Press Release-IV-09-028, NRC Conducting Special Inspection at Columbia Generating Station

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Press Release-IV-09-028: NRC Conducting Special Inspection at Columbia Generating Station
ML092290508
Person / Time
Site: Columbia Energy Northwest icon.png
Issue date: 08/17/2009
From:
Office of Public Affairs Region IV
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-IV-09-028
Download: ML092290508 (1)
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Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Region IV 612 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 400 Arlington, TX 76011-4125 Telephone: (817) 860-8128 No. IV-09-028 August 17, 2009

Contact:

Victor Dricks E-Mail: OPA4.Resource@nrc.gov Phone: (817) 860-8128 NRC CONDUCTING SPECIAL INSPECTION AT COLUMBIA GENERATING STATION The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a special inspection at the Columbia Generating Station in response to an Aug. 5 electrical fire that resulted in the shutdown of the reactor.

The plant, located near Richland, Wash., is operated by Energy Northwest.

A fire in the plants turbine building resulted in a protective automatic turbine trip and subsequent reactor shutdown, prompting the licensee to declare an Unusual Event - the lowest of four categories of nuclear emergencies.

Plant systems responded as expected. The licensee and the NRC are continuing to evaluate the sequence of events following the shutdown.

Were taking a closer look at what may have caused the fire and how plant systems responded, said NRC Region IV Administrator Elmo E. Collins. Well also be evaluating the sequence of events following the shutdown. Although this incident resulted in no danger to public health or safety, its important that we understand why it happened in the first place and how a similar occurrence can be avoided in the future.

A two-person team of NRC inspectors will develop a chronology of the event, review the licensees root cause determination, and evaluate the licensees maintenance and testing program and the effectiveness of operators response to the event.

The inspection will begin today and is expected to take several days. The team will write a report about 30-45 days after completion of the inspection. The report will be available on the agencys online document library at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html.

NRC 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.

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