In
addition to opening the headquarters and Region I offices tomorrow, the
NRC is also beginning to return to normal inspection coverage for
nuclear power plant sites in the Northeastern United States. Heightened
coverage will continue at Oyster Creek, a plant in Lacey Township, N.J.,
still in an “Alert” due to high water levels in its water intake
structure.
In
addition to the event at Oyster Creek, three reactors experienced
trips, or shutdowns, during the storm. They were Indian Point 3, in
Buchanan, N.Y.; Salem Unit 1, in Hancocks Bridge, N.J.; and Nine Mile
Point 1, in Scriba, N.Y. All safety systems responded as designed.
At
Oyster Creek, the Alert – the second lowest of four levels of emergency
classification used by the NRC – remains in effect as plant operators
wait for the water intake levels to drop to pre-designated thresholds.
The water level rose due to a combination of a rising tide, wind
direction and storm surge. Oyster Creek was shut down for a refueling
and maintenance outage prior to the storm and the reactor remains out of
service. Water levels are beginning to subside to more normal levels,
but the plant remains in an Alert status until there is enough
confidence levels will remain at more normal levels. Offsite power at
the plant is in the process of being restored.
Meanwhile,
three plants – Millstone 3, in Connecticut, Vermont Yankee, in Vermont,
and Limerick, in Pennsylvania, – reduced power in advance of or in
response to the storm. Millstone 3’s power was reduced to about 70
percent in advance of the storm to minimize potential impacts on its
circulating water system due to the storm. Vermont Yankee reduced power
to 89 percent in response to a request from the grid operator due to the
loss of a transmission line in New Hampshire. Limerick Unit 1’s power
was reduced to about 50 percent and Limerick Unit 2’s to about 25
percent in response to low electrical demands on the grid because of
storm-related power outages.
Besides
potentially affected nuclear power plants, the NRC also monitored any
possible impacts on nuclear materials sites it oversees but did not
identify any concerns.
NRC
inspectors were at all of the nuclear power plants expected to
experience the greatest effects of the storm. Those inspectors were
tasked with independently verifying that operators were following
relevant procedures to ensure plant safety before, during and after the
storm.
We will continue to coordinate with other federal and state agencies prior to the restart of the affected plants.
Eliot Brenner
Public Affairs Director
No comments:
Post a Comment