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 Weekend Special s54.00 300 FREE MILES 72 Hours Friday to Monday A-WAV RENT A^CAR 683-0874 HOW 6!h Huit Crv't'r EMU tiuf?