Monday, September 25

Nuclear Regulatory Commission comes to NDCAP

to support Holtec and do damage control!

For many months, citizens have requested time on the Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel agenda to speak about the radioactive industrial wastewater dumping and now about "forced evaporation" health concerns, including Dr. Barry Potvin of the Plymouth Board of Health and Dr. Thomas Rankin of Sandwich. They have been repeatedly denied. NDCAP vice-chair Pine DuBois has now scheduled the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to present for 30 minutes at the Monday meeting.

Also,VP John Moyan, who was identified in the whistleblower letter as the Holtec staff member who ordered the electric heaters to boil off industrial wastewater and a sitting member of the NDCAP, will not be present but replaced by Holtec's radiation manager.

This whistleblower information allegations about worker and public health and safety concerns needs to be investigated by an independent agency, not just addressed by the captured Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Monday meetng looks the usual NRC presentation that covers for the industry. This is not the way good government protects the people and environment.

Showing up to stand up for our communities is important. Join the rally and come to the meeting because together, our voices are strong.

WE ARE NOT A SACRIFICE ZONE!

NRC addresses NDCAP-agenda here

WHAT'S BLOWING IN THE WIND?

Plymouth Board of Health to Host Forum

The Environmental Release of

Radioactive Wastewater at Pilgrim

Wednesday, September 27 4:00 PM

Holtec insider reveals "forced evaporation"

of radiologically contaminated industrial wastewater!



In a letter received anonymously on August 21 by Cape Downwinders and MA Department of Public Health, a Pilgrim insider reveals Holtec is using "forced evaporation" to discharge their radiologically contaminated industrial wastewater into our airways!

According to this well detailed letter, plant engineers were directed by Holtec's site Vice-President to design and install an unapproved radwaste processing method which exposes both the workers and public to "radioactively contaminated airborne water vapor". This system was installed in opposition to Holtec's own Plant Radiation Protection personnel.

Along with tritium, there are a lot more dangerous radionuclides in that vapor purposefully raining down on our communities today-Cesium-137, Strontium 90, Plutonium, Cobalt-60, etc., all impacting our health, particularly that of the fetus, infant, child, and woman.

This is another clear example of why WE DON'T TRUST HOLTEC. They came to Plymouth promising openness and transparency and we got neither. It's a bad indicator when a possible insider has to become a whistleblower and risk all to protect our communities with the truth of what's really happening behind the fence.

How long has this process been going on? Why isn't the state monitoring direct gaseous emmissions? How can Holtec be implementing unapproved methods without any oversight? WHERE IS THE OVERSIGHT?

HOLTEC doesn't care about worker or public safety, only the bottom line by decommissioning Pilgrim in the most cheap, fast, and unsafe way possible to get at the Trust Fund dollars. This greedy and untrustworthy company needs full independent oversight by the state.

What's blowing in the wind? OUR RESISTANCE TO HOLTEC!

THANK YOU TO THIS BRAVE AND CARING WHISTLEBLOWER!!

We owe you a debt of gratitude for your honesty and courageous stance against Holtec!

EVAPORATION: THE THREE BREACHES OF TRUST

Mary Lampert, Pilgrim Watch

A whistleblower’s letter described both Holtec-Pilgrim’s, the NRC’s , and DPH’s breaches of trust.

Holtec promised not to discharge its contaminated water offsite, and said that evaporation was too expensive.  Now Pilgrim is evaporating contaminated water , contaminating workers on-side and sending radioactive materials up the stack and the into our neighborhoods. 

The NRC is the federal agency that is supposedly responsible for assuring that public safety is protected from nuclear reactors it is supposed to oversee. But this new radwaste processing method, evaporation, is not an NRC approved method to process liquid waste. Why isn’t NRC stopping it?

Finally, our state’s department of public health. The Director of Radiation Control, Jack Priest emailed me and said, “The state does not monitor the Reactor Building vent. Such monitoring is the regulatory authority of the USNRC.” What other monitoring can, and should, MDPH doing? It appears that no one is really monitoring anything. We do not believe that the state is powerless.

The Globe reported that Robert Goldstein arrived as MDPH commissioner last month (April) at a challenging time. Public trust in public health has seriously eroded. In his first press conference Goldstein pledged to build back the department and the public’s trust — and be prepared for whatever health emergencies lie ahead.

This is a good place for Commissioner Goldstein to start - public and worker health and safety during decommissioning Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. What better place for MDPH to start proving it deserves the public’s trust.

“I do not believe that the vast corporations of the United States are suitable to the needs of the times. If a visitor should come to this country from another planet, would he not find it strange that, in this country, private corporations are permitted to wield so much power without having to assume commensurate responsibility?”

Albert Einstein, Atlantic Monthly, 1945

EPA letter to Holtec

AGO/Holtec Settlement Agreement

Dr. Ian Fairlie on Tritium

Plymouth Board of Health

Holtec CEO Singh letter to Senator Markey

The Bomb Next Door by Dr. Thomas Bass/The American Scholar

Boston Globe-In the shadow of the Pilgrim nuclear plant, EPA warning reverberates

Provincetown Independent-Legislation to stop radioactive water release fails

Provincetown Independent-Shape of Bay means poisons would linger

APCC Legal letter to the state