Sens. Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren recently called for scrutiny of a proposed license change at the Seabrook nuclear power plant.
Markey, chair of the Clean Air, Climate and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Warren, sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, expressing concern over plans to “consolidate emergency response services, increase emergency response times by 50% and move key emergency response staff from on-site to a building in Juno Beach, Fla.”
“As a result, communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire that live within the emergency planning zone of NextEra Energy’s Seabrook nuclear power plant would be exposed to greater risks, if an emergency should occur,” the senators wrote, requesting “a careful evaluation” of the license amendment request by the operator of the plant.
In 2021, Markey and Warren asked the Commission to take additional measures to address structural degradation at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station caused by alkali-silica reaction. In 2019, Markey and Warren, along with Congressman Seth Moulton, also successfully pushed for public meetings and hearings before the NRC took action to renew or amend the Seabrook plant license.