Safety, high costs seen as basis for Trojan closure
RAINIER (AP) — Critic s of Oregon's only c umm«n tal
nuclear power plan) believe rrojnn has been perrna
nently closed I localise i) could not meet valety stall
dards.
However, workers a) rrojnn say Portland t.eneral
Electric. the plant's operator, just decided to stop
shouldering the exorbitant costs of its protracted shut
down after a tiring fight against public initiatives to
c lose it.
PCJK was losing more than $2(XM>00 a day while the’
plant was off line for the past two months, awaiting
government approval to start up again after a steam
generator tula? leaked minute amounts of radioactive
gas
Reactor operator Joseph Taylor was at the plant when
workers were told Monday afternoon that it would new -
er reopen
"After the announcement, people still went alxiut
their |ohs. making sure1 everything was done said lay
lor, who is also mayor of the town c;f 1.700
I was impressed with their attitude These people
an* trying to bring home a payc hock lor their fumilies.
he said
Several w'orkers defended the* safety rc*c ord of the
plant, hut said PCE was rehu taut to pay for the lengthy
shutdown while faced with the uncertainty of possible
shutdowns in the future
"I work at the plant, my family lives in Rainier, five
miles from it I believe it’s safe I avlor said
"We think they've done a good job with respes I to
safety, but now we know it lost them a lot of money,
said Adam llless. who has inspec ted the plant for the
Oregon Department of Energy for the past three and a
half years
"You can't know when the plant might lx* down, it's
too unpredic table, lie said I think that s what got
IHiK. not |tist the i ost hut the unc ertaintv
Bless said state law requires that no nuc lear power
plants Im* operated in Oregon exc ept Troian, likely rniik
ing it the stole's last nuc lear plant
Robert Pollard, nuc lear safety engineer for the Onion
of Conc erned Sc ientists, said TOE was misleading |x*o
ple when it said the decision to close the* plant was
iiased on economic s
Rather than admit nuc lear plants c .in t operate safely .
Pollard said, the utilities use the eve use that continued
operation isn't cost-effective
The U S Nuc lear Regulatory Commission goes along
with the* ruse. Pollard said
"My feeling is that if the plants were required to op
erate safely, you would have many more plants i losing
It's only because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
too frequently aits to protect the nui lear regulatory in
dustry rather than the public . which exactly is why I
left the agem v," said Pollard, who one e heljied oversee
the operation of Trojan
PGE decided Tuesday to close the Troian nuclear power
plant due to the high cost ot continued operation of the
controversial facility
Pollard said the shutdown was fort ed In lus organi
zation's release of NKC do* uments that expressed con
i «m for th** plant's safety
Angus Duncan, an Oregon member of the Northwest
Power Planning Council, said the shutdown was good
news
"We finally have shut the door in Oregon on this ill
fated te< hnologv and done so in a way that prole* ts the
pix kctfiooks of POT and the Bonneville Power Admin
istration ratepayers," he said
Tin* state's other member on the council. Ted
Hallo* k. also praised the de* ision
"It rei ognizes that the economic and safety risks
whit h ,K < ompam existing nuclear energy generation
are too great to lx* a part of this or any other region's fu
tore," he said
We think they've done a good Job
with respect to safety, but now
we know it cost them a lot of
money.'
— Adam Bless,
Oregon Department of Energy inspector
In a successful hid to disarm two voter initiatives to
< lose the plant. PGE announc ed in August that it would
phase out Trojan by 1996. Then it spent millions of
dollars to advertise the dm ision
"Obviously if we'd had a crystal ball, we wouldn’t
have done that," said Ken L. Harrison, chairman of
PGE's board.
On Monday, sponsors of one of the failed November
ballot measures were already printing T-shirts with the
slogan. "I told you so.”
Greg Tozian. a spokesman for the group that put
Measure 6 on the ballot, said PGK spent millions of dol
lars opposing the initiative because it would have pro
tected ratepayers from absorbing the costs of closing the
plant.
"We knew ail along they wen* going to i lose it. They
knew the\ were going to close it The four-year phase
out was a smokescreen." he said
Gen Barbara Huberts was on vacation; however, her
spokesman. Steve Gason, said she has consistently sup
ported the plant's closure.
"She's always considered safety the highest priority,"
he saul "She is pleased that PGK has taken the best
economic decision they could with that priority in
mind
Sen Mark Hatfield. R-Ore., applauded the decision
"While PGE's decision was based primarily on eco
nomic s. the shift from nuclear generation to natural gas.
conservation, and renewable resources will help bring
Oregon into lietter alignment with Clinton administra
tion's energy |M)li( ies." he said.
Mel Ferguson, chairman of the Oregon Energy Facili
ty Siting Council, said the council would turn its atten
tion to making sure plans to decommission the plant
are safe and to finding long-term power replacement.
Harrison has said that replac ement will include the
use of conservation and small gas-fired turflines as well
as the continued pure hase of power from outside the
region
Christine Ervin, direc tor of the* Oregon Department of
Energy, said PGE's dec ision "c reates much more incen
live to step up the region's efforts in conservation and
renew able resoure es
TROJAN CHRONOLOGY
ili'rv is a i limnology of im
portant events in the lustors
nl llii- Tropin nuclear plant
1970 Silti esc avatinn Im*
gins
107 1 Atomic Knorgs
Commission issues construe
lion |mtiiiiI Construe lion lie
gins l et) 15.
1075 — Plant c Oltipleteei ill
|)c*c I'lllIxT
1070 Plant goes to lull
power in Mas
1‘)7H I S Nuclear Regu
latorv ( oinnussion i lost«s
Trojan for nineandahalf
months for repairs after dis
t ovcring that the plant's i on
trol i enter does not t onforni
to earthquake standards
10H4 On Sept 20. two
salets related water pumps
and a diesel generator fail
during a plant shutdown An
NK< engineer issues a report
saving the malfunctions
could have led to a i on* molt
down under other circutn
slant os
l«89 NKC finds Trojan
safetv systems inoperable
and fines Portland General
Klectrit Co S-BO.OOO, the
largest fine in the plant's his
lory
petti In November. On*
gon voters n*|i*t t Measure A.
which would have closer! the
plant in to duvs Oregon Kn*
ergy Department threatens to
shut down the plant it safety
is not improved.
Aug 10. 1992 — l*tiK offi
cials vote to dose Trojan In
1996, lf> sears tiefore its li
cense would have expired
PGT savs phasing out the
plant in four years instead of
shutting it down immediately
would save ratepayers half a
billion dollars
\'m t. 1992 — Oregon
voters rejt* t Ballot Measures
5 and (>, which would have
( losed Trojan or required
much stricter safetv and
waste disposal standards
Nov, 9, 1992 — Leaking ra
dioactive steam forces shut
down of the plant.
Ian -1. 1993 — PGK offi
i tals announce that Trojan
will remain closed perma
nently
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