On March 10 2011, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a 20-year license extension for the Yankee nuclear power plant in Vermont. Hour laters in Japan, tsunami waves smashed into the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant, which contained reactors with the same design as Yankee's, setting in motion the largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.....
Even more worrying is the NRC's continued approval of licenses for aging nuclear reactors -- dozens of outdated facilities continue to receive approval to operate for the next 20 years despite their age and careless placement. The Indian Point Nuclear Plant is located just 38 miles from New York City and sits on a seismic fault. Its license expires in a few years and its operator has applied for a 20 year extension from the NRC.
These decisions require more scrutiny and oversight, and as a candidate for Congress for Hawaii's Second District, I promise to deliver both to the U.S. House of Representatives if elected.
The above is an excerpt from HuffPost Green - read the full article here.