Press Release-II-06-044, NRC Begins Special Inspection at Catawba Nuclear Plant

Press Release-II-06-044: NRC Begins Special Inspection at Catawba Nuclear Plant

ML063320338
Person / Time
Site:	Catawba
Issue date:	11/28/2006
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-II-06-044
Download: ML063320338 (1)

Text

NRC NEWS UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta GA 30303 Web Site: www.nrc.gov No. II-06-044 November 28, 2006 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404)562-4416 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Roger Hannah (404)562-4417 NRC BEGINS SPECIAL INSPECTION AT CATAWBA NUCLEAR PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II office in Atlanta began an inspection this week at the Catawba nuclear power plant, operated by Duke Energy near York, S.C., to look into several issues involving water flowing into below-grade electrical penetrations.

Water from the Catawba plants Unit 2 cooling towers flowed into a diesel generator room in May and plant employees determined that other electrical conduits and penetrations had degraded seals. During a heavy rainstorm in late August, water entered the turbine building through unsealed electrical penetrations and that rainwater accumulated around some electrical transformers. Duke Energy initiated corrective actions for degraded penetration seals and entered the issues into the companys corrective action program.

An NRC inspection in early November determined that the Standby Shutdown facility was also susceptible to flooding from two possible sources.

The special inspection will review the facts surrounding the degraded seals in some areas and the lack of seals in others, determine if there are any generic issues for other nuclear plants, and assess the companys overall response and investigation including areas of the plant where the lack of watertight seals or degradation might be an issue.

The NRC will document its findings and conclusions in a report to be issued within 30 days of the inspection.

News releases are available through a free list serve subscription at the following web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html . The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's web site.