear Refugees Would Be Financially Victimized After A Limerick Nuclear Plant Radioactive Accident / Meltdown.
A Few Examples:
1) Remember claims of having electric too cheap to meter? Our regions’ residents ended up paying 55% higher rates than the national average within ten years after Limerick started operating.
2) PECO originally estimated Limerick Nuclear Plant construction cost would be $326 million. Yet, PECO Ratepayers ended up paying $6.8 BILLION (between 1985 and 2010), which is why PECO electric bills were so high.
3) PECO / Exelon failed to pay any property taxes (1985 to 2002) on Limerick’s 600 acre property. In 1999, when finally urged to pay taxes, PECO ludicrously claimed the nuclear plant property was worth ZERO.
4) A judge in 2002 finally decided Exelon had to pay $3 million, but that was instead of the $17 million PECO should have been paying each year. Taxpayers were burdened with higher taxes because PECO / Exelon avoided paying their fair share.
5) Each month in electric bills ratepayers of our region pay Limerick Nuclear Plant’s projected astronomical decommissioning costs. Those costs to go higher. During the relicensing process NRC discovered that Exelon doesn’t have the total amount money it was required to set aside for decommissioning.
 It appears Exelon’s fund may be a small fraction of the estimated billions of dollars decommissioning would cost.
 Exelon significantly underestimated decommissioning costs. Sites elsewhere cost many billions more than Exelon is estimating.
 Exelon only guarantees $115 Million of what would be Billions.
(NRC’s 2-23-12 letter) Taxpayers would be forced to pay the rest.

We obviously can’t trust or depend on Exelon to pay for the astronomical financial consequences that would be inevitable if Limerick Nuclear Plant has a radioactive accident / meltdown.

Our Region Needs Up-Front Planning and Assurances

Multiple Meltdowns Can Happen At Limerick Nuclear Plant
Nuclear Refugees Would Lose Everything
And Need To Be Permanently Relocated

Millions In The Greater Philadelphia Region
Need Up-Front Planning and Financial Assurances For:

• Payments For Temporary Housing

• Full Compensation For Homes, Furniture, and Other Personal Possessions

• Forgiveness Of Payments On Mortgages For Radioactive Homes and Businesses

• Full Reimbursement For Radioactive Cars, Business Vehicles and Equipment, and Other Possessions Left Behind

• Full Compensation For Loss Of Employment For Jobs That Were Located In The Radioactive Dead Zone

• Health Care Expenses