Chatham: Stop Nuclear Shipping

Carolina Power & Light Co. has been shipping spent fuel rods, which remain toxic, through the county via train for 14 years. The trains take the fuel rods to be stored in cooling pools at Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant in Wake County.

Like Chatham, the Orange County Board of Commissioners also has spoken out against CP&L and the potential dangers of Shearon Harris. "Any amount of transportation amounts to a degree of unnecessary risk, especially after 9/11," said Chatham County Commissioner Bob Atwater. "I think that shapes all decisions to be made."

CP&L refuses to stop its trains and points toward its many years of experience in defense of its practices. "We've been shipping for 14 years without any safety problems at all," said CP&L spokesman Garrick Francis.

CP&L cannot speak to media about specific safety precautions, but it does allow government officials to tour its facilities and witness them. "We have a safe service, and we're doing all we can to make sure our plants are running effectively," Francis said.

The attorney general's office could not be reached for comment.

Orange County Board of Commissioners Chairman Barry Jacobs said that he applauds the Chatham resolution and that the Orange County board could discuss similar plans. "I'm glad to see Chatham County doing that," Jacobs said. "We'll probably look into it."

The county lost a case against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the U.S. Court of Appeals in September in its continued effort to halt the expansion of fuel rod storage at the plant.

Jim Warren, spokesman for the N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, said there is certainly a reason to be concerned about Shearon Harris.

"'Spent' is a questionable term when referring to the fuel rods," Warren said. "They are still highly radioactive, extremely dangerous material."

Warren said Shearon Harris contains about 10 times the amount of cesium-137, a radioactive metal, that Chernobyl released in 1986. Any terrorist act or simple water loss from a fuel rod cooling pool could create a similar accident.

He said this type of accident could kill tens of thousands of people and affect an area the size of North Carolina. "This could hurt people, kill people and cause a lot of economic damage," Warren said. "We've got to reduce the risk where they exist right now."

Warren said he hopes Chatham County's resolution can convince the attorney general to take action against CP&L. "Former attorneys general have failed to do their jobs because they didn't take simple measures to protect North Carolina."

Warren said the reason for little media coverage and government action against CP&L is because of the company's widespread influence in the region. "CP&L has too much control over decision-making in our region."

Commissioner Alice Gordon said that CP&L has begun racking the fuel rods closer together in the cooling pools and that the board has questioned the safety of this new practice. "We've been trying to get an evidentiary hearing but have not been successful," she said.

Gordon said the board has spent several hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyers and scientists to get a safety assessment with the denser racking. "We're the poster child for advocating for safety."

Gordon commended Chatham County on its strong stance against CP&L and said the Orange County board should show some support.

The City Editor can be reached

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