Obama introduces nuke disclosure bill
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Printable FormatMORRIS DAILY HERALD
By Jo Ann Hustis
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama, D-Illinois, identifies his newly-introduced legislation mandating disclosure of radioactive leaks as a simple, commonsense bill.
Obama introduced the measure Thursday before the Clean Air, Climate Change and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
"The key to it being disclosing information fully and immediately," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor noted today.
The Nuclear Release Notice Act would require notification of state and local officials simultaneously with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission when any radioactive leak exceeds NRC limits.
"It's good for public safety, it's good for the public's right to know, and it's ultimately good for the nuclear power industry," Obama said Thursday in a prepared news release.
Vietor said the subcommittee meeting was an oversight hearing of the Nuclear Regulatory Com-mission in which a number of issues were discussed.
"Senator Obama's focus was on the tritium leaks (at Braidwood Generating Station at Braceville) and how we could improve public disclosure immediately," Vietor said.
Five NRC commissioners ap-peared before the subcommittee.
NRC Chairman Dr. Nils J. Diaz said agency representatives are posted at every nuclear facility in the nation.
In reference to the four tritium-laced water leaks since 1996 at Braidwood Station, Nils said Exelon Nuclear and NRC officials would have learned of the incidents immediately and should have known the content was radioactive.
More than 6 million gallons of tritium-tained water was released during the leaks into the groundwater at the site, and has since spread northward outside the station's boundaries.
Although the NRC has said the agency was aware of the situation from the beginning, the incidents were not made public until November 2005.
"It wasn't a life-threatening event, but Senator Obama is trying to impress these kinds of incidents be disclosed immediately," Vietor said.
Exelon has said it also found elevated levels of radioactive material in water leaks at Dresden Generating Station east of Morris, and Byron Generating Station near Rockford, the press release noted.
Obama said more timely disclosure to state and local officials of any unplanned release, even when there is no immediate health risk, would help prevent area residents from feeling angry and misled.
"It would have been very helpful if ... the Will County Board chairman ... was given some sense at the time that this happened," Obama said.
He also was concerned about lack of coordination between the NRC and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, said Vietor.
He said Diaz told Obama the NRC is reviewing how the two agencies share information and will provide the senator the results.
In addition, Obama noted the Illinois Attorney General's office is investigating whey Exelon waited years to disclose the tritium-tained water leaks.
Vietor said the next step in the legislation is to continue marshaling support for the measure. He said Obama is reaching out to both Republicans and Democrats for the support.
"It seems like a commonsense piece of legislation," said Vietor. "The hope is to get wide-range bipartisan support."
The bill is cosponsored by Senator Dick Durbin, D-Illinois. Similar legislation has been introduced by Congressman Jerry Weller, R-Morris.
"... Obviously what I've been hearing from the Braidwood area lately hasn't been very happy and upbeat," Weller said Wednesday in a prepared statement.
"Every new development arising from the Exelon situation seems to underscore the need for more rigorous disclosure standards for nuclear power, which I have both introduced as legislation and encouraged in discussions with the NRC."