Under the NRC regulations, a nuclear power facility built prior to 1979 must enclose the cable and equipment necessary for a safe shutdown by using a fire barrier with a one-hour fire rating. According to the exemption Indian Point’s fire rating has been reduced to twenty-four minutes, a 76% reduction fire safety standard.
Since 1993, the NRC has known that the fire barrier utilized at Indian Point does not meet the one-hour duration. According to the 1993 test, the fire barrier only lasts 23.2 minutes, however the NRC took no action unti l 2005. The 2005 test confirmed that the fire barrier failed to perform for one hour and exceeded temperature limits within thirteen to forty-two minutes.
In 2006, the NRC issued a letter to certain nuclear plants requesting that they propose a resolution for the problems associated with the fire barrier. In response, the owners of Indian Point nuclear facilities, Entergy Nuclear Operations, Inc., requested an exemption from the one hour fire safety standard. On August 16, 2008, the request was revised requesting a reduction from one hour to twenty-four minutes for certain areas. Thirty four days later the NRC granted the exemption.
The result of the NRC’s decision to grant the exemption from one hour to twenty-four minutes means that a single fire must be detected, fire brigade assembled and fully extinguished in less than twenty four minutes. Like most operating nuclear reactors, Indian Point Unit 3 contains miles of electrical cables that control and power safety systems, including valves, pumps, motors, and gauges designed to ensure the prompt shutdown of the nuclear reactor. A fire at Indian Point that damaged those cables could disable the critical systems served by the cables preventing safe shut down and ultimately may lead to a major radiation release that could have a disastrous impact on the health and property of the people of New York.
Petitioners will argue that the NRC improperly granted the “exemption”, lacked authority to grant exemptions, failed to allow required public participation, failed to give proper notice, failed to consider relevant evidence in making its decision, and violated National Environmental Policy Act. Petitioners will further argue that the NRC created a potentially illegal loophole by permitting mischaracterization of the request as an “exemption” rather than an amendment, thereby violating the Atomic Energy Act.
The NRC’s decision drastically compromises the safety of the Indian Point nuclear facilities. Upwards of twenty million people work, live, or travel within fift y miles of Indian Point. This case marks the first time the NRC’s right to grant exemptions without notice and hearings has been challenged.
“The NRC must not prompt any exemptions to regulations which increase the likelihood of catastrophic risks. The public has been made vulnerable by the NRC’s secretive reduction in fire safety without notice or opportunity for hearings.”
Annie Wilson for Sierra Club - Atlantic Chapter