February 27, 2008
This is from the front page of today's The Arizona Republic.
See full text of this story, and many public comments, via the web version of this article.
May 5, 2007
New PWROG items this week from NRC Public Document Room
* [2007-05-04] 05/15/2007 Notice of Forthcoming Category 2 Public Meeting with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to Exchange Technical Information on Steam Generator Tube Rupture During a PWR Severe Accident. ML071230212 2007-05-03 4 2007-05-03 2007-05-03 May 3, 2007 MEMORANDUM TO: John Jolicoeur, Chief Safety Margins Branch New Reactors and Computational Analysis Division of Risk Assessment and Special Projects Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research FROM: James Han, Project Manager /RA
* [2007-05-03] Submittal of WCAP-16175-P/NP-A, Revision 0, "Model for Failure of RCP Seals Given Loss of Seal Cooling in CE NSSS Plants." ML071130378 2007-04-20 8 PROJ0694 OG-07-139 TAC MB5803 WCAP-16175-NP-A, Rev 0 WCAP-16175-P-A, Rev 0 2007-04-20 2007-05-02 PWROG Program Management Office 20 International Drive Windsor, Connecticut 06095 Qvners G April 20, 2007 WCAP-16175-P/NIP-A, Rev. 0 Project Number 694 OG-07-
EPRI items
* [2007-05-02] Request for Withholding of "Design Basis Accident Testing of Pressurized Water Reactor Unqualified Original Equipment Manufacturer Coatings", EPRI Report No. 1011753. ML071130071 2007-04-10 7 PROJ0669 2007-04-10 2007-05-01 ML071130069+ ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE April 10, 2007 Document Control Desk Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, DC 20555-0001 Subject: Request for Withholding of the Fol
February 22, 2007
Dealing with the Dissimilar Metal Weld Issue
On March 8, 2007, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) is scheduled to hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff, their contractors, and the Nuclear Energy Institute regarding the technical basis for the proposed regulatory action for dealing with the dissimilar metal weld issue stemming from the Wolf Creek pressurizer weld flaws, as well as the industry activities associated with this matter. ACRS announced that a portion of this session may be closed to discuss industry proprietary information. This will be the first subject covered that day, and is slated for 8:35 am to 10:15 am. The meeting is to be held at NRC's Rockville Maryland headquarters -- building TWFN, in conference room T-2B3.
[Source: Meeting Notice for Federal Register, 540th Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards -- ML070400481]
PWR Sump Performance - the chemical effects head loss tests
On March 8, 2007, the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) is scheduled to hear presentations by and hold discussions with representatives of the NRC staff regarding final results of the chemical effects head loss tests in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) sump pool environment, and related matters. This session is slated for 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. The meeting is to be held at NRC's Rockville Maryland headquarters -- building TWFN, in conference room T-2B3.
[Source: Meeting Notice for Federal Register, 540th Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards -- ML070400481]
November 3, 2005
* Point Beach-2 - shut down for an hour to scrape paint
* Point Beach spent $52-million for head replacements this year
April 18, 2005
*
Nuclear reactor shut down to investigate problem
Associated Press State & Local Wire, 1:33 am ET
Millstone-3 shut itself down after detecting a problem yesterday morning, causing a release of non-radioactive steam into the air, a plant official said. A problem in the steam system was discovered at about 8:30 a.m. Some residents near the plant were concerned and called Millstone because the release of steam is not a usual event at the complex, Dominion Nuclear Connecticut spokesperson Pete Hyde said. Dominion declared an alert, the second lowest of four action levels in Millstone's emergency response plan, at about 8:42 a.m. The alert was canceled at about 7 p.m. There was no release of radioactive material and no one was injured, Hyde said. Millstone officials said Unit 3 would be shut down indefinitely while the problem is found and fixed.
April 15, 2005
* ANO gets permission to operate with some containment isolation valves open
October 21, 2004
* Oconee - emergency power inoperable for 41 minutes (Keowee Hydro Units)
August 16, 2004
March 30, 2004
* Cook-2 - reactor trip from 100% power, apparently due to a surveillance test
March 29, 2004
* Vogtle-1 - manual reactor trip due to feedwater pump overspeed which could not be controlled
March 27, 2004
PWR containment sumps - draft Generic Letter
NRC wants to ask PWR operators to document how their plants' long-term reactor core cooling requirements would be met under accident conditions, given the potential for sump blockage. "Operating experience at boiling water reactors, as well as recent research, has indicated debris from certain pipe-break accidents inside a containment building could potentially block PWR sumps", NRC stated in a press release about a draft Generic Letter released for public comment. NRC expects to issue the letter in final form this summer, after public meeting in the spring. You can follow NRC staff activities on the containment sump issue at http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/ops-experience/pwr-sump-performance.html. [Source: NRC Office of Public Affairs, "", press release 04-036, March 25, 2004 -- ACN ML040850341]
March 26, 2004
Westinghouse topical report on CROSSFLOW Ultrasonic Flow Measurement Technology - NRC expects to complete review by Sept 30
Westinghouse submitted a topical report for NRC staff review last month ("Improved Flow Measurement Accuracy Using CROSSFLOW Ultrasonic Flow Measurement Technology", WCAP-16163-P, Revision 0). In a March 17 letter, NRC project manager Brian Benney informed Westinghouse that the submittal passed NRC's acceptance review. RAI is expected by June 15, 2004, and the review, expected to take 175 staff-hours, is expected to be completed by September 30, 2004.
[Ref: Brian Benney (Project No. 700 Manager, NRC/NRR Division of Licensing Project Management, Section 2, Project Directorate IV), "Acceptance of WCAP-16163-P, revision 0, 'Improved flow measurement accuracy using CROSSFLOW ultrasonic flow measurement technology' for review (TAC NO. MC1913)", letter to James A. Gresham (Westinghouse Electric Company Manager Regulatory and Licensing Engineering), March 17, 2004 ACN ML040770476]
March 24, 2004
* Calvert Cliffs-2 - Jan 24 reactor trip should have been classified as Unusual Event
* Oconee-2 - Feb 29 aux feedwater event wouldn't have rendered safety function inoperable
* Crystal River - reactor trip from 100% power, due to turbine trip
March 16, 2004
* Sequoyah-1 - reactor tripped due to turbine trip due to generator electrical fault
* Millstone-2 reactor trip due to low S/G level due to feed pump trip
March 3, 2004
* Palo Verde-3 - boron residue on PZR heater sleeve
February 17, 2004
* Callaway - reactor trip from 20% power due to turbine trip
* Ginna - NOUE: electrical fault caused explosion (instrument air compressor controller)
December 22, 2003
* St Lucie - reactor trip, and post-trip anomalies
* Cook-2 RCS leak prompts unusual event for ~ 1-1/2 hr
December 12, 2003
* McGuire - PORV block valve testing insights and requested frequency change
December 10, 2003
December 5, 2003
* St Lucie-2 - reactor manually tripped due to bearing failure on a condensate pump
August 28, 2003
Sequoyah-1 fails to scram on turbine trip test
The Associated Press is reporting tonight that an Alert was declared at Sequoyah unit 1 today, due to failure of the reactor to automatically shut down during a test. The plant was manually shut down, and the cause of the failure is being investigated. [Source: Associated Press, "TVA declares alert after Sequoyah reactor fails", August 28, 2003 7:13 PM Eastern Time]
August 26, 2003
* Calvert Cliffs - containment sump strainer review
August 18, 2003
* Wolf Creek - trip from full power after unexplained feedwater isolation
August 8, 2003
UPDATE - APS' Ariz. Palo Verde 1 nuke cut to 40 pct power
Reuters, 1:34 pm ET -- Palo Verde-1 cut power level to 40 percent today due to condenser water box leak. The plant is expected to be back at full power by the end of the weekend.
July 26, 2003
July 14, 2003
* Crystal River contract security force talking strike - $14/hr not enough
* Seabrook wants to add 5 MW of non-safety diesel power
* Surry-1 - Spurious start of Emergency Diesel Generator #3 during outage test of Main Station Battery
* Point Beach-2 - reactor trip during startup due to automatic valving-induced RCS cooldown
July 1, 2003
* Seabrook-2 - fire in containment during disassembly of containment dome
June 24, 2003
* Boric Acid Corrosion - EPRI embarks on 4-year research program
June 22, 2003
* Indian Point-3 - inadvertant scram during electrical maintenance
June 10, 2003
Davis-Besse outage will have cost some $400-million if restart around August
Davis-Besse expects to be ready for restart in August, and puts price tag of $400-million on their shutdown, which began in March 2002.
[Source: Eileen O'Grady (Bloomberg News), "Dominion puts new head on Va. reactor", Akron Beacon Journal, June 10, 2003]
Surry-1 head replaced
Surry-1 head replacement work is complete. The outage began April 20, and the unit is expected to be back online before June 20, although utility cites competitive reasons for not being more specific about restart date. Surry-2 head replacement is scheduled for this autumn.
[Source: Eileen O'Grady (Bloomberg News), "Dominion puts new head on Va. reactor", Akron Beacon Journal, June 10, 2003]
May 22, 2003
* South Texas Project - The Tiny Coolant Leak Was Seepage From Cracks In Instrument Tubes
May 20, 2003
South Texas U-1 expected to remain shut down through summer
South Texas Project unit 1 "is not expected to be back in service before the end of the summer, according to the plant's majority owner". The plant found evidence of an apparent leak from reactor vessel shortly after shutdown last month for refueling. [Source: Reuters, Texas power grid prepared for long, hot summer, May 20, 2003]
April 29, 2003
Debris and emergency sump operation at PWRs
NRC plans to soon issue an NRC Bulletin titled "Potential Impact of Debris Blockage on Emergency Sump Recirculation at Pressurized-Water Reactors". A draft was presented at a meeting with industry today, and a variety of comments were received. For example, industry urged the NRC staff to make a decision as soon as possible as to whether or not the Nuclear Energy InstituteÕs process for determining breach size in support of local debris generation following a design-basis LOCA is a reasonable approach since the process is critical to NEI in the development of its own guidance on the subject.
[Ref: John G. Lamb (NRC/NRR/DLPM project manager), "Meeting between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Staff and Stakeholders concerning Generic Safety Issue 191, ÒAssessment of Debris Accumulation on PWR Sump PerformanceÓ (TAC No. MA6454)", April 29 meeting summary memo, May 15, 2003]
April 24-25, 2003 - Event Report - Fish story at D.C. Cook plant - a bevy of fish at intake screens degarded flow to turbine, prompting manual reactor trip, and to EDGs, prompting all to be declared inoperable. The Alert lasted about 25 hours.