“We The People of Plymouth, Massachusetts, direct the Plymouth Board of Selectmen to call upon the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to immediately suspend all further action on the application of the Entergy Corporation for renewal of its license to operate the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station pending the full implementation of all safety improvements recommended by the NRC as a result of lessons learned from the failures of similarly designed reactors in Fukushima, Japan.”

“FREEZE” PILGRIM’S RE-LICENSING PENDING FUKUSHIMA FIXES! HERE’S WHY:

Pilgrim has the SAME DESIGN and risks as the reactors at Fukushima!

Failed Design: Pilgrim, like the reactors at Fukushima, is a GE Mark I Boiling Water Reactor – a failed design. The NRC years ago recognized that “Mark-I failure within the first few hours following core melt would appear rather likely;" - a 90% likelihood of containment failure.

The events at Fukushima last year demonstrated that the “fix” implemented in the 90’s, the Direct Torus Vent, designed to relieve pressure during an accident, will also fail! Pilgrim’s vent, like Fukushima’s, is neither passively operable (without electricity or human intervention) nor filtered. Both are necessary now to reduce the risk of explosion and containment failure!

Spent Fuel Storage: Pilgrim stores all its "spent fuel" in a pool located on the top floor of the reactor, outside the primary containment, with only a thin roof overhead. It was designed to hold 880 fuel assemblies, but now holds over 3,270. Experts for the Massachusetts Attorney General testified that the pool is vulnerable to a catastrophic fire from loss of water that could cause $488 billion dollars of damage and 24,000 cancers. The NRC knows spent fuel stored in pools poses greater safety and security hazards than if stored in dry casks. Therefore, the NRC must require the immediate transfer of ALL irradiated fuel from the spent fuel pool to dry casks. (Dry casks at Fukushima did not fail!) Until then, Pilgrim needs weeks, not days, of redundant backup power!

Pilgrim may operate in the meantime: The Commissioners of the NRC, despite recommending safety fixes, will not require them as a condition to a new 20-year license. Judge Young (Chairman of the Atomic Safety Licensing Board and dissenter on Pilgrim decisions) stated in a published opinion, that Pilgrim’s license extension should NOT be granted until the full picture from Fukushima is addressed. The Chairman of the NRC, Gregory Jaczko, in a 3-1 vote, agreed in his dissent on the appeal of that decision. Young noted that Entergy need not suffer economically while these fixes are being addressed, as Pilgrim may continue to operate.

This non-binding vote will send a strong message to the NRC to fix it first, and if Pilgrim is re-licensed before May 12, this vote will help persuade the Attorney General to continue the fight in court!

TENTATIVE LANGUAGE (selectmen are expected to approve this by 4/9 or 4/16):

“Shall the Town of Harwich instruct the Board of Selectmen to write letters requesting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Governor of Massachusetts to extend the emergency zone and radiological response plan around the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth from a radius of 10 miles to include all of Cape Cod?”

“Whereas the people of the Town of Eastham deem the Pilgrim Nuclear facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts to present a clear and present danger to our town and to the people of Cape Cod and beyond, we resolve to call upon both the House and the Senate of the General Court of Massachusetts to deny the Pilgrim Nuclear facility a new license for now and forever; or to take any other action relative thereto.”

“Whereas the people of the Town of Brewster deem the Pilgrim Nuclear facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts to present a clear and present danger to our town and to the people of Cape Cod and beyond, we resolve to call upon both the House and the Senate of the General Court of Massachusetts to deny the Pilgrim Nuclear facility a new license for now and forever; or to take any other action relative thereto.”

To see if the town of Truro will approve the following Resolution Opposing the Extension of the Operating License of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station for an Additional 20 Years:

“Whereas, the Pilgrim Nuclear plant, 26 miles across the bay from Truro, will complete its 40-year design lifetime in June 2012, is of the same design and make as those that exploded and melted down in Fukushima, Japan, and could have an accident similar to the Fukushima accident were there to be an extended loss of electricity to the plant; and

Whereas, Truro is downwind of the Pilgrim nuclear plant, but there is no radiological emergency plan whatsoever for Cape Cod, and in case of a serious accident it would be impossible to escape from Truro to the mainland via jammed Route 6; and

Whereas, the Pilgrim spent fuel pool contains nearly 4 times the highly radioactive spent fuel rods it was designed to contain, is located outside the reinforced containment area and vulnerable to catastrophic loss of coolant in an accident, a terrorist attack, or other emergency, and there is no repository for spent fuel in the United States; and

Whereas, at a State House hearing on April 6, 2011 in response to a question from State Senator Dan Wolf, the Independent System Operator New England, which coordinates the electrical power systems for our region testified that there are other sources of power to replace what would be lost if Pilgrim was shut down—the lights have stayed on during all past outages at Pilgrim;

Therefore Be it resolved that the people of Truro call on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to deny the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station an extension of its license to operate for an additional twenty years beyond the 40 years it was designed for; and Requests the Town Clerk to send written copies of this Resolution to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; to the Governor and the Attorney General of Massachusetts, and to our state and federal legislators.”

On May 15, Dennis Voters PASSED the following ballot question:

“Whereas Pilgrim nuclear power station has been operating on our shores for 40 years and is of the same design and make as those that exploded in Fukushima, Japan in 2011, and;

Whereas there are no radiological emergency plans for Cape Cod, even though we are down wind from the power station over half of the time, and;

Whereas both bridges will be closed to off Cape Traffic if there is an accident at the power station. We will be stranded, and;

Whereas the spent fuel pool is housing 4 times the spent fuel rods it was designed for and there is no repository for spent fuel in the United States and moreover this fuel pool is outside the reinforced containment area and so is vulnerable to terrorist acts or other problematic happenings, and;

Whereas Independent System Operator of New England, which coordinates the electric power grid says “the lights will stay on if Pilgrim’s license is not renewed,”

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT WE, THE PEOPLE OF DENNIS ASK THAT:

The pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, whose license expires this year, should not be re-licensed for another 20 years.

The Dennis Town Clerk shall send these requests to: the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Governor of Massachusetts, the Attorney General of Massachusetts, the state and federal legislators and Entergy Corporation (the owners of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station).”

Article 28. Shut the Pilgrim Nuclear Plant Down (Resolution)
Board of Selectmen Does Not Recommend: 5-0-0
Finance Committee Has No Recommendation

“Whereas: The license to operate the Pilgrim Nuclear Plant has almost run out;
Whereas: The disaster in Japan of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant has forced the evacuation of all people within 25 miles;
Whereas: The prevailing winds on Cape Cod are from the Southwest where we can see the Pilgrim plant;
Whereas: Geographically it is impossible to evacuate Cape Cod without exposing all evacuees to radiation;
Whereas: We are really not in need of that power plant;

Barbara Rushmore moved to see if the Town will vote this Resolution: We petition our Massachusetts Congressional Delegates and Senators, our Governor, Deval Patrick, the Attorney General of Massachusetts, Martha Coakley and our President, Barack Obama to urge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to not renew the License to Operate the Pilgrim Nuclear Plant; or to take any other action relative thereto.” Motion Passed.

Full summary at the Town Clerk’s website:    󰀍Provincetown – Town Meeting Decisions

“To see if the Town will vote to Oppose the continued operation of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) until all safety improvements recommended by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as a result of lessons learned from the failures of similarly designed reactors in Fukushima, Japan have been fully implemented; and requests the NRC to immediately suspend all further action on the application of the Entergy Corporation for renewal of its license to operate PNPS until after such full implementation has been accomplished.” Recommended by Selectmen 4-0.

“Will the town of Marshfield, Massachusetts support the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) postponing a final decision on Pilgrim’s application to extend its license an additional 20 years until all safety improvements recommended by the NRC, as a result of lessons learned from the failures of similarly designed reactors in Fukushima, Japan are understood and fully implemented?

The Clerk of Marshfield shall forward the text and vote from this article to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Entergy Corp., so that the intent of the citizens of Marshfield is widely known.”

“That the Town of Scituate, Massachusetts opposes the relicensing of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) until all safety improvements recommended by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as a result of lessons learned from the failures of similarly designed reactors in Fukushima, Japan have been fully implemented; and request the NRC to immediately suspend all further action on the application of Entergy Corporation for renewal of its license to operate PNPS until such full implementaion has been accomplished.

The Clerk of Scituate shall foward the text of this article to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Town of Scituate’s state and federal delegations, the Selectboards within the Emergency Planning Zone of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, and Entergy Corporation so that the intent of the citizens of Scituate is widely known, or take any other action relative thereto.”

“The Town of Kingston, Massachusetts opposes continued operation of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) until all safety improvements recommended by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as a result of lessons learned from the failures of similarly designed reactors in Fukushima, Japan, have been fully implemented and requests the NRC to immediately suspend all further action on the application of the Entergy Corporation for renewal of its license to operate PNPS until such full implementation has been accomplished.

The clerk of Kingston shall forward the text of this article to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Town of Kingston’s State and Federal delegations, the Select Boards within the Emergency Planning Zone of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, and Entergy Corporation, so that the intent of the citizens of Kingston is widely known.”

“The Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts opposes continued operation of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) until all safety improvements recommended by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as a result of lessons learned from the failures of similarly designed reactors in Fukushima, Japan have been fully implemented; and requests the NRC to immediately suspend all further action on the application of the Entergy Corporation for renewal of its license to operate PNPS until such full implementation has been accomplished.

The Clerk of Duxbury shall forward the text of this article to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Town of Duxbury’s State and Federal delegations, the Select Boards within the Emergency Planning Zone of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, and Entergy Corp., so that the intent of the citizens of Duxbury is widely known.”