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No. 99-170 August 9, 1999
NRC GRANTS GPU NUCLEAR'S REQUEST TO REDUCE INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR SHUT-DOWN THREE MILE ISLAND UNIT 2
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has granted a request from GPU Nuclear, operator of Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2), to reduce insurance coverage on the reactor shut down near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Over ninety-nine percent of the fuel has been removed from TMI-2, which never operated after the 1979 accident. The reduction in insurance coverage was granted based on the substantially reduced risk that the permanently shut-down reactor presents to public health and safety.
Currently, under NRC regulations, all nuclear power plant licensees are required to maintain approximately $1 billion of on-site insurance to stabilize and decontaminate each reactor, and to provide coverage for on-site damage in the event of an accident. They are also required under the terms of the Price-Anderson Act, to obtain a minimum of $200 million for financial protection and to participate in a secondary financial protection system totaling about $8.7 billion, against damages and injuries which could occur off site. However, over a dozen other nuclear power plants have been permitted by NRC to reduce insurance coverage for on-site damage after permanently shutting down and removing fuel from the reactor vessels.
The NRC staff has completed its review of GPU Nuclear's March 9 request to reduce insurance coverage on TMI-2. That review concluded that the licensee's proposed insurance protection of $50 million would be sufficient to provide adequate funds for any problems that might arise.
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