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When
the NRC says we consider new and significant information, we mean it.
The latest example came as we were finalizing our review of a design for
a new nuclear plant called the
Economic Simplified Boiling-Water Reactor (ESBWR).
General
Electric-Hitachi asked the NRC to review this new design in August of
2005. We did and issued a final safety evaluation report for the design
in March 2011.
Our
next step in the process would normally involve giving our
Commissioners a draft final rule that would approve (or certify) the
ESBWR. But that is not going to happen right now because new information
has come to our attention that needs to be closely reviewed.
The new information came to light because of a request by an existing nuclear power plant,
Grand Gulf.
In September 2010, that plant asked the NRC for permission to, among
other things, replace its steam dryer with a version designed using the
same methods proposed for the ESBWR. (A steam dryer prevents excess
moisture from damaging the plant’s turbine.) As we reviewed Grand Gulf’s
request, we asked for more information. After we reviewed that
additional information, we realized there were errors in the information
we were initially given to determine how the ESBWR steam dryer would
react when that design is operating.
Addressing
these errors could mean the NRC will have to revise or supplement the
safety evaluation report or the applicant might have to revise its
design control document. Either of those options would delay a final
decision on certifying the design. The agency will discuss this issue
with General Electric-Hitachi on
Jan. 31 at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md.
Meanwhile, Detroit Edison has asked the NRC for a Combined License to build and operate an ESBWR next to the current
Fermi nuclear power plant near
Detroit. The agency must come to a final decision on design
certification before we can complete our work on that license request.
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