Press Release-20-053, NRC to Conduct Special Inspection at Purdue University
| ML20351A178 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 10/27/2020 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-20-053 | |
| Download: ML20351A178 (1) | |
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No: 20-053 October 27, 2020 CONTACT: Scott Burnell, 301-415-8200 NRC to Conduct Special Inspection at Purdue University The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct a special inspection to evaluate reactor calibration and power level issues at Purdue Universitys research reactor in West Lafayette, Ind.
Purdue notified the NRC earlier this month of an error during calibration of recently installed nuclear instrumentation, resulting in the reactor operating significantly above its licensed power level at times during the past few months.
An inspector from the agencys headquarters in Rockville, Md., along with an inspector from the Region III office in Lisle, Ill., will begin this inspection on Oct. 27. They will evaluate the adequacy of Purdues response to the situation, the root cause of the problem, corrective actions, radiation monitoring data, and determine if there are generic implications for similar facilities. The inspectors will follow all applicable guidelines related to the COVID-19 public health emergency during their activities.
Available information shows the health and safety of both the facilitys staff and the public remained unaffected by the unplanned excess power levels. Available information also shows the excess power stayed well below levels that could have damaged the reactors fuel or safety systems.
The inspectors will spend several days at Purdue and prepare a written report that will be issued about 30 days following completion of the inspection. The report will be publicly available through the NRCs electronic document database, ADAMS. Assistance in using ADAMS is available through the NRC Public Document Room by calling 1-800-397-4209.