Oyster Creek Going Summertime Wackco on Us

Problems:

1) A poorly addressed problem like this could more damage the safety culture of a plant than the risk of the components not working in a accident.

2) So what has changed...considering these components have been around since the dinosaurs without much problems...what has changed to cause this problem.

3) This is a grand experiment. The idea  of a notification over permeant shutdown many year in advance…giving a company the chance to reducing funding for maintenance and upkeep in anticipation of a permanent shutdown.

Pilgrim's Relief

Oyster Creek Shut Down Again For SecondTime This Week

July 11, 2014: Oyster Creek operators were restarting the plant at 3:12 a.m. this morning when problem with "vacuum conditions" in plant's condenser were discovered, NRC says

Posted by Patricia A. Miller (Editor) , July 11, 2014 at 06:27 PM

by Patricia A. Miller

Operators at the Oyster Creek Generating Station shut down the plant early this morning because of problem with the facility's condenser, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.

Plant operators manually scrammed (shut down) the plant at 3:12 a.m. after they discovered a reduction in vacuum conditions inside the condenser, said NRC spokesman Neil A. Sheehan.

"There were no complications during the shutdown and the NRC has not identified any immediate safety concerns," he said.

The condenser - which cools down and condenses steam produced by the reactor after it has passed through the turbine - is operated in a vacuum condition to maximize efficiency, Sheehan said.

It was the second time this week the 45-year-old plant had to be shut down.

Oyster Creek operators took the plant off line on July 7, due to "degradation" of five solenoid electromatic relief valves used in the plant's cooling system.

Operators were attempting to start the plant up again early this morning and had reached 55 percent of power when the problems with the condenser were discovered, Sheehan said.

"However, it appears the shutdown will change the plant's Performance Indicator for Unplanned Scrams per 7,000 Hours of Operation from "Green" to "White" and result in additional NRC oversight," he said.

Exelon spokesman Suzanne D'Ambrosio said plant operators and technicians closely monitor pressures, temperatures and plant equipment for safe, reliable operation.

"It is crucial that during start up, every system operates flawlessly," she said. "If anything is not as expected, operators stop the start-up process and address the issue. This comprehensive process and attention to detail has helped Oyster Creek reach industry leading levels of reliability."

Oyster Creek is the oldest nuclear plant in the United States. It went online on Dec. 23, 1969.

Oyster Creek shuts down to check safety valves

 July 8: LACEY – Operators of the Oyster Creek nuclear reactor shut down the power plant to check and possibly replace five safety valves, plant officials said.

The shutdown was prompted by an inspection of previously removed valves, which showed unexpected wear on two of them and could have caused them to fail, according to plant owner Exelon and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Oyster Creek operators started shutting down the reactor power at about 8 p.m. Monday, and it’s not known how long the plant will remain offline, according to Suzanne D’Ambrosio, a spokeswoman for the plant.

July 9 NRC event report: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION REQUIRED SHUTDOWN

 
"On July 7, 2014 at approximately [2040 EDT], an issue was discovered with currently removed Electromatic Relief Valves (EMRVs) that calls the operability of the currently installed EMRVs into question. Based on this new information, all 5 of the currently installed EMRVs were conservatively declared inoperable. With the potential of 5 EMRVs inoperable a Technical Specification shutdown is required under Technical Specification 3.4.b, whereby reactor pressure shall be reduced to 110 psig or less within 24 hours. This event is immediately reportable under:

"50.72(b)(2)(i), 'The initiation of any nuclear plant shutdown required by the plant's Technical Specifications.'
 
"50.72(b)(3)(v)(D), 'Any event or condition that at the time of discovery could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function of structures or systems that are needed to: (D) Mitigate the consequences of an accident.'"
 
The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. The licensee will notify the State of New Jersey and issue a press release.

She said the reactor must be shut off for workers to access the five installed electromatic relief valves inside the plant’s drywell, the containment vessel around the nuclear reactor. They are part of the plant’s automatic depressurization system, linked to the emergency core cooling system. In the event of a loss of coolant from a small pipe break — when pressure inside the reactor area remains high — the valves are there to quickly lower the pressure so the emergency system can inject water into the reactor core.

Electromatic Relief valves come right out of the Stone Age. Remember the Pilgrim safety Relief Valves fiasco…they bought new valves and the parts were all loose. Pilgrim took a lot of shutdowns and power downs over these defective valves. They had so called main steam line vibrations problems damage the SRVs. Vermont Yankee with their new SRV…improper seal material.

The potential problem began in late June during a maintenance inspection of the valves, NRC officials said. That raised a red flag with nuclear critics, who questioned why a plant shutdown was not required sooner by the NRC.

“The valves are designed so you can do without one, you can possibly do without two,” said Arnie Gundersen, an independent nuclear analyst whose Fairewinds Associates firm often consults for anti-nuclear groups. “That’s the question. When did they know the two valves were inoperable, and when did they decide to shut down?”

The valves are operated by solenoids, powerful electromagnets that slam the valves open when energized. NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said plant workers “found more than expected wear” on valve springs and supporting parts. Gundersen said the valves are routinely tested in place, but also that kind of wearing can come from the machinery vibration that’s part of the environment inside a nuclear plant.

Sheehan said the agency was on top of the situation as it evolved: “Our resident inspectors assigned to Oyster Creek on a full-time basis have been closely following developments involving the evaluation of the valves and the decision to take the reactor offline to address the issue. They will continue to do so until the problem is satisfactorily resolved.”

According to a formal notice posted by the NRC, the problem with the electomatic relief valves was confirmed Monday and “based on this new information, all 5 of the currently installed EMRVs were conservatively declared inoperable.”

In those instances, a shutdown is required, according to the notice.

Gundersen said he wonders why the shutdown did not happen sooner.

“Were they waiting for parts?” he said. Technically, the indications that valves could have a problem should initiate what’s called a “limiting condition of operation” that needs to be resolved soon under NRC rules, Gundersen said.

“That said, the decision to declare it in operable is less defined,” allowing the NRC to cut operators slack, he added.

The valve issue shows why reactors such as Oyster Creek need filtered vents to control discharges during emergencies, said Janet Tauro of the local group Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety, which have pushed for the NRC to impose that proposed rule.

But the economics of building improved vents won’t work for the plant in Lacey, Gundersen said: “Oyster Creek will shut down before they would install them.”  

***"The Oyster Creek nuclear power plant was shut down last night (Monday) in response to degradation of electromatic relief valves (ERVs) that has been identified," NRC spokesman Neil A Sheehan said. "Five such valves are involved."

Oyster Creek personnel replace the solenoid-operated valves that operate the plant's five electromagnetic relief valves (EMRVs) during each refueling and maintenance outage. The solenoid valves are then tested in the maintenance shop to determine their condition.

"In late June, Oyster Creek staff tested five solenoid-operated valves that had been removed from the plant previously and determined that two of the five valves did not operate properly," Sheehan said. "Oyster Creek staff disassembled the valves and identified more than expected wear on the solenoid-operating valve springs and support parts."

Oyster Creek operators decided a plant shutdown was needed on July 7, to inspect the currently installed solenoid operated valves associated with the EMRVs might be affected, Sheehan said.

The EMRVs and their associated solenoid valves are not accessible when the plant is in operation, he said.

NRC inspectors will independently assess the condition of the installed EMRV solenoid-operated valves once they are accessible during the current plant outage, Sheehan said.

The ERVs are part of the plant's automatic depressurization system (ADS), which supports the emergency core cooling system. The ADS is designed to depressurize the reactor during a small (pipe) break loss-of-coolant accident to permit the low-pressure core spray system to inject water into the reactor core, Sheehan said.

Ya, they are all critical for the public good as the companies can't afford to run them anymore...

Ginna owner seeks deal to keep nuclear plant open

The owner of the Ginna nuclear power plant, hoping to stave off closure of the facility, has asked New York regulators to help secure a deal with RG&E to sustain Ginna's operations.

Exelon Corp., which owns the Wayne County nuclear plant, wants Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. to sign a contract promising payments keep the plant running. Chicago-based Exelon filed a petition Friday asking the state Public Service Commission to enter into a multiyear contract by the end of 2014.

The contract would be based on the conclusion that Ginna, which provides a good part of all the electricity used by RG&E's customers, must continue to operate to ensure the continued reliability of that service.

With no contract, Exelon said in its petition that it likely would close the 44-year-old Ginna, one of the oldest commercial nuclear plants in the country. Located on the Lake Ontario shoreline, it can generate 577 megawatts of electricity, or enough to satisfy the needs of about 400,000 residential customers.

"It is no secret that our plant, like others in the region, faces financial challenges. But this filing is actually good news for the hundreds of hardworking men and women that work at the plant and for the community that we serve because it is an encouraging step toward continuing to operate the plant for the foreseeable future," Joe Pacher, Ginna site vice president, said in a statement released Friday.

About 700 people work at the plant, which is by far the largest property taxpayer in the town of Ontario and likely is the largest in Wayne County.

In statements issued Friday afternoon, RG&E and Exelon both pledged to work with the PSC on the proceeding. Exelon will continue to operate the plant while the process unfolds, spokeswoman Maria Hudson said.

RG&E built the plant in the late 1960s and named it for a former chairman, Robert E. Ginna. As part of a move to deregulate energy markets, the PSC ordered utilities to sell off their power generation, and in 2004 RG&E sold Ginna to Constellation Energy for $423 million. Constellation now is part of Exelon.

Under terms of the Ginna sale, RG&E was given the right to buy up to 90 percent of the electricity generated at Ginna at fixed prices, an arrangement cast at the time as a good deal for both parties. That 10-year arrangement expired June 30.

Exelon, the nation's largest nuclear-plant operator, has talked openly about the possibility that it might close some of its facilities because they're not economically viable.

In the petition filed Friday, the company said that as the expiration of the long-term arrangement with RG&E loomed, it examined Ginna's finances and concluded it was likely to lose money and was a candidate for closure.

But Exelon then asked for a study to determine what effect Ginna's closure would have on the reliability of electric service in RG&E's service territory. According to the petition, that study, finished in May, concluded that Ginna remained essential.

So Exelon now has invoked a regulatory procedure under which, if the PSC issued the requested order, RG&E would pay a fixed amount of money each year to keep Ginna in operation. The amount, the number of years and other terms remain to be negotiated after the commission acts, if it does.

A similar "reliability support services agreement" exists between the owners of a coal-fired power plant in Tompkins County and New York State Electric and Gas Corp., RG&E's sister company.

That deal drew criticism from environmentalists because NYSEG was paying to prop up a polluting coal plant. It remains to be seen whether an RG&E-Exelon deal with provoke similar criticism from opponents of nuclear power, some of whom have stated publicly they hope financial pressure would lead to the shuttering of Ginna and other plants.