Word: reactors
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...indirect accusation that such training may be even more deficient elsewhere in the industry. The T.M.I, operators, the report notes, scored higher than the national average in the NRC licensing and operating examinations. Nonetheless, in these tests, ''emphasis was not given to fundamental understanding of the reactor and little time was devoted to instruction in the biological hazards of radiation. The content was left to the instructors, who had no greater formal education qualifications than those of their students.'' In fact, there is no minimum educational requirement for control room operators...
...reason is that the annual growth of demand for electricity has fallen to around 3%, from the steady 7% through the 1950s and '60s. Meanwhile, the time required to bring a reactor ''on line'' has stretched out to a dozen years after the start of construction. Reasons for the delays: public opposition, cumbersome regulatory and licensing procedures, and the fact that reactor designs have not been standardized; each plant is custom-built, and the NRC demands many design changes while it is being erected...
...delays run up the cost of building a reactor, as does the rocketing rise in interest rates on the money that utilities must borrow to build plants. One example: the estimated cost of Long Island Lighting Co.'s Shoreham, N.Y., plant has quintupled from $300 million to $1.5 bil lion during the ten years it has been under construction. Nuclear plants now operating produce electricity more cheaply than coal-fired power stations (1.50 per kw-h for nuclear in 1978, vs. 2.30 for coal), but the cost of finishing those now under construction will be so enormous that there...
...waste-disposal problem is getting worse. Scientists cannot agree on the safest method of permanently burying nuclear garbage, some of which remains radioactive for thousands of years. At present, the most highly radioactive wastes, such as spent fuel rods, are stored under water in plant "swimming pools," but reactor operators are running out of pool space. Wastes that emit less radioactivity are placed in sealed containers and trucked to dump sites for burial. However, some of the containers have leaked, either underground or in transit, and dump sites have been closed in Hanford, Wash., and Beatty, Nev. This leaves only...
...recommendations for better training and closer supervision of reactor operators are worthy, but some experts imply that they do not go far enough...