October 2026: C-10 Files New Legal Letter Asking NRC Commissioners to Improve Concrete Testing Program

It has been nearly a decade since C-10 first challenged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regarding Seabrook Station's long-documented concrete problems caused by ASR-induced cracking. As a result of that action, the NRC imposed new license conditions that required Seabrook Station to implement a large-scale concrete testing program, with the aim of identifying structural problems well in advance of their severity threatening public health and safety.

At that time the NRC also requested the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conduct a study to identity effective and accurate test methods for assessing concrete with features like those found at Seabrook Station. In 2022 the NIST results were released. These findings indicated the concrete testing methods currently used at Seabrook Station would be unlikely to provide a true picture ASR's structural impacts.

Since the study was released C-10 and world-leading concrete scientist Dr. Victor Saouma have been urging  for the NIST results to be used as the basis for Seabrook Station's concrete testing program. However, as of October 2026 the testing program at has remained unchanged.

Our new letter requests that NRC commissioners intervene to ensure Seabrook's concrete testing program is updated to reflect these new findings, rather than continuing to use outdated and inaccurate tests.