Become Prepared, Become Empowered

We are lucky to live in an outstandingly beautiful area, though we also share the reality of living near the nuclear power plant in Seabrook, NH.

C-10, standing for “Safety for Citizens within the 10-mile radius of Seabrook Nuclear Plant,” serves Newburyport and the other towns lying within Seabrook Station’s 10-mile emergency planning zone by monitoring the radiological pollution released into the air by the plant, educating the public on emergency planning and safety issues, and advocating decision makers to choose public and environmental safety above all else.

Things that YOU can do as a resident living near Seabrook Station:

• SIGN UP for Seabrook Station Code Red Alerts
• REGISTER FOR EVACUATION ASSISTANCE if you do not have, or are unable to operate, a vehicle
• ACCESS RADIATION EMERGENCY BROCHURE in print and online with different versions for MA and NH
• GET FREE POTASSIUM IODIDE PILLS from your local town or state health agent; especially critical to have in your at home emergency kit if you have children or are under the age of 45.

C-10 has put the links to all of these FREE resources on ONE WEBPAGE: www.c-10.org/emergency-plans

The reality of climate change means emergency planning is increasingly critical. In April, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a scathing report that scolded the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for failing to hold nuclear power plant operators like Seabrook Station accountable for factoring climate change into their risk analyses and emergency plans. Located right on the Atlantic Coast, our local nuclear plant is vulnerable to storm surges and coastal flooding. Other blind spots in nuclear regulations include risks from solar flares which this past June caused Seabrook Station to power down its reactor, and reduced ability to withstand seismic forces due to advanced degradation of the Seabrook plant’s concrete. C-10 will continue to put pressure on regulators and the plant to do better and close these gaps.

Other actions citizens can take include sending a letter to your mayor, state legislator, or congressional leader, requesting more investment in road and bridge infrastructure to strengthen resilience to extreme weather brought on by climate change. These infrastructure components are critical to the evacuation planning provided for residents if there were ever a nuclear emergency during a severe storm. Another critical request of our politicians (and everyone!) is that they support continued independent real-time radiation monitoring, a service that C-10 has provided to the state for over 30 years. Yet another important action is simply to attend public meetings about dangerous proposals from the plant that could imperil our local environment or public health.

C-10 is actively opposing one such proposal that, if approved, would diminish public safety for the sake of corporate profits. In October of 2022, Seabrook Station’s owner NextEra submitted a waiver request to reduce and consolidate the on-site emergency response resources at Seabrook, also impacting their three other nuclear power plants in Wisconsin and Florida.

Among the 49 “reductions in effectiveness” that NextEra was forced to disclose in its application were fewer Radiation Protection Technicians and complete elimination of other critical emergency response roles. If implemented, estimated response times for many plant staff in a possible emergency scenario would increase by as much as 30 minutes.

C-10 spent over a year reading in excess of 1,000 pages of documents on this issue and presented a well- researched summary to local mayors, state legislators, key first responder groups, and U.S. Congressional leaders in our region. The result: pressure from those officials and media attention, which caused the NRC to host a public meeting in April where the most dangerous parts of NextEra’s application were openly criticized. In August 2024, NextEra announced that the application will be modified to resolve the most contentious aspects of their request. Although this is a partial win for our region, some safety issues are still compromised in the proposal which C-10 will continue to fight.

Sarah Abramson is the Executive Director of C-10 and may be reached at sarah@c-10.org. To sign up to receive C-10’s newsletter or become involved as a donor or volunteer please visit www.c-10.org.

ACES believes we can make a BIG difference together. Team members invite you to stay updated on environmental matters by subscribing to our monthly newsletter via the “Join Our List” link on this page. Please consider joining our community of stewards who are committed to Make Every Day Earth Day by contacting acesnewburyport@gmail.com.

This educational column first appeared in The Daily News of Newburyport on October 25, 2024.