The Perry Nuclear Reactor (a commercial nuclear power plant) sits on the shore of Lake Erie 40 miles east of Cleveland, Ohio. Perry is a single 1260-megawatt General Electric Boiling Water Reactor. Construction for two units began in 1977. Unit 2 was canceled in 1994 after all major buildings and structures were completed, including the 500-foot cooling tower. Unit 1 began operations in 1987 and was licensed to March 2026.

   ☢ Liability relief: Perry was owned by FirstEnergy before they put their energy-generating subsidies into bankruptcy in 2018. A new company, Energy Harbor, LLC, emerged as owner, absolving both FirstEnergy (now only delivering electricity) and new reactor owner (limited liability corporation) of many previous liabilities. Vistra bought Energy Harbor in March, 2024, making Vistra the nation’s second largest nuclear fleet owner. 

    ☢ License expiration relief:  $1.3 billion in subsidies for FirstEnergy’s nuclear plants (see Ohio House Bill 6 – page 2) made the owners change their minds about not renewing Perry’s license. In 2020 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) extended Perry’s license expiration date by 8 months to Nov. 2026. The NRC also extended the deadline by 2 years for a license renewal application. These changes made the owners eligible to request a 20-year license renewal. A renewal application was made in July, 2023.

    ☢ Citizen intervention dismissed:  In December, 2023, ONFN and Beyond Nuclear filed a Petition to Intervene to stop a renewal, citing large and continuing tritium releases and underground instability. The petition contains a report by Geologist Dr. Rice on Bedrock, Earthquakes, and Flooding at Perry, saying Perry’s buildings can slide into Lake Erie sooner rather than later, as part of a nearby park did. An outdated geotechnical analysis is not predictive of actual site conditions, including erosion of the lake bluff, ground instability, high water table, and leaks from wet and dry storage.  Solution of an underlying salt formation could destabilize the entire site. NRC summarily  dismissed all concerns. License renewal is pending. 

Construction cost was 11 times the estimate: When the twin reactor plant was announced in 1971, it was to cost $632 million. The final cost was $7.4 billion. Unit 2 never opened, likely due to economics including costs to finish construction, interest on borrowing, poor projected revenues, and increasingly on back taxes due.   

Seismically active area:  Perry lies within 40 miles of two faults. Whistleblowers reported that a geologic fault line was identified while Perry was under construction, and that workers were instructed to keep quiet as they filled the fissure with thousands of tons of concrete. In 1986, a 5.0 earthquake hit 10 miles to the south. It was felt in 11 states and Ontario. A citizen group sued to block Perry from opening, citing future earthquake risk, but was turned down by the Supreme Court. In 2019 an AP analysis of government data revealed Perry’s risk of severe earthquake damage to be 24 times as high as previously thought. Addressing multiple quakes in Lake County in 2022, a geologist noted that the ground is “riddled with faults”.  See Dr. Rice’s report above. 

Flooding: Perry is not compliant with flooding and other upgrades outlined in Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. Two streams run close to the plant. In 2015 a stream immediately west of the reactor was rerouted due to flooding hazards. In 2019, 2021, and 2022 Energy Harbor requested exemptions for Perry’s flood mitigation requirements and asked to revise the methodology for flood hazard analysis. 

Shoreline erosion:  Perry sits on a 40-foot bluff overlooking Lake Erie. Wave activity is undercutting the bluffs, creating shoreline recession. According to the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources’ Lake Erie Shore Erosion Management Plan for Eastern Lake County, 3,500 feet (about half) of the Perry site shoreline is armored with stone and steel. Recession along the unarmored shore east of the plant resulted in the removal of several homes before Perry was constructed. Average recession rates of unarmored shore reach 4.9 feet per year in the area.                                                                                  

First Energy/Energy Harbor/Vistra Cut Corners on Nuclear Maintenance: ONFN outlines 30+ requests made to or granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for waivers on inspections, standards, maintenance, repairs, and upgrades for Perry and Davis-Besse. Exemptions given due to planned closure in 2021 continue.   

Regular radioactive releases, accident concerns:  The nuclear industry fails to mention  that all nuclear plants make routine radioactive releases into the air and water. An accident at Perry poses the risk of contaminating the drinking water of millions of people. A Perry tritium leak in 2014 measured 46,200 picocuries per liter.    

Other incidents: 

• Twice in 2021, the NRC reduced Perry’s emergency planning requirements, including for fires. 
• In 2017 it was found that Perry had been operating without access to its emergency diesel generators. NRC inspections also failed to notice this. Later, the NRC issued a “White Finding”.   
• In 2017, twenty-seven Perry workers failed drug tests. Perry was the target of NRC safety inspections for more than three years because of “human performance” issues in safety management.
• In 2011 the Union of Concerned Scientists documented a Near-Miss at Perry involving multiple issues.
• In a 1991 Mistake by the Lake, the rupture of a 36-inch pipe carrying water critical for cooling flooded the Perry site with 3 million gallons of water. Water flowed into vaults containing electrical cables.

The Ohio House Bill 6 bribery scandal: In 2018 FirstEnergy claimed its two Ohio nuclear plants, Perry and Davis-Besse, were unprofitable and threatened to close them. In response, the Ohio legislature passed the infamous House Bill 6 in July 2019, giving FirstEnergy $1.3 billion in ratepayer money to keep the plants running. A year later, the Dept. of Justice made arrests, alleging that FirstEnergy had bribed lawmakers and others to the tune of $60 million. The U.S. Attorney described House Bill 6 as “likely the largest bribery and money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of Ohio.” The legislature rescinded $1.3 billion gift, but a large coal bailout and the gutting of Ohio’s renewable energy standards remains in place. No FirstEnergy officials have been charged with a crime, and the nuclear plants continue to operate – what happened to being unprofitable? See the ONFN factsheet on FirstEnergy deception before the scandal broke: Ohio House Bill 6, the FirstEnergy Bailout. 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION: A CAPTURED AGENCY

     The NRC has been captured by the industry it was set up to regulate. They have handed out safety exemptions and approved the following three technologies:

    ☢ High Level Radioactive Waste stored in thin canisters: NRC has licensed stainless steel dry storage canisters for nuclear waste that are a mere 5/8-inch thick.They are welded shut and cannot be inspected, maintained, or repaired. Peak radiation levels from their air vents are kept from the public. Thin canisters could crack, causing major radioactive leaks and explosions. Scratches and gouges can compromise the outer layers, precipitating cracking. Thick-walled casks are required in Europe. They are designed to be monitored and maintained and are transportable, while thin-walled canisters are not.

   ☢ “High Burnup” Nuclear Fuel (HBF) has been permitted by the NRC for over 20 years. It has more fissile material and is “burned” longer and hotter, saving utilities money. Perry went to 100% HBF in 2019. Spent (used) HBF is more radioactive and thermally hot, requiring longer water cooling in fuel pools before dry storage. Higher temperatures damage the fuel, increasing explosion risk and making it unstable for transport. Substantial HBF safety risks have been documented since 2014. NRC responded by allowing shorter, not longer, cooling times for spent fuel, exempting some canisters from verifying cooling. NRC is considering allowing even higher fuel burnups. For financial viability, new nuclear reactors will require much higher burnups and enrichment – greatly increasing fuel storage challenges. 

    ☢ Dangerously overcrowded fuel pools: Spent (used) fuel comes out so hot it must be cooled in fuel pools for years.  Because fuel pools are expensive, utilities are overcrowding existing pools. U.S. fuel pools now hold up to 5 times more fuel than they were designed to handle. Outside electricity is needed to cool the pools for refueling or for a weather incident or electric outages. Backup generators have limited fuel and are notorious for failure. A pool fire caused by loss of electricity or a terrorist act could dwarf the Fukushima disaster.                                                                                     

Updated October 2024.  Contact Pat Marida patmarida@outlook.com.