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 n November 30, 1999, an accident occurred involving
the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in San
Diego Bay. According to a report in the Union Tribune,
the Navy had to conduct an emergency shutdown of both nuclear
reactors on the USS Stennis. The shutdown was caused when the
ship's steam condensers were fouled with sediment stirred up
by the ship propellers, interfering/preventing the intake of
cooling water from the Bay. This left the ship without power
for five minutes, according to the report.
 When asked,
the Navy stated that the incident was not nuclear-related and
that there was no danger to crew or residents. However, full
information on this incident is yet to be released. This event
underscores the urgent need and prudence of adequate emergency
and notification plans for neighboring communities of Naval Air
Station, North Island.
There are
a number of troubling aspects about this unplanned shutdown of
the nuclear reactors on the USS Stennis, not the least of which
is that the public was not notified through any formal process.
Through a pure coincidence, the accident was learned of by non-Naval
personnel who reported it to the newspaper and by a conversation
about "grounding" of the USS Stennis that was overheard
on the boating radio traffic by a recreational boater. This is
not the notification that public deserves or expects of accidents
that involve the nuclear reactors at Naval Air Station, North
Island.
This intake
of sediment and the resulting unplanned shutdown of the reactors
was an accident -- an accident to which it appears the Navy responded
quickly and correctly. Nevertheless, any time there is a loss
of cooling water function to a nuclear reactor system, it is
a potentially serious situation. One analysis, provided to Environmental
Health Coalition by a former Navy officer who is familiar with
naval nuclear reactors, stated that the Stennis uses a very sophisticated
nuclear propulsion system and anything that affects the operation
of that nuclear propulsion system is, in fact, nuclear related.
In the reactor design used by the Stennis, very high-temperature
(600° F) water is circulated through the reactor's core as
primary coolant and is routed to turn nonradioactive feed water
into steam that produced the electricity for the ship. The steam
then travels to a condenser where sea water is used to cool the
steam back into feed water.
In the
Stennis accident, once the sea water flow was lost, heat could
no longer be transferred from the primary coolant to the steam
generator. When this happens, the nuclear reactor core immediately
starts to overheat. It is worth noting that the Three Mile Island
nuclear accident started when feed water flow to the steam generator
was inadvertently stopped, causing the steam generator to boil
dry, and the reactor core partially melted due to overheating.
A similar stoppage of sea water cooling happened at San Onofre
Nuclear Generating Station on March 10, 1980.
The Navy
has been providing analysis of the impacts of homeporting up
to three nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in two Environmental
Impact Statements it has prepared in the past five years. These
documents are supposed to consider and evaluate the impacts from
worst-case and credible accident scenarios. The Navy has repeatedly
assured the public that if there is a problem with one of the
carrier nuclear reactors, the other reactor would be operational
and would provide propulsion for the ship. There is no accident
in these documents that contemplated that both reactors would
be down and the ship would be without power or steering. But,
that is exactly the accident that did happen and within the first
year and half that the USS Stennis has been located in San Diego
Bay. EHC has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with
the Department of Naval Reactors and will share all information
obtained with the public.
Environmental
Health Coalition and hundreds of San Diego region residents have
been calling on the Navy to provide full information about its
accident record to the public. We have called on the Coastal
Commission to require that the Navy produce emergency response
and notification plans for community neighbors to the nuclear
base. The Navy continues to refuse to disclose information and
to provide adequate emergency and notification plans for the
public.
There is
one last opportunity for the public to demand prudent planning
and disclosure about these impacts. The California Coastal Commission
will meet in San Diego on February 15 and will consider
these issues. The hearing will be held at the Quality Resort
in Mission Valley at 875 Hotel Circle South, San Diego.
Please join the many San Diegans that are expected to testify at this hearing. The meeting will begin at 9am. It is your chance to come and be heard. Demand that the Coastal Commission make the Navy accountable for the risks that it presents to our communities. We need adequate emergency planning, notification systems, independent monitoring for downwind communities, and full disclosure from the Navy about its accident record. Call Humberto at EHC at (619) 235-0281 or email HumbertoT environmentalhealth.org for more information. 
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