In a 4 to 1 vote on Thursday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (N.R.C.) approved a license to construct and operate two reactors at a nuclear plant in Georgia. The last time the industry had a new start was in 1978. The two reactors will be added to the Southern Company’s Alvin W. Vogtle nuclear plant near Augusta. The $14 million project will be closely observed by utilities around the nation.
The one vote opposed to this construction was by the commission’s chairman, Gregory B. Jaczko. Commonly at odds with his fellows, Jaczko said, “I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima had never happened.” His colleagues assured him that all safety and protective measures have been carried out to prevent the plant from the nuclear disaster that occurred in Japan. The new design, Westinghouse AP1000, is intended to withstand plane crashes and earthquakes and it will be less vulnerable to cut off electricity. The AP1000 allows air to circulate between the liner and the concrete shield building, which will permit natural convection to remove excess heat in an emergency. The design has fewer valves than most reactors currently in service and an emergency water tank is suspended above the reactors so that no pumps are needed to deliver emergency cooling water.
