Press Release-II-11-042, NRC Begins Special Inspection at Oconee Nuclear Plant

Press Release-II-11-042: NRC Begins Special Inspection at Oconee Nuclear Plant

ML11187A122
Person / Time
Site:	Oconee
Issue date:	07/06/2011
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
FOIA/PA-2015-0348 Press Release-II-11-042
Download: ML11187A122 (1)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region II 245 Peachtree Center Ave., NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, GA 30303-1257 Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No: II-11-042 July 6, 2011 CONTACT: Roger Hannah (404) 997-4417 E-mail: OPA2.Resource@nrc.gov Joey Ledford (404) 997-4416 NRC BEGINS SPECIAL INSPECTION AT OCONEE NUCLEAR PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has dispatched a special inspection team to the Oconee nuclear power plant to evaluate an issue related to the plants standby shutdown facility, which is intended for use when regular and emergency reactor cooling systems are not available.

The Oconee plant, operated by Duke Energy, is located near Seneca, S.C., about 30 miles west of Greenville.

On June 24, Oconee plant employees determined that testing on the standby shutdown facility pressurizer heater breakers was not successful and the breakers were declared operable but degraded.

The standby shutdown facility is designed to be used for reactor cooling during certain accident scenarios, including fires and severe storms where other cooling systems might be unavailable or inoperable.

The NRCs special inspection team will determine the facts surrounding the degraded condition of the Oconee standby shutdown facility and evaluate Duke Energys response to that condition. The team will also assess Dukes revised operating procedures related to the facility as well as operators training and capabilities to implement those procedures.

The special inspection began Tuesday and is expected to continue for about one week.

The NRC will issue a report within 45 days of the completion of the inspection.

News releases are available through a free listserv 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 website.