Press Release-II-07-001, NRC Schedules Regulatory Conference to Discuss Oconee Nuclear Plant Concern
| ML070110542 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oconee  |
| Issue date: | 01/11/2007 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs Region II |
| To: | |
| Category:Press Release | |
| References | |
| Press Release-II-07-001 | |
| Download: ML070110542 (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-07-001 January 11, 2007 CONTACT: Ken Clark (404)562-4416 E-mail: OPA2@nrc.gov Roger Hannah (404)562-4417 NRC SCHEDULES REGULATORY CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS OCONEE NUCLEAR PLANT CONCERN The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a regulatory conference with officials of Duke Energy Jan. 17 in Atlanta to discuss the possible risk posed by debris found in emergency cooling system pipes at the companys Oconee nuclear power plant near Seneca in northwestern South Carolina.
NRC and Duke officials will discuss the significance of an NRC inspection finding related to foreign material or debris in the plants Unit 3 emergency sump suction piping.
Prior to some modifications last year, plant employees discovered several items inside the pipes. Those pipes are used to carry water collected in the bottom of the reactor building to pumps that help keep the reactor core covered during certain accidents. Duke officials say it is not possible to know when the material may have entered the pipes, but it had been there for more than a year.
An NRC inspection found that the presence of the material indicated that Duke failed to implement adequate foreign material exclusion controls, and that there was not reasonable assurance that the pumps would have performed their function if needed.
The NRC evaluates regulatory performance at commercial nuclear power plants with a color-coded system which classifies findings as either green, white, yellow or red, in increasing order of safety significance. The NRCs preliminary evaluation determined that this issue at Oconee is greater than green, meaning it has more than very low safety significance.
The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in the NRCs Region II office, located on the 24th floor of the Atlanta Federal Center at 61 Forsyth Street SW in Atlanta. The public is invited to attend to observe and will have one or more opportunities to talk with NRC officials after the business portion, but before the meeting is adjourned.
No decisions on final safety significance, any apparent violations or possible enforcement action will be made at the conference. Those decisions will be made by NRC officials at a later time.
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