Troubled history of Turkey Point

current as of 10 Dec 2009

Philip Stoddard, PhD

New  power  lines  in  Miami-­‐Dade  County  are  ONLY  needed    
to  support  new  nuclear  reactors  at  Turkey  Point.  
So  how  safe  is  FPL’s  current  opera5on  at  Turkey  Point?  
TROUBLED  TURKEY  POINT  
Miami  Herald  -­‐  Sunday,  August  21,  1988  
Herald  Staff  

There  is  nothing  insignificant  about  the  2,500  gallons  of  radioacBve  water  
spilled  into  a  canal  from  Florida  Power  &  Light's  Turkey  Point  nuclear  plant  
last  Tuesday.  Any  irregularity  at  a  nuclear-­‐power  plant  is  significant,  and  
parKcularly  worth  public  aLenKon  when  it  occurs  at  a  facility  long  
troubled  by  mismanagement  and  sloppy  safety  and  security  procedures…  

The  NRC  in  September  1987  charged  that  Turkey  Point  is  one  of  the  
naBon's  10  worst  nuclear  plants….    

The  NRC  threatened  to  close  Turkey  Point  if  the  situaBon  wasn't  
improved.  By  January  1988,  FPL  had  been  fined  $1.1  million  for  years  of  
violaKons  involving  plant  security,  safety,  and  operaKon.    
TURKEY  POINT  PLANT  NEEDS  HELP,  STUDY  SAYS  
The  Miami  Herald  -­‐  Wednesday,  April  20,  1988  
STEPHEN  K.  DOIG  Herald  Staff  Writer  
Chronic  problems  at  Florida  Power  &  Light's  Turkey  Point  nuclear  
plant  are  caused  by  a  history  of  inadequate  management,  
according  to  a  five-­‐month  study  of  the  plant  by  an  outside  
consulKng  team.  

The  million-­‐dollar  study,  conducted  by  Enercon  Services  of  Tulsa,  

Okla.,  recommended  that  FPL  adopt  21  changes  in  management  
policy,  supervision  pracKces,  training  and  technical  support.    

GROUP:  TURKEY  POINT  WORST  PLANT  

The  Miami  Herald  -­‐  Wednesday,  May  31,  1989  
STEPHEN  K.  DOIG  Herald  Staff  Writer  
Florida  Power  &  Light's  two  Turkey  Point  nuclear  reactors  are  among  
the  naBon's  10  worst  plants  in  terms  of  economics  and  safety,  
according  to  an  annual  criKque  issued  Tuesday  by  the  anK-­‐nuclear  
group  Public  CiKzen.  
Nuclear  plant  epsiodes  prompt  visit  from  U.S.  watchdog  
The  Miami  Herald  -­‐  Monday,  May  12,  2008  
BY  CURTIS  MORGAN  cmorgan@MiamiHerald.com    
The  naKon's  chief  nuclear  watchdog  will  tour  Turkey  Point  on  Tuesday,  a  visit  that  follows  
recent  six-­‐figure  fines  imposed  on  Florida  Power  &  Light  for  its  hired  guards  sleeping  and  
carrying  disabled  weapons  while  on  duty.  

Nuclear  reactor  malfuncBon  forces  a  Turkey  Point  shutdown  

The  Miami  Herald-­‐  Friday,  April  17,  2009  
BY  JOHN  DORSCHNER,  jdorschner@MiamiHerald.com  
A  rare  problem  with  a  control  rod  in  the  core  of  a  Turkey  Point  nuclear  reactor  has  caused  
the  unit  to  remain  shut  down  acer  a  refueling  outage,  a  federal  spokesman  announced  Friday.    
"This  is  certainly  not  something  that  you  see  every  day,"  said  Roger  Hannah,  the  Atlanta-­‐based  
spokesman  for  the  Nuclear  Regulatory  Commission.    

Nuclear  waste  piling  up,  FPL  seeks  rezoning  

Miami  Herald  -­‐  Thursday,  June  18,  2009  
BY  JOHN  DORSCHNER  jdorschner@MiamiHerald.com  
Acer  more  than  two  million  pounds  of  nuclear  waste  has  piled  up  in  South  Dade  over  35  
years,  Florida  Power  &  Light  is  quietly  seeking  a  zoning  change  to  allow  six  acres  of  its  Turkey  
Point  site  to  be  used  for  new  above-­‐ground  storage  casks.    
“The  Turkey  Point  Nuclear  Power  Plant  has  been  
in  safe  opera5on  since  1972  with  one  of  the  best  
safety  and  security  records  in  the  na5on.”  
hLp://www.miamidade.gov/oem/turkeypoint.asp  

Can  we  guess  who  wrote  this  bit  of  crea5ve  fic5on?
Despite  its  conKnuing  troubles  at  Turkey  Point,  with  one  of  the  
worst  safety  records  in  the  naKon,  FPL  wants  to  build  and  operate  
2  new  nuclear  reactors  close  to  your  home.  

FPL  is  charging  us  up  front,  NOW,  to  plan,  design,  and  build  new  
power  lines  through  our  neighborhood  and  new  nuclear  plants    
17  miles  away.    

FPL’s  esKmated  cost  to  rate  payers:  $20  billion  

Trust  is  earned