ML12116A104

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E-mail on Special Inspection at Palisades
ML12116A104
Person / Time
Site: Palisades Entergy icon.png
Issue date: 08/19/2011
From: Vankuiken M
State of MI, State Senate
To: Riley T
Office of Congressional Affairs
References
FOIA/PA 2012-0165
Download: ML12116A104 (3)


Text

Riley (OCA), Timothy From: VanKuiken, Matt (Stabenow) [Matt.VanKuiken@stabenow.senate.gov]

Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 1:26 PM To: Riley (OCA), Timothy

Subject:

RE: Special inspection at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant Attachments: image001.gif Sounds good!

Matt From: Riley (OCA), Timothy [1]

Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 12:07 PM To: VanKuiken, Matt (Stabenow)

Subject:

RE: Special inspection at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant Anytime in the afternoon would work well for me. Let's set something for 3pm, but I can flex as needed.

Talk to you soon, Tim Timothy Riley Congressional Affairs Officer U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Congressional Affairs Phone: 301-415-8492 Blackberry:F(b6) J From: VanKuiken, Matt (Stabenow) [2]

Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 12:05 PM To: Riley (OCA), Timothy

Subject:

RE: Special inspection at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant Thanks Tim!

Tuesday next week would work great. Really appreciate the offer. What times will you be up on the hill? I'm pretty flexible because of recess.

Matt From: Riley (OCA), Timothy [3] Informiaun inthis recor Was daefeted b Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 11:40 AM 80rcO*al" with the Freedom of Ink~rM To: VanKuiken, Matt (Stabenow) Exem~ptions Ac

Subject:

RE: Special inspection at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant

Matt, I'm sending the links to some media coverage below, in case that is of interest. More directly, the Special Inspection Team will take about 45 days to produce findings; we will notify your office when this inspection findings are complete. The team has been working at the site this week and will now return to the regional headquarters to assess and prepare their findings.

If you have time this afternoon or on Tuesday, I would be happy to come to your office for a brief courtesy visit to discuss this and any other concerns.

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Thanks, Tim NRC Conducting Special Inspection At Palisades Plant After Pump Fails. The AP (8/18) reports that an NRC "inspection is taking place at Palisades Nuclear Plant in southwestern Michigan after a water pump component failed last week." The agency said the plant is "operating safely," and Entergy spokesman Mark Savage said "the team arrived Tuesday and is expected to be on site for the week. Savage says the NRC will determine whether proper procedures were followed or whether an additional inspection is needed."

The Kalamazoo (MI) Gazette (8/17, Klug) reported the NRC's "special inspection" stems from the August 9 "failure of a coupling that holds pipes together. ... 'We need to look at what exactly failed,' said NRC spokeswoman Prema Chandrathil." According to Chandrathil, the pipes connected by the faulty coupling "are solid" and "help circulate the water to cool safety related equipment that cools the nuclear reactor." Chandrathil said the unusual special investigation "is not normally done," but said the agency had "questions surrounding the incident."

On its website, WWMT-TV Battle Creek, Michigan (8/15) reported the NRC said the special inspection "team is expected to be at the plant for the rest of the week. Employees will determine whether proper procedures were followed and whether an additional inspection is needed."

WOOD-TVb Grand Rapids, Michigan (8/17, 5:34 p.m., EDT) broadcast, "Federal officials are inspecting Palisades Nuclear Plant, after a water pump component failed." The pump coupling "was replaced and is back in use. A similar incident happened in 2009." The NRC says the plant "is operating safely, The team arrived yesterday and is expected to be there for a week. Itwill determine whether proper procedures were followed or whether another inspection is needed." WWMT-IV& Grand Rapids, Michigan (8/17, 5:11 p.m., EDT) and WWTV-TV Q, Traverse City, Michigan (8/17, 5:08 p.m., EDT) also covered this story.

Beyond Nuclear Spokesman Blasts Plant'sSafety. On its website, WXMI-TV Grand Rapids, Michigan (8/17, Webber) reported, "The water pump is needed to operate safety equipment essential for cooling the nuclear fuel in the atomic reactor core. The incident is one of many reported issues dating back to the 1960s."

WXMI-TV added that Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear said the "current safety-related breakdown is but the latest of countless episodes," and added that "Palisades has been a lemon from the very beginning, and the catastrophic radioactivity risks have only grown worse as the atomic reactor has aged over the past 44 years."

Timothy Riley Congressional Affairs Officer U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Congressional Affairs Phone: 301-415-8492 BlackberryFIb)6) jj From: VanKuiken, Matt (Stabenow) [4]

Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 11:28 AM To: Riley (OCA), Timothy; Stoepker, Marta (Stabenow)

Subject:

RE: Special inspection at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant

Timothy, Thanks for the email and heads up. I've been away on vacation and wasn't able to respond.

Do you have any update since you sent this email? Do you have an estimated timeline for the special inspection?

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Thanks again, Matt Matt VanKuiken Legislative Assistant Office of Senator Debbie Stabenow From: Riley (OCA), Timothy [5]

Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 4:00 PM To: VanKuiken, Matt (Stabenow); Stoepker, Marta (Stabenow)

Subject:

NRC: Special inspection at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant Good afternoon, The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has started a Special Inspection to review the circumstances surrounding the failure of a service water pump component at the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant. The plant has three service water pumps and at least one is required to be operable in case of an emergency (service water pumps help cool safety-related equipment). Only one pump failed at this time, but this incident is sufficiently similar to a pump failure from 2009 that a team of experts has been sent to evaluate a potentially repetitive issue.

Please see the attached press release for more information and contact me with any questions.

Timothy Riley Congressional Affairs Officer U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Congressional Affairs Phone: 301-415-84Q2 Blackberry:

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