Magic New NRC Technique Discovers RCIC Flaws At LaSalle Nuclear Plant?

These kinds of postulated shorts have been about the industry for thirty years. The agency has been discovering this often.

See, the NRC’s risk basically comes from a numerical calculation from acceptable core damage or fence line dose. I think this is chocked full with self-interested assumption. Everyone except me thinks if a licensee knows the real risk…this will push the licensee to acceptable behavior. This doesn't work. 

I think these licensees need an incentive, such as once an awhile, a bat upside the head. It will deter other licensees from making the same mistake. 

You catch how they are diluting the feedback...both plants at this site had the same flaws. But the NRC treats it as just a flaw in one plant with a “green very low safety significance”. 

If you believe the assumptions and the efficacy of the NRC’s calculated significance to change behavior…it would be 2 times a green very low safety significance. This is all snake oil…  

Bottom line, the agency doesn't create enough terror in the industry where on the emergence of this kind of accident mitigation flaw discovered, all the industry would be terrified of having the NRC finding one more.

So why did they discover this now, instead of ten or twenty years ago?  

February 27, 2015: LASALLE COUNTY STATION, UNITS 1 AND 2, TRIENNIAL FIRE PROTECTION INSPECTION REPORT 05000373/2014008; 05000374/2014008

• Green. The inspectors identified a finding of very-low safety significance (Green) and associated NCV of the LaSalle County Station Operating License for the licensee’s failure to ensure that the alternate shutdown capability was independent of the fire area. 

Specifically, in the event of a fire in the control room, the alternate shutdown capability for 16 motor operated valves (MOVs) associated with the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC) may be affected, and may not be available due to lack of breaker fuse coordination. Fire-induced failures could result in tripping valve power supply breakers prior to tripping the control power fuses for several motor operated valves, thereby, potentially imparing the operation of RCIC from the Remote Shutdown Panel (RSP). The licensee entered this issue into their Corrective Action Program and established compensatory measures, and added steps to the safe shutdown procedures to reset the affected breakers if needed. In addition, the licensee intended to perform plant modifications to replace or revise existing breakers settings to correct the issue. 

The inspectors determined that the issue was more than minor, because fire induced circuits could impair the operation of RCIC and complicated shutdown of the plant in the event of a fire in the control room. The finding affected the Mitigating Systems Cornerstone. The finding was determined to be of very-low safety significance based on a detailed risk-evaluation. This finding was not associated with a cross-cutting aspect because the finding was not representative of the licensee’s current performance.