NATION IN BRIEF : MASSACHUSETTS : Oldest U.S. Nuclear Plant May Close

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will consider shutting down the nation’s oldest nuclear power plant because of concerns that its containment vessel could fail in an emergency. NRC Chairman Ivan Selin said he considers the 30-year-old Yankee Rowe plant in Rowe, Mass., to be safe. But he said the commission needs to examine whether the western Massachusetts plant should temporarily shut down for closer inspection and possible improvements. The action stems from a charge by the Union of Concerned Scientists that the plant’s steel reactor containment vessel has become brittle with age and could crack in an emergency, triggering a meltdown.