Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight not enough, Palisades must be shut down (Viewpoint)

http://www.mlive.com/opinion/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2012/02/nuclear_regulatory_commission.html

10CFR50.61...Pressurized Thermal Shock Event means an event or transient in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) causing severe overcooling (thermal shock) concurrent with or followed by significant pressure in the reactor vessel.

Bernie Cohen discusses PTS on pages 97-8 of The Nuclear Option (which is on-line).

Cohen says : "scientists recognized this problem [PTS] over 20 years ago and found a simple remedy for it--reducing the quantity of copper in the steel alloy from which the vessel is fabricated.  This remedy was implemented in 1971 and all reactor vessels fabricated since that time have had no problems with PTS."

P. 98 is worth reading. The NRC watches reactors built before 1971 carefully for this problem and he notes that the NRC standard is a conservative one.