Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Emergency Ultrasonic Inspection Testing For U.S. Reactor Plants like Belgium Reactors

Does the NRC have enough money and manpower to properly administrate the 2.206 process?  
  • Has anyone received any update regarding the inspection findings and corrective actions taken regarding the Belgium Reactor Pressure Vessel quasi flaw indications?

  • Have been any other indications found in any other NPP RPV?

  • Please describe how the vessels are ultrasonically inspected(for cracks)?

  • Explain the testing of capsules.

  • Explain the sensitivity of ultrasonic detector used in vessel inspections…the difference between the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 Nuclear plants and USA plants. What is the best technology?

  • I have issues with the codes and regulations under which some of the vessels were accepted for nuclear plant operation.

  • Please explain the difference between the vessel codes, regulations and an inspection technology of a 1975 vintage reactor to a current new reactor vessel?


Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Entergy's Waterford Tripped Yesterday?

June 25

now up to 80% 

June 24


still shutdown and not a peep with why?

Lot of trouble with Grand Gulf, River Bend and Waterford...lots of signs of financial stress.

Did it trip or was it shutdown? Nothing in the news.


June 4, 2015

The New River Bend Feed Pump Scram?

Employee Sabotage: Knocking Off Line The Waterford Nuclear Plant?

Thursday, June 18, 2015

$350 Billion in Weather Related Damage in Next 20 Years

That is seven nuclear plants...  
US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz wants Louisiana's ideas for a better power grid 
U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz delivers his presentation before the Edison Electricity Institute during its annual convention at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, Monday, June 8, 2015. (Photo by Ted Jackson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune) (TED JACKSON) 
The U.S. electricity grid faces an array of threats, including rising sea levels, storms and cyberattacks. The federal government is looking to states such as Louisiana to develop ways to protect it, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said Monday (June 8). 
Moniz was one of several featured speakers Monday during the Edison Electric Institute's annual convention in New Orleans. 
Severe weather, cyber threats, the rise of solar and other renewable energy sources, and aging equipment are "a daunting set of complex issues," Moniz said, "but we have to get the electric system right." 
Moniz said hurricanes Katrina and Rita underscored the need to harden substations, high-voltage power lines and other electricity infrastructure from future storms.
Storm threats are only expected to worsen. The U.S. is bracing for more than $350 billion in weather-related damage to the electricity system over the next 20 years, about $20 billion on the Gulf Coast alone, Moniz said.
Old transmission lines need to be replaced with newer, more durable lines, substations have to be built above flood levels, and back-up power systems developed, he said. 
As Louisiana copes with rising sea levels and future storms, it and other states will play a "pivotal role" in developing innovative ways to improve the power grid, he said. 
Moniz said the Energy Department is pushing for a new program that would offer between $3 billion and $5 billion in competitive grants over the next 10 years to states with innovative solutions to enhance energy infrastructure resilience, reliability and security. 
Moniz pointed to New Jersey's effort to develop a microgrid to provide back-up power to its rail system during severe weather. The Energy Department partnered with the state in 2013 to design the system. The partnership was part of the response to Hurricane Sandy, which hit the Northeast in 2012. 
Hardening the electricity grid is not the only place Louisiana could play a role. 
Moniz added Louisiana ports are at the heart of the country's push to export natural gas amid a glut in domestic supply. 
The nation needs to improve its waterways to accommodate traffic from large liquefied natural gas tankers, for example, he said.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Indian Point Double or Nothing Philosophy

What about iodine production and xenon burnout?
I don't have inside information, but this fast restart seems to be reckless to me. We will see as time goes by? Do they double or nothing philosophy once a plant gets into trouble...under intense NRC special inspection scrutiny and the state is trying to shut them down.
Indian Point 3 returns to service 
BUCHANAN – Indian Point’s Unit 3 nuclear power plant was returned to service Tuesday afternoon, generating electricity less than 24 hours after the unit automatically shut down following the failure of an electrical switch, ro breaker, in a switchyard outside the plant. 
The switchyard is located across the street from Indian Point and receives electricity generated by the plant before distributing it out to the electrical grid. 
The failure of the breaking led to Indian Points Unit 3 shutting down as a protective measure.
All equipment operated appropriately. There was no release of radioactivity and no threat to the safety of workers or the public. 
Unit 2 continues to operate at full power.
So this is what caused it. It is too bad, this didn't eliminate from Entergy.
Indian Point: Balloon triggered reactor shutdown
BUCHANAN – A balloon that got tangled in electrical wires led to a sequence of events that caused a shutdown of a reactor at the Indian Point nuclear power plant Monday night, regulatory officials said Tuesday. The shutdown occurred at 7:20 p.m., after Consolidated Edison asked Indian Point operators to open an electrical breaker so that workers could safely remove a large Mylar balloon that got tangled in wires leading to the Millwood substation south of the plant. Soon after that breaker was opened, a second breaker opened, resulting an an automatic shutdown of the reactor, according to Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The shutdown occurred without any complications, with all safety systems functioning the way they were supposed to, he said. The reactor went back online at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, according to Jerry Nappi, a spokesman for Entergy.

ALBANY—One of the two nuclear reactors at the Indian Point nuclear center shut down again on Monday, just weeks after it returned to service following a transformer fire that drew the concern of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other elected leaders.

When a transformer at the plant caught fire on May 9, Cuomo rushed to the scene and reiterated his long-standing concerns about the plant. Shortly after that, a top state energy official acknowledged that the administration was actively working to pressure the plant to shut down.


The cause of the transformer fire, which sent a dark plume into the sky and frightened nearby residents, is still under investigation. Unit 3 returned to service on May 24.

Power Reactor
Event Number: 51156
Facility: INDIAN POINT
Region: 1 State: NY
Unit: [ ] [3] [ ]
RX Type: [2] W-4-LP,[3] W-4-LP
NRC Notified By: LUKE HEDGES
HQ OPS Officer: DONALD NORWOOD
Notification Date: 06/15/2015
Notification Time: 20:15 [ET]
Event Date: 06/15/2015
Event Time: 19:20 [EDT]
Last Update Date: 06/15/2015
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section:
50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) - RPS ACTUATION - CRITICAL
50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A) - VALID SPECIF SYS ACTUATION
Person (Organization):
BRICE BICKETT (R1DO)

UnitSCRAM CodeRX CRITInitial PWRInitial RX ModeCurrent PWRCurrent RX Mode
3A/RY100Power Operation0Hot Standby
Event Text
REACTOR TRIP DUE TO TURBINE TRIP

"On June 15, 2015 at 1920 EDT, Indian Point Unit 3 received a Turbine trip which directly led to a Reactor trip. Operators entered [plant procedure] E-0, Reactor Trip or Safety Injection. All control rods fully inserted. All safety systems responded as expected. The Auxiliary Feedwater (AFW) system actuated as expected. Offsite power and electrical lineups are normal. No primary or secondary code safety valves lifted. All MSIVs are open and the Main Condensers are being used as the heat sink. The Reactor is in Mode 3 and stable. Unit 2 was unaffected and remains at 100% power. Preliminary investigation determined that Breaker Number 1 in the Ring Bus was intentionally opened [by plant personnel on switching orders from the district operator] due to a problem on W93 [output feeder from Ring Bus]. Subsequently Breaker #3 went open and caused a Turbine/Reactor trip of the Unit."

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Massive Warming In NE Continental Shelf: Implication For Coastal Nuclear Plants?

June 26
The question is, how often will the wind be coming in the Northeast direction...
Dangerous jellyfish appearing at Jersey shore – News
June 23, 2015 at 9:24 pm
It’s not what Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol Captain Randy Townsend usually sees on the resort’s beaches: a risky jellyfish-like creature called a Portuguese man o’war. “When the wind is coming from the northeast, warm water from the Gulf Stream comes to shore”, the post read. According to National Geographic, it moves by floating on the water’s surface, drifting on the currents, catching the wind.
 

June 16

Why can't the main stream media help us understand these interactions? I bet they will say not enough people interested in it. 
The Atlantic Ocean's Cool Phase Will Change The World's Weather

By The Conversation  
May 29th 2015 11:30 AM 
The Atlantic Ocean’s surface temperature swings between warm and cold phases every few decades. Like its higher-frequency Pacific relative El Nino, this so-called “Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation” can alter weather patterns throughout the world.

The warmer spell we’ve seen since the late 1990s has generally meant warmer conditions in Ireland and Britain, more North Atlantic hurricanes, and worse droughts in the US Midwest.

However a colder phase in the Atlantic could bring drought and consequent famine to the developing countries of Africa’s Sahel region. In the UK it would offer a brief respite from the rise of global temperatures, while less rainfall would mean more frequent summer barbecues. A cold Atlantic also means fewer hurricanes hitting the southern US.

The good news is our latest research, published in the journal Nature, gives us a much better understanding of these Atlantic oscillations. We now know that accelerations in sea-level rise in cities like New York and Boston on the north-east coast of the US are linked to a cold spell in the Atlantic...
Did they make worst the heating of the Long island sound last heat spell.
The Greatest Ever Thermohaline Superstorm Approaching the Millstone Nuclear plant!
Is this implicated with the North Carolina shark attacks...
Accelerated Warming of the Continental Shelf Off Northeast Coast 
June 11, 2015 
A couple of unexplained large scale changes in the waters off the northeast coast of the U.S. have oceanographers perplexed: an accelerated rate of sea level rise compared to most other parts of the world; and the disturbing signs of collapsing fisheries in the region.
A new study by physical oceanographers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, shows that water temperatures in this continental shelf region have been trending upward, with unprecedented warming occurring over the last 13 years. The study also suggests a connection between sea level anomalies and water temperature along the continental shelf. 
“The warming rate since 2002 is 15 times faster than from the previous 100 years,” says co-author Glen Gawarkiewicz, a WHOI senior scientist. “There's just been this incredible acceleration to the warming, and we don't know if its decadal variability, or if this trend will continue.” 
The scientists compared their findings with a study of surface waters using data collected by Nantucket Light ship, and other light ships up and down the East Coast between 1880 and 2004, previously analyzed by Steve Lentz of WHOI and Kipp Shearman of Oregon State University. The new study shows that recent accelerated warming is not confined to the surface waters, but extends throughout the water column...






Tuesday, June 09, 2015

Grand Gulf’s Power History: Entergy’s Junk Southern Fleet?


June 12
Finally 100%
Update June 11
Miserable progress now at 94%. Six days to recover from a 50% down-power...  
Update June 10
at 77% today...they ain't making money at this power level. River Bend is at 66%.
Everyone in Region 1 is at 100% power.


*********************
Hmmm, River Bend and Grand Gulf is a struggling single unit facility? 
The whole deal reminds me of Pilgrim's shutdowns and power reductions over their junk new safety relief valves for six years.
It is driving me crazy why the exact same NRC event report came out on June 8 and June 9. Bet you it was a NRC screw-up, entergy came up with a update and the NRC just copied over the original by mistake today.
All plants in the same vicinity?

Grand Gulf's recent power history. 

June 9  95%

8  94%

On June 8th at 8:15 pm Grand Gulf had a fire in their Electro Hydraulic Pump C terminal box. Again in 24 hours the reactor power level being stuck at 95% is highly unusual. 

7  79%

6  50% 

5  100%

River Bend: What A Junk Plant’s Power History Looks Like

7/20
95%
 
7/17
91%
 
7/13

What the hell, back to 63%
7/4
Finally 100% 
7/3
80%
 
7/2
80%
 
7/1
84%  
6/30
75% 
6/29
down to 74% over the weekend
6/28
31% 
6/27
50%
 
6/26
still at 94%
6/25
94%
6/24
94%
6/23
94%
6/22
94%
June 19
94%
June 18
93%
June 17
88%
June 16

River Bend is at 90% power and Indian Point 3 is a 0% power. 

June 15
Wow, great progress over the weekend. Now 89% power. At least Grand Gulf didn't trip.  

June 12
71% power 
Update June 11
At 70% power. Gained a whole lot in 24 hours, a tiny 4% power.  
Update June 10 
Well, there is progress. They are at 66%. Grand Gulf is at 77% power. Can't make money this way?
Everyone in Region 1 is at 100% power.
****************************** 

June 9 33% reactor power
  
The started up on June 8 (actually June 7), 24 hours later they are only at 33% power? This means something is highly abnormal. It is shocking just the before scram, RB were at reduced power on May 30 and 31, upon start up they are drastically at reduced power for over 24 hours. This isn't the looks of a professional outfit? 

8 3%

7 0%

6 0%

5 0%

4 0%

3 0%

2 0%

June 1 92%-this is when they scrammed on feed level control problems.

May 31 81%

30 52%

29 100%

Monday, June 08, 2015

Grand Gulf Fire: Another Entergy plant




Power ReactorEvent Number: 51137
Facility: GRAND GULF
Region: 4 State: MS
Unit: [1] [ ] [ ]
RX Type: [1] GE-6
NRC Notified By: RONNIE WALTERS
HQ OPS Officer: DAN LIVERMORE
Notification Date: 06/08/2015
Notification Time: 00:45 [ET]
Event Date: 06/08/2015
Event Time: 22:59 [CDT]
Last Update Date: 06/08/2015
Emergency Class: UNUSUAL EVENT
10 CFR Section:
50.72(a) (1) (i) - EMERGENCY DECLARED
Person (Organization):
JACK WHITTEN (R4DO)
WILLIAM GOTT (IRD)
ALLEN HOWE (NRR)

UnitSCRAM CodeRX CRITInitial PWRInitial RX ModeCurrent PWRCurrent RX Mode
1NY92Power Operation92Power Operation
Event Text
FIRE IN PROTECTED AREA LASTING GREATER THAN 15 MINUTES

At 2359 EDT on June 7, 2015, the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station declared a Notice of Unusual Event in accordance with Emergency Action Level HU4 for a fire in the protected area lasting greater than 15 minutes. The fire started in the wiring of a terminal box for Electro Hydraulic Pump C, the running pump located in the turbine building. The running pump was then deenergized by operators and the standby pump started. The site fire brigade responded and extinguished the fire. The emergency was terminated at 0030 on June 8, 2015.

The licensee notified state and local agencies and will inform the NRC Resident Inspector.

Notified R4DO (Whitten), NRR EO (Howe), and IRD (GOTT).

Notified DHS SWO, FEMA Ops Center, NICC Watch Officer, and FEMA NWC and Nuclear SSA via email.

Thursday, June 04, 2015

Employee Sabotage: Knocking Off Line The Waterford Nuclear Plant?

Wednesday, June 03, 2015

LER 2014-006-00: The River Bend Christmas Scram Causing the First Special Inspection

So here is the 2014 Christmas scram that got the first inspection. An event like this happens with the mixture of poor plant maintenance and general incompetence of the employees...poor training across the board.  

Doesn't it raise the hairs in the back of your neck with all degradation of components showing up in one event? 

This is a dangerous plant in many ways...

I believe the first half scram with the turbine control scam over instrumentation problem was basically a  turbine grounding problem throwing electrical spikes at the instrumentation...creating a set of scrams.

I see the problem as in many cases as  intermittent equipment and electrical problems...they really don't have a means to record the event. They are uncertain what caused it...they guess what did it or on a quick and expensive fix...then quickly startup into the next scram.   

Licensee Event Report 50-458 /2014-006-00:Automatic Reactor Scram and Primary Containment Isolation Due to Loss of Power on the Division 2 Reactor Protection System With a Concurrent Division 1 Half-scram On December 25, 2014. at 0836 CST, a reactor scram occurred while the plant was operating at approximately 85 percent power. This event resulted from the loss of power on the Division 2 reactor protection system (RPS) (**JD**) bus, in conjunction with a preexisting half-scram on Division I. The loss of Division 2 RPS power also resulted in a Division 2 containment isolation signal. Approximately four minutes after the scram, reactor water level increased to the Level 8 setpoint, causing the running main feedwater pump (**SJ**) to trip. As reactor water level decreased back through the normal operating range, operators attempted to re-start main feedwater pump "C," but its supply breaker failed to close. Main feedwater pump "A" was subsequently returned to service. As reactor water level decreased to the point at which the startup feedwater regulating valve (FRV) should have opened to establish automatic control, the valve failed to open. Attempts to open it with a manual input signal were unsuccessful, and the "C" main FRVwas put back into service. By that time, reactor water level had decreased slightly below the Level 3 RPS actuation setpoint, resulting in a second scram signal. INVESTIGATION and IMMEDIATE ACTIONS 
The Division I half-scram had been inserted two days prior to the event, in compliance with Technical Specifications, following the failure of an instrumentation channel on the no. 2 main turbine control valve. Teams were formed to investigate the separate significant aspects of the event, as follows: Loss of Division 2 RPS Bus 
Power was lost when the output breaker on the RPS motor-generator (MG) in the Division 2 subsystem tripped. The mostly likely cause of the output breaker trip was an intermittent failure of the MG field flash card due to a degraded capacitor. The capacitor was replaced, and the MG was tested and returned to a standby condition as a backup power supply. The alternate power supply will remain in service carrying the bus until completion of a modification to eliminate the field flash card as a potential source of recurrence of this problem. Misoperation of the Startup FRV The operation of the startup FRV was investigated to determine why it was unresponsive to either the automatic controller or the operator's manual input. Maintenance technicians discovered a failed circuit card in the "manual" side of the valve controller. The ".automatic" function of the controller had operated correctly in the post-scram environment once reactor water level had returned to normal, and this was confirmed again during the troubleshooting. Additionally, Engineering personnel determined that the performance of the valve was consistent with its design criteria. The valve and its control logic are designed for flow control, and not simply for isolation. When the valve receives a gradual "open" signal from the closed position, there is no specific time response requirement. This design feature can allow a delayed response that, in the scram recovery scenario, may be too slow to arrest a significant downward trend in reactor water level. Malfunction of Main Feedwater Pump "C" The failure of main feedwater pump "C" was found to have been was caused by an "over-racked" condition of its supply breaker (that is, the breaker racking mechanism had slightly over-travelled the last time the breaker was returned to service). This caused the limit switches that detect the position of the breaker mechanism within the cabinet to give the control logic circuit a false indication that the breaker was not connected to the bus. Interim instructions have been implemented to have electricians verify the condition of all similar breakers each time they are racked in.

Tuesday, June 02, 2015

I Now Know What Is Wrong With The NRC. It's a Alien Invasion Coming.


Posted by Chris Beveridge
June 2, 2015 at 11:25 AM


The central idea of the series is one that’s certainly an interesting one, an approach you don’t see often when it comes to alien invasion shows. At least not ones that are treated seriously when you get down to it. As we see with the prologue here, these aliens are looking for a way to take care of business by working through the children. Not just any children though, but carefully selected ones that will give them the access they need. Seeing the way a young girl is enthralled by an imaginary friend she calls Drill is certainly eerie with how it unfolds, since Harper just views it all as a game and her mother finds it cute. But when it leads to the mother’s death in a creative way, that sets things into motion since the child’s father is the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That elevates things up several notches to be sure among those that investigate such things.