Court Stays Restart of TMI Reactor; June 27 Hearing Set

Opponents of reopening the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania won a round Friday as a federal appeals court delayed the restart of the plant’s undamaged reactor, just five days before it was to be put into use.

The court order puts on hold a May 29 ruling by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that approved restarting the reactor, known as TMI-1. That reactor was shut down for routine refueling in 1979 when its twin, TMI-2, suffered a partial meltdown in the nation’s worst commercial nuclear accident.

Arguments before the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia are scheduled for June 27 on whether the NRC acted properly in authorizing the restart. Commission spokesman Frank Ingram said that “we’ll respond to the court” but disclosed no details on what that response might be.

‘Protracted History’

In granting the stay, the three-judge panel said it considered “the protracted history and present posture of this matter as well as the pervasive nature of the public interest involved.”

The court order, issued as Three Mile Island operators were taking steps toward restarting TMI-1 next week, added another chapter to the bitter six-year struggle over nuclear power in the wake of the accident.

The March 28, 1979, accident evolved into a referendum on nuclear power, galvanizing opponents but leaving advocates able to argue that even in the nation’s worst such mishap, no one died.

Opponents of the restart charge that the plant is still unsafe and that its management is unethical. They implored the NRC to hold hearings on these matters but the commission refused, citing six years of investigation.

The plant’s owner, General Public Utilities Corp., and its operator, GPU Nuclear Corp., have denied the charges and had counted on the restart to bolster the utility company’s sagging finances, which were hurt substantially when stock value fell after the accident.

‘Regret Court’s Action’

Reacting to the court ruling, William G. Kuhns, chairman and chief executive officer of the New Jersey-based General Public Utilities Corp., said: “We regret the court’s action relating to the stay, but we are pleased that the courts will consider bringing this issue to a close expeditiously.”

Friday’s one-page order resulted from four appeals seeking a stay of the NRC’s decision. The appeals had been filed by Three Mile Island Alert, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Union of Concerned Scientists and two individuals, Norman O. and Marjorie M. Aamodt.

Opponents of the restart expressed joy at their temporary victory and a resolve to continue their struggle regardless of what the appeals court decides at the June 27 hearing.

“We’re elated, and people throughout the area are heaving a huge sigh of relief,” said Brian Hunt, a member of Three Mile Island Alert in Harrisburg, which is about 10 miles from Three Mile Island.

George Shohet, a lawyer with the Government Accountability Project in Washington, which represented Hunt’s group, said there were “glaring illegalities” in the commission decision, and he praised the court for “holding (reactor operations) in place.”

Testing to Continue

Nevertheless, in anticipation of an eventual restart, the plant technicians began bringing TMI-1 up to operating temperature and pressure at 4:30 a.m. Friday, and this testing procedure will continue because it does not involve actually starting the reactor, said Gordon Tomb, a GPU Nuclear spokesman at Three Mile Island.

In the procedure, Tomb said, four coolant pumps of 9,000 horsepower each are heated to 525 degrees Fahrenheit, building pressure of 2,155 pounds per square inch to test the plant’s equipment.

Brushing aside critics’ contentions about safety and management, Tomb said the issues “have been reviewed over a six-year period, and the NRC has found that those issues have been resolved.”