Cut Dangerous, Unreviewed Nuclear Power Booster Bill
from National Defense Authorization Act
Washington, D.C. Nov 27, 2023 Over 100 organizations wrote to Congressional leaders and conference committee members asking them to remove a troubling, potentially devasting nuclear power section from the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) being hashed out now by lawmakers. (See full letter below.***)
House and Senate versions of the NDAA (H.R.2670) are being negotiated now and could be voted on in conference as soon as return from Thanksgiving recess, with a goal to pass the whole NDAA by end of calendar year. Because the NDAA is one of the few “must-pass” bills, literally hundreds of amendments get tacked on.
Section 8141 of the NDAA is of concern here–It is S. 1111, the ADVANCE Act, which extends inadequate, unrealistic nuclear power liability limits (in the Price-Anderson Act which expires in 2025) for 20 more years. It allows foreign entities to own US nuclear power reactors (now prohibited) and directs international export of nuclear technology and materials to other countries, among other significant provisions.
The national, regional, state and local groups called for deleting Section 8141 from the NDAA. They argue that Congress should not tack such monumental give-aways to the nuclear industry on to the NDAA without addressing the potentially enormous costs to taxpayers in case of nuclear accidents, incidents and disasters. They compare the limits of coverage (approximately $13 billion) required for US nuclear reactors to the costs actually incurred when the same design-nuclear reactors melted down in Japan (as high as $742 billion and growing for the ongoing 2011 Fukushima disaster, in 2019 dollars and exchange rates according to the Japan Center for Economic Research).
“If nuclear power reactors—especially the proposed “new” ones are “inherently” safe, why shouldn’t they pay for their own accident insurance to the full extent of the risks??” asked Diane D’Arrigo, Radioactive Waste Project Director at Nuclear Information and Resource Service.
The letter posits that if Congress wants to renew the Price-Anderson Act, it must hold balanced hearings to decide if US tax money should be used to give the 70-year old nuclear power industry a leg up, by not having to pay for the full cost of insurance. The groups call for an objective assessment of potential costs to US taxpayers from the Congressional Budget Office.
They also expressed concern about the dangers of allowing foreign ownership of US nuclear power reactors and of accelerating the export of nuclear materials and technology to other countries. ###
LETTER***
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
House Speaker Mike Johnson
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers
Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed
Senate Armed Services Committee Members, NDAA Conferees
House NDAA Conferees
RE: Remove Section 8141, S.1111 including Price-Anderson Act renewal from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
November 22, 2023
Dear Senators Schumer and McConnell, Speaker Johnson, Representatives Scalise and Jeffries,
Chairman Rogers, Chairman Reed and all NDAA Conference Committee members:
Please remove the Price-Anderson Act[1] renewal from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Despite its immense implications, costs, and controversial impacts, it was added by amendment to the Senate-passed NDAA in July 2023 without public hearings, discussion, or Congressional Budget Office scoring.
We (more than 100 national, local and regional organizations) call on Congress to conduct objective, balanced public hearings to consider the full implications of the Price-Anderson Act’s severe and categorical limits on the liability for the nuclear industry at a time of soaring budget deficits, severe cuts in essential services, and increased costs of radioactive contamination and health care. The Price-Anderson Act leaves the exposed public to incur the potentially enormous external costs of nuclear disasters that can easily exceed Price-Anderson’s woefully inadequate limits. The nuclear industry has already been granted very large subsidies and incentives from federal[2] (in the range of $100 billion or more from the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill) and many state and local government coffers. The liability caps and exemptions[3] embodied in the Price-Anderson Act mask high risks and consequences from accidents, natural disasters, and attacks on nuclear facilities—including nuclear power reactors and high-level waste management. Price-Anderson is a gratuitous socialization of corporate business risks for a mature, 70+ year-old industry.
It has been argued that nuclear power makes the climate crisis worse by consuming too much of the limited time and resources needed for genuinely renewable energy and a resilient, reliable electricity infrastructure. Congress should hold hearings to objectively and independently assess whether the “leg up” for nuclear provided by the Price-Anderson Act renewal is worth skewing the playing field and blocking the grid against renewable energy sources that release neither climate pollution nor radioactivity into our air and water, generate waste that stays dangerous into the millions of years, nor violate environmental justice principles at every step of the fuel chain starting with uranium mining and milling.
The ADVANCE Act, S. 1111, which includes the Price-Anderson Act renewal, was amended to the NDAA (S. 2666, now S. 2670-5th version) in the Senate. It was not included in the House version of that bill (H.R. 2670-4th version). We call on leadership and NDAA conference committee members to please remove the Price-Anderson Act renewal from the final NDAA. We call for removal of all of S.1111, except funds to clean up uranium sites, which should be increased substantially to truly address the problem.
The Price-Anderson Act limits and exempts nuclear power and weapons companies from liability for the costs of nuclear disasters. Based on the number of operating reactors in the US, the Price-Anderson Act requires only approximately $13 billion in primary and secondary insurance for a US nuclear reactor accident, despite the potential for such accidents to cost much more. For any costs above that inadequate coverage, the public will have to call on Congress to consider paying out. Private insurance policies expressly do not cover contamination or damage from nuclear power, weapons and materials incidents.
The nuclear disasters at Chernobyl in Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan prove these costs can be exorbitant, far surpassing the Price-Anderson Act limit.
A 2003-2005 United Nations Forum reported “the cost of the [Chernobyl] accident, over two decades, at hundreds of billions of dollars.” [4]
Estimates for the ongoing Fukushima meltdowns and nuclear-related costs range from $160 billion to $742 billion (in 2019 dollars and exchange rates).[5] These 2019 estimates were before the recent cost-cutting decision to release radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, clearly an external cost not borne by the protected industry. Nineteen reactors in the US[6] are the same design as the Fukushima reactors,[7] so the comparison would be reasonable or more for a similar site in the U.S., located in a rural, agricultural region. The costs of similar nuclear disasters at sites affecting more densely populated, urban areas could be substantially greater.
If new reactors, which will rely on Price-Anderson liability limits, are “inherently safe” as claimed, Congress must ask why they are not able to obtain and pay for their own insurance. Why allow them to rely on Price-Anderson liability limits and exemptions from the full cost of accidents and insurance?
In case of a nuclear accident, if local and state governments and members of the public require any payout above the Price-Anderson Act limits, there is a process for Congress to consider providing that additional coverage. If any coverage is provided above the limits, it will be at the expense of US taxpayers. The private insurance industry is also exempted from providing coverage to property-owners, individuals, and businesses who suffer damages or losses from a nuclear disaster. For instance, all homeowners, renters and auto insurance policies contain a clause disclosing that loss and damage from nuclear disasters are not covered. The potential costs and risks to the US treasury and taxpayers of extending this expiring Act for another 20 years should be fully reviewed in public hearings before any consideration or vote. Removing it from the must-pass NDAA and subjecting it to the light of day would be the most democratic approach.
Regardless of one’s position on nuclear power, the economic risks of potential disasters must be impartially assessed, equitably allocated to the responsible parties, and included in the cost of operation, not shifted to the US taxpayer or externalized to innocent victims, especially at a time when the deficit is growing and threatens to shut down the government.
Originally passed in 1957, Price-Anderson was intended to kick-start a new industry in its infancy, which it did, but it has long since outlived that purpose and the industry should stand on its own. As previously indicated, the Price-Anderson Act limits the liability of nuclear power and weapons manufacturers and operators, with US taxpayers potentially holding the bag.
Finally,the Price-Anderson Act extension is part of a larger bill (S.1111) which was added in full to the NDAA. Two more of the many troublesome provisions in S. 1111 unjustifiably undermine national security by allowing foreign ownership of nuclear reactors in the US and the export of nuclear power technology and materials in a manner that threatens nuclear weapons proliferation. The amendment (NDAA Section 8141) should be removed.
Sincerely,
Tim Judson, Executive Director (Point of Contact)
Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Takoma Park, MD
timj@nirs.org ; 212-729-1169
dianed@nirs.org; 301-270-6477 x 3
Edwin Lyman, PhD,
Director of Nuclear Power Safety
Union of Concerned Scientists
Washington, DC
Karen Orenstein
Friends of the Earth US
Washington, DC
Ben Jealous, Executive Director
Sierra Club
Washington, DC
Martin Fleck
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Washington, DC
Tyson Slocum, Energy Program Director
Public Citizen, Inc.
Washington, DC
Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director
Food & Water Watch
Washington, DC
Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Oversight
Beyond Nuclear
Takoma Park, Maryland
Donald M. Goldberg, Executive Director
Climate Law & Policy Project
Chevy Chase, MD
Basav Sen, Climate Policy Director
Institute for Policy Studies
Washington, DC
Laura Haight, US Policy Director
Partnership for Policy Integrity
Pelham, MA
Mary Olson, Founder
Gender and Radiation Impact Project
Asheville, NC
Susan Gordon, Co-coordinator
Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment
Albuquerque, NM
Mark Dunlea, JD, Co-Chair
Ecoaction Committee
Green Party of the United States
Poestenkill, New York
Patricia Wood, Executive Director
Grassroots Environmental Education
Port Washington, New York
Mr. Michael J. Keegan, Chair
Coalition for a Nuclear Free Great Lakes
Monroe, Michigan
Daniel Hirsch, President
Committee to Bridge the Gap
Ben Lomond, CA
Jessie Collins, Jesse Deer-In-Water
Citizens’ Resistance at Fermi Two (CRAFT)
Redford, Michigan
Scott Kovac, Operations Director
Nuclear Watch New Mexico
Santa Fe, NM
Dr. Lilias Jardin, Executive Director
Black Hills Clean Water Alliance
Rapid City, SD
David Kraft, Director
Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS)
Chicago, IL
Lindsay Potter, Kelly Lundeen, John LaForge
Nukewatch
Luck, WI
Alice Hirt
Don’t Waste Michigan
Holland, Michigan
Leigh Ford, Executive Director
Snake River Alliance
Boise, ID
Glenn Carroll, Coordinator
Nuclear Watch South
Atlanta, Georgia
Diane Turco
Cape Downwinders
Cape Cod, MA
Jane Swanson, President
San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace
San Luis Obispo, CA
Anne Rabe, Environmental Policy Director
New York Public Interest Research Group NYPIRG
Albany, NY
Joni Arends
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
Santa Fe, NM
Dr. Charles Bowman, Chair
Western New York Drilling Defense
Buffalo, New York
Tina Volz-Bongar, Co-organizer
United For Clean Energy
Peekskill, NY
Andra Leimanis, Program Director
Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE)
Syracuse, NY
Judy Treichel, Executive Director
Nevada Nuclear Waste Task Force
Las Vegas, Nevada
Mr. Jerry Rivers
North American Climate, Conservation and Environment (NACCE)
Roosevelt, New York
Kraig Schultz
Michigan Safe Energy Future
Grand Haven, MI
Linda Cataldo Modica, President
Erwin Citizens Awareness Network, Inc. ECAN
Jonesborough, TN
Buckey Boone, Board Chair
Appalachian Peace Education Center
Abingdon, VA
Rees Shearer
Energizing Renewable Growth in Holston Valley
Emory, Virginia
Michael Welch, Director
Redwood Alliance
Arcata, CA
Susan Van Dolsen, Co-Founder
Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion
Rye, New York
Patricia Marida, Coordinator
Ohio Nuclear Free Network
Columbus, OH
Ms. Daryl Davis Chair, Energy Committee
Green Party of Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Carole Resnick
Syracuse Peace Council
Syracuse, NY
Marilyn Elie, Co-Founder
Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition
Cortlandt Manor, New York
Jennifer Thurston, Director
Information Network for Responsible Mining
Broomfield, CO
Frank James
Dakota Rural Action
Brookings, SD
Mike Carberry, Founding Director
Green State Solutions
Iowa City, IA
Tracy Frisch, M.S., Chair
Clean Air Action Network of Glens Falls
Glens Falls, NY
Mary Beth Brangan, President
Ecological Options Network
Bolinas, CA
Jane Williams, Executive Director
California Communities Against Toxics
Rosamond, CA
Sally Jane Gellert
Occupy Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Dr. Charles Bowman, Chair
Western New York Drilling Defense
Buffalo, New York
George Crocker, Executive Director
North American Water Office
Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Mark Haim, Director
Mid-Missouri Peaceworks
Columbia, Missouri
Dave McCoy, JD, Executive Director
Citizen Action New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nancy S. Vann, Esq., President
Safe Energy Rights Group
Peekskill, NY
John Whitney, Chairperson
Western New York Environmental Alliance
Buffalo, NY
Alice Evans, Ph.D., Chris Williams
Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance
Vermont
Jen Benson, Director of Environmental Action
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
Beacon, NY
Mavis Belisle
Dallas Peace and Justice Center
Dallas, TX
Regina Sneed
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
San Francisco/Eastbay Branches
California
Ms. Nancy Hilding, President
Prairie Hills Audubon Society
Black Hawk, South Dakota
Don Eichelberger
Abalone Alliance
San Francisco, CA
Christopher Hall, Executive Director
Sustainable CSRA
Aiken, SC
Mari Inoue, Co-founder
Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World
New York, NY
Caroline Armijo
The Lilies Project
Greensboro, NC
Cherise Udell, Executive Director
Utah Moms for Clean Air
SLC, UT
Anthony Diaz, Executive Director
Newark Water Coalition
Newark , NJ
Waste Not Alliance
Cleveland, OH
Ellen E Barfield
Phil Berrigan Memorial Veterans For Peace
Baltimore, Maryland
Jim Wohlgemuth
Veterans for Peace-The Hector Black Chapter
Nashville, TN
Kenneth E. Mayers, Ph.D., Major, USMCR (Retired)
Veterans For Peace – Santa Fe Chapter
Santa Fe, NM
Jacquelyn Drechsler
Rockland Coalition to End the New Jim Crow
Valley Cottage, New York
Susan H. Shapiro, Esq., Director
Goshen Green Farm
Goshen, New York
Ivan Weber, Owner
Weber Sustainability Consulting
Salt Lake City, Utah
Susan Hillary
LEAF of Hudson Valley
Nanuet, NY
Rita Mitchell, Co-Founder
Washtenaw 350
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Glenn Carroll, Coordinator
Nuclear Watch South
Atlanta, Georgia
Ed Hughs, Leader
North Eastern New Mexicans United Against Nuclear Waste
New Mexico
Janet Greenwald, Coordinator
Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping
New Mexico
Cathryn Chudy
Oregon Conservancy Foundation (OCF)
Boring, Oregon
Bart Ziegler, PhD, President
Samuel Lawrence Foundation
San Diego, California
Marylia Kelley, Senior Advisor
Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (CAREs)
Livermore, CA
Don Safer, Policy and Practice Chair
Tennessee Environmental Council
Nashville, Tennessee
Eric Jantz, Legal Director
New Mexico Environmental Law Center
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nina Bell, Executive Director
Northwest Environmental Advocates
Portland, Oregon
Christopher Allred, Administrator
Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center
Boulder , CO
Michel Lee, Esq., Chair
Council on Intelligent Energy & Conservation Policy
Scarsdale, New York
Mr. Peter Bergel
Oregon PeaceWorks
Salem, OR
Eileen O’Shaughnessy
Demand Nuclear Abolition
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Patricia Freda, Carol Dunn, Co-Chair
Colorado Citizens Against Toxic Waste (CCAT)
Canon City, Colorado
Mr. Jerry Rubin Director
Los Angeles Alliance for Survival
Santa Monica, California
Powder River Basin Resource Council
Sheridan, WY
Mr. Buffalo Bruce, Director
Western Nebraska Resources Council
Chadron, Nebraska
Karen Hadden
Sustainable Energy and Economic Development SEED Coalition
Texas
Tonyehn Verkitus, Executive Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Robert M. Gould, MD, President
San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility
San Francisco, CA
Denise Duffield, Associate Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Harry Wang, MD, President
Physicians for Social Responsibility/Sacramento
Sacramento, CA
Gwen DuBois, MD, MPH, President
Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility
Maryland
Ann Suellentrop MS RN Project Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility – Kansas City
Kansas
[1] Section 8141 of the NDAA is the ADVANCE ACT; Section 8141 (n) is the Price-Anderson Act renewal. Current Price-Anderson Act is in, the Atomic Energy Act (P.L. 117-286) Section 170 through 170 I.
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-1630/pdf/COMPS-1630.pdf pages 113-137.
[2] The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provide subsidies and tax breaks to the nuclear power industry. NIRS estimates the federal subsidies to nuclear power to be in the range of $100 billion. Summary of Incentives for Nuclear Energy in IRA and IIJA New York, Ohio and Illinois are providing state subsidies to nuclear power in their states.
[3] Nuclear weapons contractors are exempt from liability even if negligent and nuclear power companies have limited liability.
[4] Chernobyl’s Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts and Recommendations to the Governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, The Chernobyl Forum: 2003–2005 Second revised version. Pg 33. The Chernobyl Forum includes United Nations organizations IAEA, WHO, UNSCEAR, UNDP, FAO, UNEP, UN-OCHA, World Bank Group, Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine. https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/chernobyl.pdf
[5] Accident Cleanup Costs Rising to 35-80 Trillion Yen in 40 Years, Japan Center for Economic Research Future of Energy and Environment Choices (Extra Edition), Follow up Report of Public Financial Burden of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, March 7, 2019. https://www.jcer.or.jp/jcer_download_log.php?f=eyJwb3N0X2lkIjo0OTY2MSwiZmlsZV9wb3N0X2lkIjo0OTY2Mn0=&post_id=49661&file_post_id=49662
[6] Nuclear Regulatory Commission Information Digest, See Appendix A. NUREG-1350, Volume 34, “2022-2023 Information Digest” (nrc.gov)
[7] General Electric Mark I Boiling Water Reactors