Hot Weather Overheats Reactors

To the Editors:

The recent heat wave contained two news stories about nuclear energy, one widely broadcasted, one completely ignored.

The first was about the record-setting electricity use, fuelled by the region’s demand for air conditioned relief. Exelon and other nuclear utilities attribute their success at meeting this demand to nuclear power.

The second story barely appeared after the heat broke, when people weren’t paying attention. Both here and internationally, the demand for electricity was indeed met, sometimes by nuclear power. However, in many cases these reactors were either not allowed to run at full power, or, if they were, they were given regulatory permission to exceed safety and environmental standards. In other words nuclear plants were allowed to keep the air conditioners running, but only by risking an accident or damaging an already heat-stressed environment.

In Illinois Exelon’s Quad Cities and Dresden reactors had to curtail power output because the hot water discharged into the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers exceeded EPA heat discharge regulations. This occurred previously in 1988, when then-ComEd reactors had 100+ reactors days of curtailed power output or complete shut down related to excessive thermal discharge. This resulted in millions of dollars of water-cooling retrofits for the reactors. Exelon came close to power curtailment again during Illinois’ 2005 drought.

Exelon’s Limerick reactor in Pennsylvania also curtailed power output. Across Lake Michigan the Donald Cook reactor building overheated on July 29-30, resulting in an automatic reactor shutdown.

Europe experienced similar problems. This year as in the 2003 heat wave, the French government gave permission for reactors to exceed heat discharge and even safety standards at 37 reactors. Germany allowed several reactors on the Elbe River to discharge in excess of thermal standards. One reactor in Spain was shut down completely rather than thermally contaminate the Ebro.

These situations occur in climatic conditions far less extreme than those anticipated in a full blown global warming world. They serve as a warning that nuclear power is ill-suited to help us in a global warming world – unless we are willing to either further destroy the environment, or risk increased likelihood of a nuclear accident.

When nuclear reactors will be wanted most, they are likely to be least available, and then only at greatly increased risk. Contrary to the spin that the nuclear industrial complex is feeding the public, you can’t ‘nuke’ global warming.

Gratefully, David A. Kraft Director, NEIS

Back to the top of this Page

Hot Weather Overheats Reactors ...

You Can't "Nuke" Global Warming! Letter to the Editors, August 7, 2006

To the Editors: