Letter to Dale Klein, Nuclear Regulatory Commission RE: Global Warming Threat to Nuclear Power Plants

April 21, 2008

Honorable Dale E. Klein
Chairman
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Mail Stop O-16G4
Washington, DC 20555-0001

Dear Chairman Klein:

The National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board recently released a report titled, “The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on U.S. Transportation.” The report notes that it is “virtually certain” that sea levels will continue to rise in the twenty first century, and that “this rise will not be geographically uniform.” In addition to rising sea levels, changes in air temperature are expected to rise, accelerating land surface drying and increasing the intensity and severity of droughts. Based on this data, the Board foresees closures or restrictions at several of the top 50 airports based in coastal zones, flooding of evacuation routes, and greater probability of infrastructure failures.

The impact of these predictions goes beyond transportation infrastructure. Climate change threatens any structure adjacent to a coastal area or reliant on a body of water, including nuclear power plants. Increased drought would affect the large quantities of water nuclear power plants require for steam production and cooling. Rising ocean levels potentially threaten spent fuel rod storage and the infrastructure of a nuclear power plant.

In order to better understand the impact of rising sea levels on the domestic U.S. nuclear power industry, the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming requests that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) respond to the following questions:

1.    Using the same models on sea water elevation used by the recent NAS study, how many nuclear plants (operational or decommissioned) will be under water or threatened by rising water levels by 2025 and 2050?

2.    Has the Nuclear Regulatory Commission examined how climate change affects the water supply needed to operate a nuclear power plant? If so, what did the NRC conclude and what steps will be taken based on these conclusions? If not, why not?

3.    Has the NRC examined how climate change affects the storage of spent nuclear fuel in both wet and dry storage facilities, including independent spent fuel storage installations? Will rising sea levels post a threat to any spent storage facilities, assuming they remain in place in 2025 and 2050?

4.    How many nuclear power plants are located less than two miles from an ocean? Of these plants, how many are elevated more than three feet above sea level?

5.    How many nuclear power plants are near non-ocean bodies of water that have been threatened by drought over the past 10 years?

Thank you in advance for your time and attention to this matter. Please note that this request is made pursuant to the oversight and investigative authorities conferred to the Committee under the Rules of the House of Representatives and the authorities conferred under House Resolution 202.   Please provide full and complete response to this request as soon as possible and no later than close of business on May 28th, 2008. Should you have any questions regarding this request, please contact Mr. Jeff Duncan or Ms. Danielle Baussan of the Select Committee staff at 225-4012.  Thank you.
                          
Sincerely,

Edward J. Markey
Chairman
 

cc:     The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
    Ranking Minority Member

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