There are around 98 casks on a concrete pad next to the plant, on an island in the Mississippi River — the source of drinking water for many communities downstream. Pictured here: Waste Storage casks. at Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant.
On April 17, 2015 Rep. John Kline of Minnesota asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for one minute regarding on site storage of over 1000 metric tons of highly radioactive waste at the Xcel Energy’s Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant.
Note: Prairie Island is one of two nuclear power plants in Minnesota (the other being Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant in Monticello, MN) and has proven to be the more controversial due to the storage of nuclear waste in large steel casks on-site, an area which is a floodplain of the Mississippi. Which many maintain is a recipe for disaster waiting to happen.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to point out an absurdity that my constituents have long realized–and communities in Minnesota have had to deal with–but one that remains lost on the Administration.
Xcel Energy’s Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant sits on an island in the middle ofthe Mississippi River in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District of which I proudly represent.
This plant provides 30 percent of electricity for Xcel Energy customers in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Michigan making it an important part of the region’s energy infrastructure.
However, without Yucca or a comparable solution, all fuel generated in its 42 years of operation has been stored on-site. That equates to 2,550 used fuel assemblies and close to 1000 metric tons of nuclear waste sitting on an island in the middle of the Mississippi River. Mr. Speaker, this is absurd.
No Where for the waste to go:
In 2009, the Administration ended the Yucca program without any alternative strategy and after taxpayers already spent 15 billion dollars to ensure the safety and security of the Yucca Mountain site.
The dereliction by the Administration leaves us open to both environmental and national security risks. Minnesotans know too well the threat of home-grown terrorism with recent threats made to the Mall of America. We need a safe and secure site to store our nuclear waste out of the reach of potential terrorists. We need to move forward with Yucca Mountain.
Mr. Speaker, my constituents and all Minnesotans deserve better and I join my colleagues today in urging support for the Yucca Mountain site.”
Source: Congressional Record
Recent history of problems
Note: Xcel Energy performed an emergency down, in late January 2015, of the Unit 1 reactor after a cloud of steam built up in the pressurized cooling system following cooling down process to replace a seal in one of the reactor cooling pumps. The plant returned to full power in February 2015 (source: Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant returns to full power http://www.fox28.com/story/28119156/2015/02/16/prairie-island-nuclear-power-plant-unit-1-returns-to-full-power ).
Security Breaches
In 2012 I tracked several reported “security breaches” at Xcel Energy Nuclear Generating Plant. “In fact, over the past couple of years, there have been more than 30 reported incidents like failing equipment, security breaches, human performance problems and operating errors.
Unit 2 of the plant has been shutdown due to an emergency on 5 March 2015 due to a fire alarm at 4:00 am CST. Xcel energy plant operators declared a “notification of an unusual event,” the lowest of four emergency classifications established by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (source: Prairie Island Nuclear Plant Unit Shut Down http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/03/05/prairie-island-nuclear-plant-unit-shut-down/ ).
*Currently Prairie Island is renewing the license for its dry fuel storage installation also known as an Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI). The application to renew the Prairie Island ISFSI license is pending before the NRC. The Prairie Island Indian Community (PIIC) has intervened in the ISFSI license renewal process and an NRC appointed Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) will adjudicate the contentions that the PIIC has raised prior to the renewed license being issued.
Xcel Energy continues to follow the efforts of the federal government to fulfill their obligations under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to remove used nuclear fuel from Xcel Energy’s sites. The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future issued its recommended plan in January 2012 and the Department of Energy issued its plan for implementing the Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendations in January 2013, including the identification of enabling legislation needed from Congress. Xcel Energy is working with the nuclear industry, including the Nuclear Energy Institute and the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition to ensure that Congress understands the need for action.
See related video: US Nuclear Event 3/5/15: Prairie Island Nuclear Plant Shut Down After Alarm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJqUGzHwupU
Missing info
See video: NRC MISSING INFO? SPILL PRAIRIE ISLAND 2.9.2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhoEsYwUyBY
Reference
See letter: http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML0612/ML061230133.pdf
See letter: http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML0612/ML061290190.pdf