State Comptroller Pushes Owner of Indian Point to Move Toward Safer Storage of Nuclear Waste
(May 2013) New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli raises concerns with the storage of nuclear fuel at Entergy Inc.’s annual shareholder meeting in Little Rock, Ark. DiNapoli’s shareholder proposal calls for the company to implement a policy to minimize the amount of nuclear waste it stores in spent fuel pools and transfer that waste into dry cask storage.
“Accidents or sabotage of nuclear waste could have devastating effects on human health and our environment. Entergy should mitigate its risks and move toward safer storage of its spent nuclear fuel,” DiNapoli said. “The disaster at Fukushima laid bare the risks associated with nuclear power. Management should support any effort that seeks to lower risk and protect shareholder value.”
Dry-cask storage is a process that allows spent nuclear fuel that has already been cooled in a spent fuel pool for a period of time to be surrounded by inert gas in a steel container known as a cask. These cylinders provide several potential safety and security advantages over pool storage, according to a report by the National Academy of Sciences. Additionally, the Union of Concerned Scientists recommends the transfer of spent nuclear fuel from storage pools into dry casks once it has cooled.
DiNapoli’s resolution states:
THEREFORE, be it resolved that shareholders request that Entergy’s Board of Directors adopt and implement a policy to better manage the dangers that might arise from an accident or sabotage by minimizing the storage of waste in spent fuel pools and transferring such waste at the earliest safe time into dry cask storage, and report to shareholders on progress quarterly, at reasonable expense and excluding proprietary or confidential information.
A report compiled by the Sustainable Investments Institute cites several factors for why companies have not adequately dealt with long-term storage solutions for spent fuel, including uncertainty about a national storage solution and a desire to minimize short-term costs.
DiNapoli’s proposal, according to the report, “…leaves Entergy the flexibility to report back to shareholders on alternative solutions for long-term storage with a rationale on the merits of cost and safety, and it doesn’t pigeonhole Entergy into any one solution or timeline, even though it suggests early transfer to dry cask facilities as the optimal solution.”
Entergy operates the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, N.Y. as well as the James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant near Oswego, N.Y.
As of April 26, 2013 the Fund owned 708,928 shares of Entergy valued at approximately $49 million.