Officially, the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant is in Wake County. That's its legal address. But really, it's next door.
As the crow flies -- or, more pertinently, as the wind blows -- the
Chapel Hill-Carrboro area is less than 20 miles from the site of
Shearon Harris. All of Orange County -- not to mention Chatham, Durham,
Wake and Lee counties -- is well within the 50-mile radius of potential
contamination if an accident were to happen at Shearon Harris.
And that means those of us living and working in this community should
be very concerned about what is going on in that southwestern corner of
Wake.
According to several nuclear power watchdog groups, what appears to
have been going on are repeated and continuous fire code violations at
the plant. The groups, which include the Durham-based NC Warn, say that
for more than a decade Shearon Harris has delayed complying with
changed federal fire prevention rules.
Progress Energy, which operates the plant, insists Shearon Harris is
safe, there are no real fire code violations there and they are working
toward technical compliance with regulations. The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, which oversees the plant, agrees that the plant is safe,
and though Shearon Harris is not actually in full compliance, notes
there haven't been any official fire protection violations at the site
since 2004.
NC Warn and the other groups want the NRC to suspend Shearon Harris'
operating license until the plant corrects the alleged violations or
else to heavily fine Progress Energy. Last week, the watchdog groups
took their argument to the local Assembly of Governments' semi-annual
meeting; they found -- as they should have -- a receptive audience.
Officials from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough and Orange County
agreed that the groups' safety concerns were legitimate and pledged
their support. They promised to officially take up the issue at their
next individual board meetings.
They understood, as should we all, that technical compliance is not
sufficient. There are regulations for a reason. A fire accident at
Shearon Harris would not be simply a technical glitch. It could be a
catastrophe.
Local officials have an obligation to demand more stringent enforcement from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
