P.M. BRIEFING : Panel Declares Seabrook Safe, Approves Nuclear-Power Permit
A federal advisory panel said today it has approved evacuation plans for Massachusetts communities near the Seabrook, N.H., nuclear power plant and recommended that the embattled facility receive a full-power license.
The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board overruled the objections of Massachusetts officials and environmental groups and said evacuation plans for residents of six northeastern Massachusetts communities are adequate to protect public safety.
The board also ruled that an evacuation exercise conducted last year in Massachusetts and New Hampshire “was adequate in scope and revealed no fundamental flaw.”
Although Massachusetts Atty. Gen. James Shannon can appeal the decision within 10 days, the $6.5-billion reactor could receive a full-power license even before the appeals run their course, said Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman John Kopeck. Seabrook officials have said they expect the plant to be licensed around the first of next year.
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