Washington - US Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) urging them to consider requiring filters on all containment vents at nuclear power plants. In response to the Fukushima disaster workers delayed opening containment vents for fear they would release radioactive materials into the atmosphere. Some have suggested that filters would have prevented this delay and may have lessened some of the impacts of the crisis.

"Immediate action is needed to make our nation's nuclear facilities the safest in the world,"wrote Senator Menendez.

The letter comes the day before the NRC holds a public meeting at 6PM in Toms River concerning the agency's oversight of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant. NRC had conducted their annual open house on March 28, but had omitted the public forum component of the meeting. After calls from the staff of both Senator Menendez and Senator Lautenberg, the NRC agreed to hold this additional, public meeting.

Click Here for a PDF of the letter.

The full text of the letter is below:

June 5, 2012

Dear Mr. Jaczko,

I want to begin by thanking you for your service to the country and your unwavering advocacy for safety in the nuclear industry. As you know well, many of the unique risks inherent in using nuclear power were thrust into the public eye by the accident at Fukushima-Dai-ichi and I think everyone recognizes the need to apply what we have learned from the tragedy to the United States' own nuclear program. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has already begun this process with the investigation of the Near-Term Task Force (NTFF) and subsequent regulatory orders implementing some of their recommendations. I urge the commission to build upon this work by strongly considering action requiring the installation of filtered containment vents. Immediate action is needed to make our nation's nuclear facilities the safest in the world.

As you know, one of the lessons drawn from the Fukushima aftermath is the inability of plant operators to open containment vents on the reactor, which led to a dangerous build-up of hydrogen gas and eventually, to an explosion. Less reported is the fact that the order to open the vents was delayed because operators were worried about contamination from the release of hydrogen gas. If the vents were properly equipped with filters, operators would not have been worried about releasing contamination and may have started the process to open the vents sooner.

However unlikely a 'Fukushima-type' event in the US may be, it seems eminently reasonable to require containment vent filters to limit the release of radioactive material. Such thinking is not outside the mainstream and in fact, numerous countries such as Germany, France, and Sweden have all taken action to install filtered vents on their reactors. Here in the US, Former Assistant Director of National Security for the White House Office of Science and Technology, Frank Von Hippel, has been advocating for filtered containment vents since the accident at Three Mile Island in 1979. These pleas have been echoed by members of many public interest groups, including the Union of Concerned Scientists. Finally, your own staff at the NRC has prioritized the issue of filtered containment vents as a Tier 1 issue in a recent Staff Assessment dated February 22, 2012.

I urge you to take your staff's recommendations seriously and consider requiring the implementation of filtered vents as soon as possible. The United States has long led the world in nuclear technology and by taking swift action we can set the bar for safety and security.

Sincerely,

ROBERT MENENDEZ

United States Senator

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