To the Editor:
We second your editorial urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to quickly adopt the recommendations of its task force for improving nuclear power safety in the United States (“In the Wake of Fukushima,” July 24).
But the task force completely missed several common-sense actions that would go a long way to protect the public. For example, reactor owners could substantially decrease the potential hazards of spent fuel by moving it from vulnerable spent fuel pools to hardened dry casks when it is cool enough to do so.
Likewise, the commission should expand emergency planning zones beyond its arbitrary 10-mile limit to protect all nearby residents who would be at significant risk from a severe accident. The United States government advised Americans within 50 miles of Fukushima to evacuate, a recommendation that was validated by the high levels of radioactivity recorded well beyond 10 miles of the Fukushima plant.
LISBETH GRONLUND
Senior Scientist
Union of Concerned Scientists
Cambridge, Mass., July 25, 2011