Press Release-III-14-003, NRC Cites LaSalle Unit 2 for an Issue Involving a Reactor Shutdown

Press Release-III-14-003: NRC Cites LaSalle Unit 2 for an Issue Involving a Reactor Shutdown

ML14035A343
Person / Time
Site:	LaSalle
Issue date:	02/04/2014
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region II
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-III-14-003
Download: ML14035A343 (1)

Text

No: III-14-003 February 4, 2014 CONTACT: Viktoria Mitlyng, 630-829-9662 Prema Chandrathil, 630-829-9663 NRC Cites LaSalle Unit 2 for an Issue Involving a Reactor Shutdown The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff issued a finding to the LaSalle nuclear plant Unit 2 for failing to adhere to a procedure, which resulted in a manual shutdown. The two-unit plant operated by Exelon Generation Co., is located in Marseilles, Ill., approximately 11 miles southeast of Ottawa.

NRC inspectors identified the finding during a September 2013 inspection at the plant. The finding involved the failure of the plant staff to perform certain procedural steps in accordance with existing procedures. As a result approximately a foot of circulating water flowed into a small area in the turbine building, triggering intake pumps to shut off and a loss of normal heat removal, which led to a reactor shutdown.

Even though the issue did not have an impact on the public, the NRC expects plants to make conservative decisions when planning or executing work activities. They need to follow procedures in order to ensure the safety of plant workers, the public and environment, said NRC Region III Administrator Cynthia D. Pederson.

The NRC will conduct a supplemental inspection to review the plants corrective actions such as additional training activities for operators, procedure revisions and whether plant staff understood the cause of the problem.

The NRC evaluates a nuclear power plants performance with a color-coded process that classifies regulatory findings as green, white, yellow or red, in order of increasing safety significance.

After considering the information regarding this violation at LaSalle, the NRC staff has characterized the inspection finding as white or as having a low to moderate safety significance.

The company has 30 days to contest the finding. The NRC inspection letter detailing the final determination will be publically available via ADAMS.