Slashdot Mirror

http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_14458338

Entergy has announced it will sell 3% of its power VT Yankee at close to its old rate of 4 cents/kwh though it has not agreed to a price for the other 97%. http://www.reformer.com/latestnews/ci_14455061

You haven't heard? FairPoint has already applied for federal broadband stimulus funds:

http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_13190278

In response to the cooling tower collapse, the NRC is adding scrutiny to the license application: http://www.wptz.com/news/14021491/detail.html. On the other hand, the NRC puts this sort of thing on OSHA: http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_6746693. To me, the idea of applying for a license extention while running a plant into the ground would seem to be something that might be intended to deceive potential investors, so the SEC would be the relevant agency to make the kind of inquiry you are raising.

Entergy, the company that has been buying up old reactors to try to run them harder as they reach then end of their design lifetimes gets quite a few safety related criticisms. They use solo guards at security posts so it is not too surprising that one was found asleep at Indian Point last month: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/27/ap405783 6.html. They were recently reprimanded for for a worker taking a nap at the Pilgrim Reactor as well. The Simpsons is reality based television.

They also try to cut costs by refueling quickly. They boast of 90% up-times because of their quick refueling, but with reduced staff, how can they manage to both refuel and to scheduled maintenance, or avoid deferring maintenance that cannot fit within the shortened down time window? In the present case they seem to even be willing to run at reduced power rather than to promptly address the broken cooling tower. Was the ungreased bearing that caused their SCRAM on a list that just got skipped to get more up time? They give the impression that controlling costs it their primary function. Installing required warning sirens at both Indian Point http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl e?AID=/20070830/NEWS01/708300442/1025/NEWS09 and Vermont Yankee http://www.reformer.com/headlines/ci_6835609 has been lagging. In Vermont they want Boy Scouts to distribute warning radios rather than doing it themselves.

Nuclear power does have a safety culture, using systems like lessons-learned to attempt to improve safety. But, pushing aging reactors past their design capacity or refueling faster with fewer people seem like lessons learned just waiting to happen. Shoestring methods lack the kind of redundancy that provides for safety margins.
--
Rent solar power for you home: http://mdsolar.blogspot.com/2007/01/slashdot-users -selling-solar.html

So the Kucinich impeachment measure gets a fourth cosponsor yet Democratic leaders have dismissed impeachment, opting to pursue to aggressive congressional investigations of the Republican administration less than a year before presidential primary elections begin across the country.

I'm puzzled. Would not the impeachment hearings expose and investigate the peddling of faulty intelligence that the administration presented to justify their case for war better than a congressional investigation? It would also have the bonus effect of preventing Cheney from starting another war in Iran.

As they continue to shut down stations and refuse to give out licenses ??

FCC sues to shut down rfb

http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102%257E886 0%257E1965359,00.html