Junk Plant Susquehanna: Crack in Reactor Vessel?

05000387/388...its a 34 year old plant. This is a BWR-4.  

So this the first nuclear plant owned by a private equity firm in the USA. These guys are already cutting employee jobs at Susquehanna. 

Talen Energy to be Acquired by Riverstone

Stockholders to receive $14.00 per share in cash

Transaction has total enterprise value of approximately $5.2 billion

ALLENTOWN, Pa., June 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Talen Energy Corporation (NYSE: TLN), a competitive energy and power generation company that owns or controls 16,000 megawatts of capacity in eight states, announced today that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with affiliates of Riverstone Holdings LLC ("Riverstone"), a private investment firm. 

Under terms of the merger agreement, all outstanding shares of Talen Energy common stock not currently owned by Riverstone affiliated entities will be acquired for $14.00 per share in cash. Affiliates of Riverstone currently own approximately 35 percent of the outstanding shares of Talen Energy common stock, which were issued in the June 2015 transaction that established Talen Energy by combining competitive generation assets that had been owned by affiliates of PPL Corporation and affiliates of Riverstone.
The purchase price represents a 56 percent premium to the closing price of $9.00 per share on March 31, 2016, the last trading day before public reports of a potential sale of Talen Energy, and a 101 percent premium to the 60-day volume-weighted average price of $6.95 per share through March 31.

When did they discover the leak. They are supposed to shutdown quickly with a pressure boundary leakage? 

Power Reactor	Event Number: 51983
Facility: SUSQUEHANNA Region: 1 State: PA Unit: [1] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [1] GE-4,[2] GE-4 NRC Notified By: LONNIE CRAWFORD HQ OPS Officer: STEVE SANDIN	Notification Date: 06/06/2016 Notification Time: 08:13 [ET] Event Date: 06/06/2016 Event Time: 05:56 [EDT] Last Update Date: 06/06/2016
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(i) - PLANT S/D REQD BY TS 50.72(b)(3)(ii)(A) - DEGRADED CONDITION	Person (Organization): DAN SCHROEDER (R1DO)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
1	N	Y	9	Startup	8	Startup

Event Text

ISOLABLE LEAKAGE IDENTIFIED FROM SEAL WATER LINE WELD INSIDE RCS PRESSURE BOUNDARY "Susquehanna Unit 1 commenced a manual shutdown on 06/05/2016 for a maintenance outage. At 2202 hours [EDT] on 06/05/2016, operators began reducing power in accordance with plant procedures. At 0352 hours on 06/06/2016, the Main Turbine was tripped with reactor power at approximately 15%. "The Mode switch was taken to 'STARTUP/HOT STANDBY' (Mode 2) at 0515 hours on 06/06/2016. Manual insertion of control rods was paused as scheduled for entry into the drywell for inspections. There were no ESF actuations.

It is not so bad if it is a water seal leakage?  

"At 0556, the licensee identified leakage from a weld on seal water line piping connected to the 1B reactor recirculation pump seal area. The location is within the reactor recirculation loop isolation valves, therefore is isolable from the reactor vessel. The piping is ASME Class 2 and is reactor coolant pressure boundary. The reactor was in Mode 2 at the time of discovery. "This event is being reported as a plant shutdown required by technical specifications pursuant to 10CFR50.72(b)(2)(i) and degraded condition pursuant to 10CFR50.72(b)(3)(ii)(A). "Activities are continuing to achieve cold shutdown." The licensee informed the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the NRC Resident Inspector.

Such incompetence, the pump seal area and the reactor vessel is a large distance apart. 

Susquehanna to complete additional work on Unit 1 

11:18 ET from Susquehanna Nuclear LLCBERWICK, Pennsylvania, June 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania made a non-emergency notification to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Wednesday, June 8, 2016. As was previously reported, Susquehanna Unit 1 was safely shut down on June 6 for planned maintenance to

So this is two seperate leaks? Now it sounds like a instrument nozzle welded inside the reactor vessel leak and it is unisolable.  

identify and repair a small leak inside the containment structure that completely surrounds the reactor. During the investigation, Susquehanna staff identified and reported additional leakage from an instrumentation connection to the reactor vessel. The leak rate is currently measured at two drops per minute. 

Unit 1 remains shut down and the condition is not a safety risk for plant workers or the public. "We have established a dedicated team of nuclear professionals to further

The seal piping fix would be really a easy to fix. A crack in the vessel would be bringing into the plant outside experts to this degree. Brace yourself for the nuclear industry quake if this turns out to be a crack in the reactor vessel.   

evaluate the situation and develop a plan to safely complete repairs, said Robert Franssen, plant general manager. "We will continue to work with the NRC, industry experts and our equipment vendors to understand the issue, evaluate our repair options, complete the necessary work and safely return the unit to service."
Susquehanna Unit 2 continues to operate safely at full rated power. 

The Susquehanna plant, located about seven miles north of Berwick, is jointly owned by Susquehanna Nuclear, LLC, and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc., and is operated by Susquehanna Nuclear. For information, visit www.susquehannanuclear.com. 

Susquehanna Nuclear LLC is one of Talen Energy's generating affiliates. Talen Energy (NYSE: TLN) is one of the largest competitive energy and power generation companies in the United States. Our diverse generating fleet operates in well-developed, structured wholesale power markets. To learn more about us, visit www.talenenergy.com.

Another
 

Unit 1 reactor at Susquehanna nuclear plant shuts down

Officials are investigating the cause of the automatic shutdown Thursday of Unit 1 at Talen Energy Corp.'s Susquehanna nuclear power plant.

Talen spokesman Todd Martin said a cause of the shutdown had not been determined. He also said it was premature to speculate when the unit would return to service.

NRC Spokesman Neil Sheehan said a preliminary review indicated that the reactor tripped due to high pressure levels. During testing on a main steam line, it apparently resulted in an "isolation valve closing," Sheehan said.