NRC: “Degraded condition” at Illinois nuclear plant — Leak inside primary containment

Power Reactor	Event Number: 48977
Facility: LASALLE Region: 3 State: IL Unit: [1] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [1] GE-5,[2] GE-5 NRC Notified By: JIM SPIELER HQ OPS Officer: JOHN SHOEMAKER	Notification Date: 04/28/2013 Notification Time: 00:48 [ET] Event Date: 04/27/2013 Event Time: 21:24 [CDT] Last Update Date: 04/28/2013
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(i) - PLANT S/D REQD BY TS 50.72(b)(3)(ii)(A) - DEGRADED CONDITION

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION REQUIRED PLANT SHUTDOWN

"This notification is being provided in accordance with 10CFR50.72(b)(2)(i), Plant Shutdown required by Technical Specifications, and 10CFR50.72(b)(3)(ii)A, Degraded or Unanalyzed Condition.

"At 2245 CDT on 04/27/13, LaSalle Unit 1 commenced a Technical Specification required plant shutdown, due to identification of pressure boundary leakage. At 2124 CDT on 04/27/13, a through-wall leak was identified in the body of 1E51-F076, Reactor Core Isolation Cooling system steam supply inboard isolation bypass warmup valve. This qualifies as pressure boundary leakage, which requires entry into Technical Specification 3.4.5, Reactor Coolant System Operational Leakage, Required Action C, to be in Mode 3, Hot Shutdown, by 0924 [CDT] on 04/28/13, and Mode 4, Cold Shutdown, by 0924 [CDT] on 04/29/13. This leakage is significantly less than 10 gpm and therefore does not meet the threshold for entry into the Emergency Action Plan. At the time of discovery, Unit 1 was in startup mode following a forced outage. A unit shutdown has been initiated. A repair plan is being prepared at this time, and the unit will remain in Cold Shutdown until repairs are complete."

The leak is located inside the primary containment and was visually identified during a containment walk-down.

The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector.