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Environmental Group Says Limerick Nuclear Plant Needs New Safety Study

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Cooling towers from the Limerick Generating Station in Pottstown, Pa.


An environmental group wants to block the re-licensing of Limerick Generating Station, saying the plant’s accident mitigation study needs to be updated. Limerick is located about 20 miles from Philadelphia in Montgomery County and provides electricity to an estimated 2 million households.
Exelon Corporation has applied for a 20-year renewal of their operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. But the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a petition with the NRC last week seeking to intervene in the renewal process. The Defense Council says Exelon’s application includes an out-dated “Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives” analysis that was created in 1989.
In a press release, the Natural Resources Defense Council cites the Fukushima nuclear disaster as a reason for updating the analysis.

“The Fukushima disaster fundamentally happened because the nuclear plant lost power and could no longer keep its reactor cores cool even after emergency shutdown,” said Matthew McKinzie, senior scientist at the NRDC. “This type of power loss can happen in a number of ways beyond the one-two punch of an earthquake and tsunami.”

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