Citizens group to present Plymouth selectmen with Pilgrim nuclear safety petition

Concerned Neighbors of Pilgrim have collected over 3,000 signatures

Article | News | April 27, 2014 - 7:00am | By CapeCodToday Staff

 

 

Concerned Neighbors of Plymouth (CNP) will present Plymouth selectmen with a petition pertaining to safety at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station at the next selectmen meeting on Tuesday. The petition, which contains over 3,000 signatures, will be given to the five-member board on April 29 at 7 p.m. at Plymouth Town Hall.

 

Unlike the myriad local groups, politicians and citizens calling for the shutdown of the Plymouth-based nuclear power plant, CNP is focused on making the onsite spent fuel storage as safe as it can be, according to CNP spokesperson Heather Lightner.

The petition calls on Plymouth selectmen to require that Entergy, the company that owns the plant, do everything possible to make the spent fuel storage as safe as possible. The petition also requests that the town mandate that Entergy cover all costs incurred by the Plymouth as relates to the long-term storage of spent fuel in town.

CNP, according to Lightner, has obtained 3,106 signatures (on paper and digital). Of that number, 43 are Plymouth-based businesses. Lightner said the group focused on Plymouth residents, but people living outside Plymouth in areas like Cape Cod, also signed the petition.

Of the 3,106 signatures, 81% of the signers are from Plymouth. According to the 2010 United States Census, the population of Plymouth is 56,468.

"Long-term storage of high-level nuclear waste is the most serious issue facing the town of Plymouth and will continue to be for many years," said Lightner. "There is no Federal repository for spent fuel, and most likely there never will be. We feel the 3100+ signatures we have collected demonstrate that residents want the Board to continue to push for the highest standards with regard to dry cask storage to protect Plymouth's public safety and economic interests."

CNP maintains that it is the responsibility of the Town to monitor the spent fuel storage project at Pilgrim to ensure the safety of the Plymouth's residents and businesses.

 

The petition, which is closed to additional signatures, reads:

Entergy’s long term storage of high level radioactive waste in our community poses a risk to our families, homes, businesses and economy. Therefore, I urge you to use your authority to insure that:

• Entergy’s dry cask storage project is sited, designed, built and operated in the safest manner possible, and

• Entergy pays all the costs that the Town may incur in connection with the nuclear waste storage.
Please act immediately to protect the public safety and the Town’s fiscal well-being before the opportunity is lost or becomes irreversible.

Pilgrim's current plan is to move some of the spent fuel from its storage pool into dry cask storage.

 

The plant would continue to store spent fuel in both places. The permit issued by the Town of Plymouth for the building of the pad on which the casks will be stored was obtained in July 2013.

 

According to Pilgrim, the spent fuel will be stored on site until (and if) the government follows through on plans for a federal repository.

For more information about the dry cask storage project underway at Pilgrim, see an informational slideshow on the station's website here. A Pilgrim Dry Cask Fact Sheet/Q&A is available here.

 

 

 

http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2014/04/27/25150-citizens-group-present-plymouth-selectmen-pilgrim-nuclear-safety-petition