Protesters to Meet at CP&L Building

As the Nov. 20 deadline approaches for groups to express their concerns to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about the facility's expansion, organizations are making last-ditch efforts to prevent the expansion.

"We'll have protests signs, we'll be chanting," said Nora Wilson of UNC's Student Environmental Action Coalition. "We're trying to get the media to give attention to it."

SEAC and the N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network will help lead the protest, claiming that CP&L prohibits free and open scientific debates on ramifications of the plant's nuclear expansion.

"They have left us no other recourse," said Jim Warren, director of N.C. WARN. "We have tried legal means, and they have blocked every one of our attempts."

Warren said CP&L has closed debate from public view and has avoided addressing potential dangers in expanding the plant. The plans propose hooking up all four pools of fuel rods into one cooling system, which Warren claimed would concentrate the dangerous levels of radioactive waste.

"They're willing to pack all this material in one area," he said. "If this material is exposed to air, it can burst into flame. All this is being done without any safety hearings."

But CP&L spokesman Mike Hughes said the company has held open meetings with the public to address concerns that N.C. WARN did not attend.

"If they truly wanted a dialogue, they would have come (to the meeting)," Hughes said. "But they want a media grandstand instead."

Hughes said the NRC has performed an extensive review of the expansion for the past two years, and any potential dangers arising will be corrected because of its examination.

"Any concern that Orange County has is getting a thorough review by the NRC," he said. "The NRC has had an open, public process every step of the way."

But Warren said scientists hired by Orange County to examine the safety concerns for the NRC are worried about the plant's expansion. Both officials are warning that CP&L's cost-cutting measure would increase the risk of a nuclear accident, he said.

The debate will come to a head Dec. 7, when the NRC will hold open arguments for both sides to present their views.

Wilson said protesters have support from people such as U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., and state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, as well as members of the three area governing boards.

"This is a community movement," she said. "We are saying, `Do not put profit before safety.'"

The City Editor can be reached

at citydesk@unc.edu.