PNO-IV-12-002A, Augmented Inspection Team Onsite at Wolf Creek Generating Station - Update
| ML120300645 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Wolf Creek  |
| Issue date: | 01/30/2012 |
| From: | O'Keefe N, Uselding L Office of Public Affairs, NRC Region 4 |
| To: | |
| References | |
| PNO-IV-12-002A | |
| Download: ML120300645 (2) | |
January 30, 2012 PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE -- PNO-IV-12-002A Facility Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp..
Wolf Creek Generating Station Burlington, KS 66839 Docket: 50-482 License No: NPF-42 Licensee Emergency Classification Notification of Unusual Event Alert Site Area Emergency General Emergency X Not Applicable
SUBJECT:
AUGMENTED INSPECTION TEAM ONSITE AT WOLF CREEK GENERATING STATION (UPDATE)
DESCRIPTION:
On January 30, 2012, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission commenced the onsite Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) assessment of the circumstances surrounding the January 13, 2012, loss of offsite power event that necessitated a Notification of Unusual Event (NOUE) declaration at the Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station.
AITs are used by the NRC to review more significant events or issues at NRC-licensed facilities.
The seven-member team began in-office reviews on January 25, 2012. The team includes inspectors from the NRCs Region IV office, NRC Headquarters in Rockville, MD, and a resident inspector from another plant. The team will be led by NRC Region IV Branch Chief Mark Haire, of the Division of Reactor Safety.
On January 13, 2012, Wolf Creek Generating Station declared a NOUE at 2:15 p.m. CST following an automatic reactor trip and loss of offsite power that occurred at 2:03 p.m. CST. The failure of a main generator output breaker, followed by an unexplained loss of power to the startup transformer, caused the switchyard to be de-energized, which removed the plants connection to the power grid. All safety systems responded as expected, and emergency diesel generators automatically powered safety-related equipment. Wolf Creek terminated the NOUE at 5:09 p.m. on January 13.
As of January 30, Wolf Creek was in cold shutdown with all safety systems available for that condition. The licensee was continuing their investigation into the cause for the loss of offsite power.
The State of Kansas has been informed. This information has been discussed with licensee management and is current as of 11:30 a.m. CST.
This preliminary notification is issued for information only, and will be updated again as more information becomes available.
ADAMS ACCESSION NUMBER:ML120300645 CONTACTS:
Lara Uselding Neil OKeefe (817)917-0321 (817)917-5646 Lara.Uselding@nrc.gov Neil.OKeefe@nrc.gov