28 US nuke units awaiting NRC license renewals

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

28 US nuke units awaiting NRC license renewals

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - Some 28 aging U.S. nuclear 
generating units will be seeking license renewals from the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission over the next five years, nuclear industry 
officials said Friday. 

While most attention has been focused on the test case of two units 
owned by Constellation Energy Group's <CEG.N> Calvert Cliffs plant, 
more than two dozen other nuclear units have quietly begun similar 
license renewal discussions with regulators, said Angelina Howard, 
vice president of the Nuclear Energy Institute. 

The institute is a trade group representing nuclear plant owners. 

"There is a queue of about 28 units now lining up for license 
renewals," she said at a news conference to release industry 
performance data for 1999. 

The NRC has promised to issue a decision next month for the two 
Calvert Cliffs units. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court 
said the NRC had acted too speedily in processing the Calvert Cliffs 
case and must pay closer attention to opponents of the relicensing. 

Regulators are also expected to act this summer on Duke Energy's 
<DUK.N> three Oconee units in South Carolina, and to rule by the end 
of the year on Southern Co's <SO.N> Hatch units by the end of the 
year, said Ralph Beedle, chief nuclear officer of the Nuclear Energy 
Institute. 

"Beginning next year, we expect about four units annually will seek 
license renewals over the coming four years," Beedle added. 

Some of the units seeking renewals are among the oldest U.S. nuclear 
generating plants, with original 20-year operating licenses set to 
expire. 

NRC chairman Richard Meserve told a congressional panel earlier this 
month the agency was developing a strategy to fulfill the influx of 
applications in a timely manner. 

NRC TO ADOPT NEW MONITORING PROGRAM 

Industry officials also said the successful results of the NRC's 
pilot oversight program meant regulators would soon expand it to all 
plants. "We expect that process will be instituted on April 2," 
Beedle said. 

The NRC adopted the pilot program for 13 units last year, saying most 
U.S. nuclear plants were performing better than in the 1980s and 
needed a new approach to monitoring safety and procedures. 

In the pilot program, regulators focused inspection efforts on plant 
procedures most important to safety, and set performance goals to 
categorize plants as follows: 

* exceeded performance goals 

* met performance goals fully 

* met goals with minimal reduction in safety margins 

* met goals with significant reduction in safety margin 

* unacceptable 

Beedle said the trade group's 1999 data for the U.S. nuclear industry 
showed improvements across the board. 

The rate of unplanned automatic shutdowns, or scrams, fell from 1.2 
per 7,000 hours in 1990 to zero in 1999, he said. 

The industry also exceeded its goal for safety systems readiness in 
1999. Last year, 95 percent of the key safety systems -- mostly 
cooling systems and back-up power -- were available and ready, Beedle 
said. 

Industry officials also discounted criticism from nuclear opponents 
that competitive pressure as the electricity market is deregulated 
may undermine safety standards. 

"We have seen no evidence of that," Beedle said. "The better 
performance a plant has, the more economical it is, and the safer it 
is." 

In 1999, nuclear power accounted for about 20 percent of the 
electricity used in the United States, generating 725 billion 
kilowatt hours, the institute said. Coal-fired plants generated 1.77 
trillion kilowatt hours, with natural gas supplying 297 billion and 
oil 90 billion.

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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
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