Junk Plant Oyster Creek SRVs: The Collapse Of The Regulator.

Believe me, this plant is more poorly designed than any other plant in the USA. The NRC framed it inappropriately as a individual component issue of the ERVs for both events. It should be framed as a failure to maintain quality of the of the EVRs. It is two failures of the EVRs is a short period of time. The first being a yellow make believe violation, while the second being a rop violation.

(2017)NRC to Increase Oversight at Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will increase its oversight of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant following the finalization of an inspection finding involving deficient maintenance work on a safety-related relief valve. The finding was identified during a 2016 NRC inspection of Oyster Creek. The facility is owned and operated by Exelon, located in Lacey Township (Ocean County), N.J. The white safety finding indicates a low to moderate safety significance. The NRC uses a color-coded system to categorize inspection findings, with colors ranging from green, for very low safety or security significance, to white, yellow or red, for substantial safety or security significance. Findings determined to be greater than green result in additional NRC scrutiny. This finding involves a problem with one of the plant’s electromatic relief valves. EMRVs are used to depressurize the reactor during a pipe break. Oyster Creek has five of these valves. “These valves serve a key safety function and therefore it is important that they be available to help mitigate severe accidents at the plant,” said NRC Region I Administrator Dan Dorman. “We will conduct a supplemental inspection at Oyster Creek to ensure the underlying problems that led to this issue have been appropriately addressed.” Exelon was given an opportunity to request a regulatory conference to provide additional information to the NRC prior to a final agency decision, to submit a written response, or to accept the finding. The company chose to take part in a regulatory conference, which was held on March 9 in the NRC’s Region I Office. In terms of corrective actions, Exelon verified correct assembly of the valves following the most recent refueling and maintenance outage at the plant.

Old design problems means this violation wasn't in the ROP. It was like a warning ticket. If it was a full scale yellow finding with heavy NRC attention,  would the new violation have occurred?  

If it was a old design issue, this problem would have repeatedly showed up throughout the life of the oldest plant in the USA.

(2015)NRC Slaps Oyster Creek Plant With ‘Yellow’ Finding, Increases Oversight

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week upheld an enforcement action known as a “yellow” finding against the Oyster Creek nuclear generating station in Lacey Township following the investigation of release valves at the plant in 2014.

The “yellow” finding is the NRC’s second-highest enforcement action, and indicates “substantial safety significance,” NRC officials said in a statement released Monday. The plant was also given a “white” finding for a separate incident involving the plant’s emergency generators and a broken cooling fan.

The “yellow” finding involves design aspects of electromatic relief valves, or EMRVs, for the plant, which is owned by Exelon Corporation and scheduled to shut down in 2019. According to the NRC, during refurbishment work in June 2014 on two EMRVs removed from the plant in 2012, the company found an alignment problem with the valve’s actuator. When the valves were tested, they did not open. Once the issue was identified, Exelon immediately tested five of its then-installed EMRVs, officials said. All five actuated successfully. The company ultimately installed redesigned actuators for the valves during a refueling and maintenance outage at the plant in October 2014.

Even though the violation involving the EMRVs has been classified as “yellow,” the NRC has determined it represents an old design issue.

“That is, the issue stems from an inspection finding involving a past design-related problem and does not reflect a current performance deficiency associated with existing programs, policies or procedures used by the company,” the agency’s statement said.

As a result of the finding, the NRC will carry out a team inspection that will review Exelon’s root- cause evaluation and corrective actions for the issue...

The NRC threw the powerful Exelon a freebee with an old design issue. This is blatant corruption by the NRC and Exelon!!!! The was a "current" negligent maintenance issue in 2015 turned into a old design issue through the greasy NRC hands. Who ever heard of a such a thing in any other regulated industry...

How To Make It Trump's Nuclear Regulartory Commission

I think having half democrat and half republic commissioners dilutes political accountability. I'd get rid of it.

I think this scenario is really cool.

1) Let the clock run out on Svinicki. She is out. I know now Svinicki is really popular with house republicans.  

I don't know how the "going full nuclear" works out in the Senate and House? Would these guys get voted in by 51 votes instead of 60 votes in the senate. I think this is drastically going to change the environment of the commissioners. There is a lot of political horse trading going on outside the nuclear industry with nominating a NRC commissioner. It is never just a nuclear industry focus thing.   

I doubt the democrats would approve any nominee in these times. Could the republicans overwrite the enabling legislation of the NRC? End up with its only up to the president to elect the NRC commissioner with the senate's 51 votes.

2) Drop the even split republican and democrat thing.

3) Now you have only 2 commissioners. Then stack the deck with the new Trump three commissioners.

Big picture, I like the idea if something big happens, it would make the politicians and parties accountable no matter what political party.

You get what has happened here, the NRC initial legislation, it weakened political accountability as a favor to the big utility boys who owned nuclear plants.    

House Energy and Commerce Committee representatives urge Trump to Fill Nuclear Regulatory Commission Vacancies

Published on April 17, 2017 by Daily Energy Insider Reports           Share                     

Three U.S. representatives on the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently sent a letter to President Donald Trump, requesting that he fill current and future vacancies on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in order to maintain a quorum.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Subcommittee on Energy Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), and Subcommittee on Environment Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL) jointly sent the request.
“We urge you to nominate commissioners to the NRC so the confirmation process may be completed as
soon as possible and provide the NRC a full contingent of commissioners to fulfill its critical mission in overseeing and regulating the civilian use of radioactive material,” the representatives said.
If no new commissioners are nominated and confirmed before July 1 when Chairman Kristine Svinicki’s current term expires, the NRC will lack a quorum, which is necessary to conduct necessary legislative action. The commission requires at least three of the five seats to be filled with no more than three members from the same political party in order to maintain a quorum. There are currently two vacant seats on the commission.
“Absent a nomination and confirmation of additional commissioners, the Commission will lack a quorum on July 1 when Chairman Svinicki’s current term expires,” the representatives said. “This situation could severely inhibit the NRC’s ability to execute its vital responsibility and hamper the nuclear industry.”

Junk Plant Grand Gulf: Extraordinary Collapse of Capacity Factor In last Two Years

May 1

still stuck at 94%

Update April 28

94% for two days. I fear, if the delayed start-up is caused by poorly trained licensed operators and ratty start-up procedures, what is the extend and cause of the procedure site wide.  

Update April 21

Told, secondary side issues and procedures are slowing down the start-up. Tremendous turnover of employees mostly based on retiring. The problems with first generation of retiring employees is not a new phenomena...they should have anticipated it.
  
Tremendous progress getting too full power(not)...25% power...

Why in the world didn't the NRC catch the broad procedure problems at the plant or it was fixed in the four month shutdown.


Update April 20

Holy shit, traveling at warp speed...16% power.

You get it, they are not properly preparing the plant for start up and sustained plant operations. It was a reckless start-up!!!

Update April 19

What a rat trap, still at 14% speed. Doppler and Temperature Coefficient are weakened at low power. It is not safe for a plant to run at lot power for prolong period of time.   

Update April 18

OMG, they went up 4% in 24 hour. Warp speed now.

***Just within weeks ago, these guys just got done with a voluntary four month safety shutdown based on the incompetence of the license operators. They had a horrid capacity before the shutdown for a year. We are still waiting for the special inspection on this.

The problem I have is Grand Gulf maliciously and repeatedly shoots themselves in the foot, usually based upon perceived self interest....then the industry and NRC treats them as if they were a rape victim. You are all organizationally severely mentally ill. Come on, with the airline who dragged the injured passenger out of the plane, you can't tell me the corporation and organization around them wasn't severely mentally ill. Organizational severe mental illness is very common today.

I worry these guys are getting desensitized or numbed by this behavior in the last few years. Normalization of devience.

This kind of activity is yanking financial resources away from the troubled plant at the worst time.

Power history

April 13: 0%

April 14: 1%

April 15: 1%

April 16: 3%

April 17: 10%

How The Unprecedented Heroin Crisis is Destroying Our Constitutional Rights on I 91

Updated April 14

The deputy treasurer and voluntary police officer. The heroin menace have infected all of their gov.

The deputy city treasurer has been placed on leave after it was learned that a man arrested in a major heroin bust on Thursday was taken into custody at her home."The employee was immediately placed on leave and is pending further investigation," Mayor Alex B. Morse said.
Morse confirmed the employee was Deputy City Treasurer Kayla Rodriguez. She owns the home at 14 Laurel St. where Kivanny Sanchez, 22, was arrested and charged with trafficking in heroin over 200 grams and conspiracy to violate the drug law, according to police and city records.

Holyoke police, Hampden DA release names of suspects arrested in major heroin raid

The names of 11 men and women and the charges against them were disclosed. At least five other arrests are still being processed.

Police Chief James M. Neiswanger and Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni described the dozen arrests Thursday morning as a major scoop of 24,000 bags of heroin, $100,000 in cash and three expensive cars: a Porsche, an Audi and a BMW. 

Updated April 13

Come on, with this kind of money being made and lavish spending on cars, you got to know high up they were paying off the police and politicians...

Police raid Holyoke apartment buildings

By George Graham | ggraham@repub.com The Republican
Follow on Twitter
on April 13, 2017 at 11:17 AM, updated April 13, 2017 at 11:48 AM

comments

HOLYOKE -- City and state police seized approximately 24,000 bags of heroin, $100,000 in cash and arrested a dozen suspects early Thursday during multiple raids in the Churchill neighborhood.

Police also seized a trio of high-end cars, each one black: a Porsche Panamera 4, Audi A7 3.OT and BMW 335i

"We really scooped up a significant organization," Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said during a press conference at the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Springfield.

Around a dozen arrests were made in Holyoke this morning following several drug raids in the Churchill neighborhood.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said Holyoke and state police seized 24,000 bags of heroin, approximately $100,000 in cash, and three luxury cars, in addition to the arrests.

The vehicles seized were an Audi A7 3.0T, a BMW 335i, and a Porsche Panamera 4.

"We really believe that we dismantled a significant drug distribution organization with these arrests." Gulluni said. "We think it's a big win for the city of Holyoke. It's a big win for the region and we are going to continue to fight this war and bring drug traffickers to justice."

Asked if the drug trafficking organization was gang-affiliated, Gulluni said, "We are not aware necessarily with a specific gang structure, but it's a drug distribution organization."

This is a large scale heroin operation. The state police must have been looking at these guys for months now. It is within miles of where the staties pulled me over on I 91. No doubt the staties were trying to snag a car going to and leaving the Holyoke heroin den on I 91.

I think the staties were abusing the "Move Over" law in order gain probable cause to take down these heroin Kingpins. It was a battlefield intelligence operation to gather information on the Kingpins. Right, get a large load of heroin, their CIs must have been telling the staties the frequency of the use of I 91, thus giving the heroin transporter a great court deal in order to bust down the Kingpins.

It this the guy the staties were looking for with the drug bust on April 5...is he how they gained probable cause.

Right, the staties were stationed on both sides of I 91 and north and south of the main exit going into the Heroin kingpin neighborhood.

Police raids in Holyoke yield 24,000 bags of heroin, $100,000 in cash, 12 arrests

By George Graham | ggraham@repub.com The Republican Follow on Twitter
on April 13, 2017 at 11:17 AM, updated April 13, 2017 at 11:48 AM

HOLYOKE -- City and state police seized approximately 24,000 bags of heroin, $100,000 in cash and arrested a dozen suspects early Thursday during multiple raids in the Churchill neighborhood.

Police also seized a trio of high-end cars, each one black: a Porsche Panamera 4, Audi A7 3.OT and BMW 335.

"We really scooped up a significant organization," Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said during a press conference at the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Springfield.

Reposted from 4/5/17

updated April 6 

Now if after, say, staties ticket a car on I 91, they observe a car violation of the move over law, I am ok with that pull over. The more appropriate method is flooding the airways with advertisements with move over law. It is the ruse that bother me. They are trying to save officers lives by violating the constitutional rights of everyone else. The essence of truth telling. All these guys testify in the court...this behavior impinges their activity in the courts. With these little things, sometimes a mountain of troubles is hidden behind these little integrity issues.  

Say they get a big heroin bust on I 91, I honestly think the state should disclose to the violator's attorney a ruse was used to create the opportunity of a search. Then the ruse issue cycles through the court system. It is the secrecy of the government that bothers me so much. It doing things behind close doors that bothers me This isn't the America I want to live in.

Again I really don't think the move over law actually works. It just turns the good citizens into state sponsored robots at the behest of the state. You need a evaluation of the drivers who killed state police on the highways. How do you stop them. I just think the campaign to create the move over law, zip it through political system system...was a money making deal to special people. It creates benefits and stature to special people, has nothing to do protecting out police.

Ya, good cops are needlessly dead, but don't take out your anger on the rest of us. 

This is a rendition of altruism or doing good corruption, saying you are trying to protect the police, but the object of the game is to just advance yourself.
           

***Parking the state cruisers on the side of the road with their emergency lights on for no reason to I pull over citizens on I91 as a ruse to preform a illegal search for heroin is unethical. Then the state policed lied to me concerning why they were there.  

How many cars do they pull over for breaking this law per heroin catch? Maybe one in 100?

State police stop vehicle on I-91 in Deerfield, seize over 1,000 packs of heroin

By George Graham | ggraham@repub.com The Republican

on April 05, 2017 at 8:52 AM, updated April 05, 2017 at 9:02 AMDEERFIELD -- A passenger in a car that failed to yield for an emergency vehicle on Interstate 91 early Monday was found to be in possession of over 1,000 packs of heroin, state police said.

The incident began shortly after midnight when Trooper Daniel Paras saw the northbound Dodge fail to move over, according to a release issued by state police.

The trooper finished up with the vehicle stop he had been dealing with and ultimately stopped the Dodge north of Exit 26 in Deerfield.
Paras identified the driver and three passengers. Further investigation led to the discover of 1,150 packs of heroin in the car.

One of the passengers, 44-year-old Kevin Rose of Brattleboro, was charged with trafficking in heroin and possession of an open container of alcohol.

The driver was issued a summons for unlicensed operation and failure to move over for an emergency vehicle. A licensed passenger took control of the vehicle.

Junk Plant Columbia: UCS on Special Inspection

Columbia Generating Station: NRC’s Special Inspection of Self-Inflicted Safety Woes

Dave Lochbaum, director, Nuclear Safety Project | April 13, 2017, 6:00 am EDT

Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station near Richland, Washington has one General Electric boiling water reactor (BWR/5) with a Mark II containment design that began operating in 1984. In the late morning hours of Sunday, December 18, 2016, the station stopped generating electricity and began generating problems.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) dispatched a special inspection team to investigate the event after determining it could have increased the risk of reactor core damage by a factor of ten. The NRC team sought to understand the problems occurring during this near-miss as well as assess the breadth and effectiveness of the solutions proposed by the company for them…

I put the below on the UCS's blog. They seemed to taken it down.

Special Inspection #1

Yet another special inspection on transporting radioactive material in Nov 2016.

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/hanford/article144310564.html

Two special inspections in about a month. One wonders if the NRC can call up a special inspection on their whim. In other words, a lot of secret non-documented violations occur at the plant as the price of doing business. Then the NRC can pull up from a huge bank of non-disclosed but known violations as a tool to perform a particular purpose.  

Special Inspection #2 

Why do we always do this? This accident is contextual. Why don't whistleblowers ever get the credit they deserve. Here is where whistleblowers went to the press saying the plant is in more trouble than Columbia or the NRC understands. The NRC in response said the plant is safe. They had a big internal investigation basically saying there are communication problems, but no big problems. I am just saying, out of the whole highly paid lot of them officialdom, the closest one to the anticipating and knowing the future truth was the Columbia Whistleblowers. I will guarantee you, if there were no Columbia whistleblowers, there would be no special inspection. The NRC is terrorized by these whistleblowers. I guarantee to you, the NRC never even for one second, forgot they had unknown knowledgeable whistleblowers simmering at the plant. That special inspection was set up to protect the NRC if things got worst at the plant. I find it despicable you didn’t put the Columbia whistleblower context into explaining the setup of this accident.

I was in a similar situation at Vermont Yankee in 1991. I was leaking documents (stealing) and talking with media. Talking to the governor…she came out on a podium and made big my issues at the plant. Like I said, big internal investigations and NRC investigations. I thought nothing really big is changing as the process played out, they were doing their same lying and falsifying documents as the NRC was breathing down their necks. I thought maybe there is a delay in the atmosphere change we all expected. About a year after getting the governor on the podium, VY had the worst accident in the life of the plant. We had a LOOP on taking shortcuts and not following procedures in switchyard, with insufficient cooling water flow to the diesel generators. The control was in a mess during the event.  A lot of equipment showed as degraded or broken in this accident.

This was when my great disillusionment with how the world works began. All the internal and NRC investigations was just showboating for the public appeasement. There was no intention of ever changing a thing at plant.  

 

Entergy: Why All The Valve Line-up Problems?

Is there a Potential Adverse Trend?

Here are 3 different plants with valve mis-positioning events.

One thing in common – valve mis-positioning events.

One thing not in common, these are three different plants.

Another thing in common - is this the same fleet operator?

Could this be an adverse trend?

How come we do not hear of other plants with different fleet operators having valve mis-positioning events?

( We are waiting for Grand Gulf's special inspection report on generally licensed operator incompetence and poor training. They voluntarily shutdown for four months to retrain their employees  It emerged from a valve line-up problem.) 

Power Reactor    Event Number: 52655

Facility: PILGRIM

Region: 1 State: MA

Unit: [1] [ ] [ ]

RX Type: [1] GE-3

NRC Notified By: KENNETH GRACIA

HQ OPS Officer: VINCE KLCO    Notification Date: 03/31/2017

Notification Time: 19:14 [ET]

Event Date: 03/31/2017

Event Time: 11:55 [EDT]

Last Update Date: 03/31/2017

Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY

10 CFR Section:

50.72(b)(3)(v)(D) - ACCIDENT MITIGATION

Person (Organization):

BILL COOK (R1DO)

Unit    SCRAM Code    RX CRIT    Initial PWR    Initial RX Mode    Current PWR    Current RX Mode

1    N    Y    97    Power Operation    97    Power Operation

Event Text

PRESSURE SUPPRESSION POOL DECLARED INOPERABLE DUE TO TORUS HIGH WATER LEVEL

"On March 31, 2017 at 1155 hours [EDT], with the reactor at 97% core thermal power and steady state conditions, operators inadvertently caused water level to rise in the Pressure Suppression Pool (TORUS). Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) was restoring normal system valve line-ups after performing flushing of the suction piping of the Core Spray system in accordance with station procedures. During the process of restoring the appropriate valve line-ups, water was inadvertently transferred to the TORUS from the Condensate Storage Tank. The cause of the event is understood.

"The Technical Specification (TS) Limiting Condition for Operation (LCO) Action Statement (AS) 3.7.A.5 was entered. The LCO AS was exited at 1540 when TORUS water level was restored to the limits specified in LCO's 3.7.A.1.b and 3.7.A.1.m. Because the TORUS was declared inoperable, PNPS is providing an 8-hour non-emergency notification in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(D), an event or condition that could have prevented fulfillment of a safety function needed to mitigate the consequences of an accident.

"This was a case of the water level in the TORUS being above the TS limit. The TORUS was potentially available to provide cooling to the reactor if required.

"The NRC Resident Inspector has been notified."

The licensee notified the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Plymouth County.

No: IV-17-003 March 6, 2017

CONTACT: Victor Dricks, 817-200-1128

NRC Will Conduct a Special Inspection at Cooper Nuclear Station

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct a special inspection at the Cooper Nuclear Station to review operator errors that affected a safety-related heat removal system. The plant, located in Brownville, Neb., is operated by the Nebraska Public Power District. “This special inspection will help us better understand the circumstances that led to the operator error,” said NRC Region IV Administrator Kriss Kennedy. “We need to assess the potential impact on plant safety and the licensee’s corrective actions to ensure that the cause has been effectively addressed.”

On Feb. 5, 2017, workers discovered that a misalignment of valves may have rendered one of the plant’s residual heat removal systems inoperable for several months. Operators also performed maintenance and testing on a second residual heat removal system during the same period. As a result, there may have been a period of approximately 72 hours when both systems were unavailable. The residual heat removal system is used to mitigate the effects of a variety of accidents.

Two NRC inspectors will begin their weeklong inspection on Monday, March 13, 2017. Areport on the findings will be publicly available within 45 days of the end of the inspection.

Power Reactor  Event Number: 52600

Facility: WATERFORD

Region: 4 State: LA

Unit: [3] [ ] [ ]

RX type: [3] CE

NRC Notified By: SCOTT MEIKLEJOHN

HQ OPS Officer: JEFF ROTTON     Notification Date: 03/08/2017

Notification Time: 20:13 [ET]

Event Date: 03/08/2017

Event Time: 16:27 [CST]

Last Update Date: 03/08/2017

Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY

10 CFR Section:

50.72(b)(3)(v)(D) - ACCIDENT MITIGATION            Person (Organization):

JESSE ROLLINS (R4DO)

Unit       SCRAM Code      RX CRIT Initial PWR          Initial RX Mode  Current PWR      Current RX Mode

3             N            Y             100        Power Operation              100        Power Operation

Event Text

BOTH TRAINS OF LOW PRESSURE SAFETY INJECTION INOPERABLE DUE TO MAINTENANCE ERROR

"This is a non-emergency notification from Waterford 3.

"On March 8, 2017 at 1627 [CST] Technical Specification (TS) 3.5.2 action 'c' was entered due to both trains of Low Pressure Safety Injection (LPSI) being inoperable. This TS action requires one train of LPSI be restored within 1 hour or be in at least Hot Standby within the next 6 hours.

"It was identified that LPSI train B was inoperable due to SI-135B, Reactor Coolant Loop 1 Shutdown Cooling Warmup Valve, being found open. At the time of discovery, LPSI train A was inoperable for pre planned maintenance, but available and awaiting operability retest. The station was in compliance with TS 3.5.2 action 'a'. Maintenance workers were scheduled to work Sl-135A Reactor Coolant Loop 2 Shutdown Cooling Warmup Valve, and inadvertently began work on Sl-135B and manually opened the valve which resulted in the LPSI Train B being inoperable.

"Once identified by Operations Control Room staff, the valve [SI-135B] was placed in the closed position and stroke tested to ensure operability. TS 3.5.2 action 'c' was exited at time 1705. The station remained in compliance with TS 3.5.2 action 'a'. "

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Junk Plant Watts Bar 2: A Main Condenser Collapsed

This has been nightmare since first start-up.

TVA investigates failure of condenser at Watts Bar nuclear unit

Washington (Platts)--7 Apr 2017 423 pm EDT/2023 GMT

Workers still are developing a repair plan for Tennessee Valley Authority's new 1,210-MW Watts Bar-2 nuclear generating unit in Spring City, Tennessee, after a condenser failure shut it last month, a spokesman said Friday.

TVA is investigating the cause of the structural failure of a portion of the steel condenser and repairs will involve reinforcing the structure, Jim Hopson said in an email.

The condenser is the part of the plant where steam from the turbines cools and turns back into water that can be sent back into steam generators.

"[S]ome of the structural supports within the condenser did not operate as designed," Hopson said. Those supports must be repaired and reinforced as part of a plan to return the condenser to service, he said.

That plan is being developed, and TVA does not have an estimate for the return to service of the unit, Hopson said.

Because of limited space inside the condenser, the assessment is taking longer than expected, he said.

Watts Bar-2 shut March 23 while it was starting up from an outage to check condenser and feedwater pumps. The unit shut immediately after synchronizing to the grid as condenser vacuum was lost, TVA said in an event report to NRC that day.

The 'B' waterbox of the condenser experienced a structural failure tripping the main turbine, NRC said in a preliminary report March 23. This allowed steam to enter into the main turbine hall, resulting in closure of the main steam isolation valves at the unit, the report said. Operators manually shut the unit after the incident.

Waterboxes are part of the condenser containing cooling water from the ultimate heat sink, which, in this case, is river water.

Watts Bar-2 is the newest nuclear unit in the US, having entered commercial operation in October. The unit had been "running like a top," TVA President and CEO Bill Johnson told reporters February 1.

Construction of Watts Bar-2 began in the 1970s but was suspended for two decades before TVA decided in 2007 to complete the unit.

The adjacent 1,210-MW Watts Bar-1 has been shut since March 18 for refueling and maintenance. The repair plan for the unit 2 condenser is being designed to avoid affecting the unit 1 refueling outage, Hopson said.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is following TVA's repair activities, but the condenser is not considered a safety-related component, so the agency will not need to approve the federal power producer's root cause analysis before restart, agency spokesman Roger Hannah said Friday.

Junk Plant FitzPatrick: More Testing Instrumentation Problems

Rash of Problems Testing Instrumentation at Nuclear Plants

Just like Pilgrim .

Power Reactor	Event Number: 52664
Facility: FITZPATRICK Region: 1 State: NY Unit: [1] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [1] GE-4 NRC Notified By: HENDRIK VERWEY HQ OPS Officer: HOWIE CROUCH	Notification Date: 04/04/2017 Notification Time: 11:32 [ET] Event Date: 04/04/2017 Event Time: 07:35 [EDT] Last Update Date: 04/04/2017
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(3)(v)(D) - ACCIDENT MITIGATION	Person (Organization): CHRISTOPHER CAHILL (R1DO)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
1	N	Y	100	Power Operation	100	Power Operation

Event Text

HIGH PRESSURE COOLANT INJECTION INADVERTENTLY ISOLATED DURING CONDUCT OF MAINTENANCE SURVEILLANCE "On April 4, 2017, at 0735 [EDT], the HPCI System was inadvertently isolated during the performance of l&C [Instrument and Control] testing. "Technicians were in the process of performing instrument surveillance tests for the HPCI [high pressure coolant injection] System (using Allowed Out of Service Times) when a trip signal was applied to the incorrect instrument. This caused a HPCI System isolation signal on High Area Temperature, resulting in the closure of the HPCI steam isolation valves and rendering the system inoperable and unavailable. RCIC was immediately verified to be operable. "The surveillance testing was aborted and system restoration is in progress. "This condition is being reported as a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety function of a system needed to mitigate the consequences of an accident per 10CFR50.72(b)(3)(v)(D)." This placed the plant in a 14-day LCO action statement under Technical Specification 3.5.1. The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Junk Plant Grand Gulf: Staggering Around On Heroin And Nobody Knows How To Keep Him Sober

This is what you get with hearing it from the horses mouth.

I called the inspectors. Basically two feet disappeared from the condensate tank. The normal level is 26 feet. He doesn't know the amount of water. It was a bypass line around a main valve in the condensate system. It was a weld that leaked. All the water was collected in the condenser sump area and process back in rad waste. I believe the condensate pressure is 400 psi. The scram went well, but some communication issues surrounding the control room.       

Holy Christ, a steam pipe leak. Safety or non safety...

SUGAR LAND, TEXAS--April 4, 2017--Researched by Industrial Information Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Station, located in Port Gibson, Mississippi, tripped offline its 1,259-megawatt (MW) Unit 01 reactor due to a steam-piping leak. System Energy Resources Incorporated (Jackson, Mississippi), a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) (The Woodlands, Texas), holds a 90% ownership and leasehold interest, and South Mississippi Electric Power, holds a 10% ownership interest.

A Surry level event:

(UCS)

Surry Nuclear Plant
On December 9, 1986, the 18-inch diameter pipe supplying water to main feedwater pump A for the Unit 2 reactor at the Surry nuclear plant in Virginia ruptured. This feedwater pipe provided water to the steam generators where it absorbed the heat produced by the reactor core. The pipe contained water at 370°F and pressurized to 450 pounds per square inch. The water flashed to steam as it jetted from the broken pipe ends, scalding eight workers installing insulation nearby. Four workers died from their injuries. The steam also tricked the fire detection system into actuating the fire suppression systems. Water from fire sprinklers shorted out computer card readers at locked doors, impeding responders trapped on the wrong side of doors that could not be opened with their keycards. Emergency systems unaffected by the broken pipe protected the reactor core. Investigation revealed that the pipe, which was installed with a wall thickness of 1/2-inch, had thinned to about 1/4-inch by erosion from the water rushing through it. The section that ruptured was an elbow where the pipe bent, forcing an accelerated erosion rate.

I don't get it, if leaked inside the turb or reactor building, there would be electrical shorts and fires all over the place. If outside, they would have to make a report radioactive contamination outside same building... 

They would have to enter a emergency classification declaration...

Reposted from 4/4

April 5

Wait a minute, the enormous condensate storage lost 24 feet of water and they had to scram on a condensate emergency procedure. Did anyone drown in the plant? Is it a instrumentation accuracy issues, did all the water leak inside the plant or outside the plant.

The condensate storage tank are notorious for being highly radioactively contaminated especially if lots of fuel failure.   

The silence is deafening loud!!!!

This is makeup water for all reactor leaks...   

Power Reactor	Event Number: 52663
Facility: GRAND GULF Region: 4 State: MS Unit: [1] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [1] GE-6 NRC Notified By: DAVID BURRUS HQ OPS Officer: JEFF HERRERA	Notification Date: 04/04/2017 Notification Time: 06:57 [ET] Event Date: 04/04/2017 Event Time: 00:10 [CDT] Last Update Date: 04/04/2017
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): MICHAEL VASQUEZ (R4DO)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
1	M/R	Y	75	Power Operation	0	Hot Shutdown

Event Text

MANUAL REACTOR SCRAM DUE TO CONDENSATE LEAK "At 0010 [CDT], 04/04/2017, the reactor was manually scrammed from approximately 75 [percent] core thermal power due Condensate Storage tank level lowering to 24 feet. All control rods fully inserted and all systems actuated and operated as designed. No safety relief valves actuated. Reactor level and pressure are currently being controlled within normal bands. RCIC [reactor core isolation cooling] was manually initiated for level control. "This event is reportable under 10CFR50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) for the reactor trip and 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A) for the manual start of the reactor core isolation cooling system." The cause of lowering level was a condensate pipe leak. Decay heat is being removed via steam dumps to the condenser. The electrical grid is stable and supplying plant loads. The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

But no coast down, that could be because of the four month "training" shutdown

Could they be entering a regular outage? .  

Today:

Grand Gulf 1

0

yesterday@100% power

Google Popperville, Grand Gulf

There is no event report...must be shutdown intentionally without a trip.

Last time they did this, they went into the 4 month shutdown over licensed operator incompetence.

These guys got a disgusting capacity factor.

I predicted their problems were just beginning.

Junk Corp Westinghouse: Chinese Wants To Buy Them.

This is a smart move by the Chinese. It's undermining the stature of the USA and Japan.

With all this deregulation, the USA should buy Westinghouse. Then build twenty plants at a time and super standardized them. We need to build them four times bigger than the big guys we have now.

Trump Officials Alarmed Chinese May Bid for Westinghouse Unit

The Trump administration is so alarmed that Chinese investors may try to purchase Westinghouse Electric Co.’s nuclear business that U.S. officials are trying to find an American or allied buyer for the company instead, two people familiar with the matter said.
Cabinet members including Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have discussed preventing Westinghouse’s purchase by a Chinese-linked company, three U.S. officials said.
For years, Chinese entities have been interested in the nuclear reactor builder, and the company has been a repeated target of Chinese espionage. Westinghouse filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 29 and its parent company Toshiba Corp. is seeking a buyer for its money-losing reactor business.
Trump administration officials and members of Congress are concerned the bankruptcy filing could allow a bid from an investment group with hidden Chinese backing, one of the officials said. All of the officials requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter…

Junk Plant Perry's Supersonic Outage, Should They Be Bragging About This?

I'll be watching them for now on.

Perry NPP Outage Shortest In 30 Years

FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company on Tuesday said its Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio was returned to service at 11:42 a.m. today, following a March 5, 2017, shutdown for refueling and maintenance.

In putting the plant back into operations, technicians accomplished a new record for an outage. FirstEnergy announced that the 29-day outage was the shortest refueling outage in Perry's 30 years of operation, with the previous record being 34 days in 2001.

The 1,268-megawatt plant is currently operating at approximately 20 percent power. Power levels will vary over the next several days as the plant ramps up to full power, the company noted...

Red Mercury And I 85 Collapse in Atlanta Cleanup

I 85 bridge collapse

Basically crack and cocaine heads lit up stored PCV under the bridge. It should be noted, minimum wages black crack heads destroyed the bridge in one of the whitest counties in Georgia (Gwinnett). Basically slave labor. I lived within a few miles of the collapse years back. Basically a homeless encampment with a sofa under the bridge.    

Red Mercury

Something sure looks fishy here. No arrest after disrupting a large building and housing an important gov regulator. No mention with the content of the so called red mercury. This guy traumatized the federal employees in the building. He talking red mercury and then declaring it in the NRC tells me something was going on in his head. The NRC didn't say this material was harmless.  

Junk Brown's Ferry Safety Relief Valves: Humongus Example of Inconsistent Enforcement with NRC's Regulations

It's call insanity.

What is the big deal here with two SRVs being inop this cycle, while Hope Creek I believe last outage, having something like 12 of 13 SRVs being inop. Why does the three SRV plant get a pressure setpoint drift violation, while the 12 of 13 SRV valve violations plant gets nothing but approval.

I am almost certain if the platinum seats were installed correctly it would make no difference. 

Hope Creeks's SRVs pressure test drift has been in violation of tech spec for a decade and the number of failed valve test has been ramping up till 12/ 13 failed this period. How does this make since?

Repeated events should require a escalated violation level and the number of valves failing per test should required another increase in a violation level.

A plant being in violation of tech specs requiring a immediate safety shutdown repeatedly and it's only a non cited violation...no wonder a large number of employees are in a deep state of disillusionment with the industry.

Risk perspectives makes following tech specs voluntary...    

November 9, 2016 

SUBJECT: BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR PLANT - NRC INTEGRATED INSPECTION REPORT 05000259/2016003, 05000260/2016003, AND 05000296/2016003

Closed) LER 050000296/2016-004-00, Main Steam Relief Valves Lift Settings Outside of Technical Specification Required Setpoints

a. Inspection Scope

On April 6, 2016, the Tennessee Valley Authority was presented with as-found testing results from NTS Huntsville indicating that three of the thirteen Main Steam Relief Valves (MSRVs) from Browns Ferry Nuclear, Unit 3, exceeded the +/- 3 percent setpoint required for their operability. TS 3.4.3 required twelve of the thirteen MSRVs to be operable for MSRV system operability. The inspectors reviewed the licensee event report associated with this event and determined that the report adequately documented the summary of the event including the cause of the event and potential safety consequences. The residents reviewed the licensee’s corrective actions and associated analysis for this recurring issue. This LER is closed.

b. Findings

Introduction: A self-revealing Green Non-cited Violation (NCV) of TS 3.4.3, Safety Relief Valves was identified for two required Main Steam Relief Valves (MSRV) being inoperable longer than allowed by Technical Specifications.

Description: Browns Ferry has thirteen MSRVs per unit of which twelve are required to be operable in Modes 1, 2, and 3. The MSRVs ensure that the maximum reactor vessel pressure is not exceeded. Every refueling outage, all thirteen MSRV pilot valves are replaced with ones that have been refurbished. The as-found technical specification required surveillance testing results indicated that three of the thirteen MSRVs from Browns Ferry Nuclear, Unit 3, exceeded the +/- 3 percent band around the setpoint. Any MSRV exceeding the +/- 3 percent band results in that MSRV being declared inoperable. Troubleshooting determined that the MSRV pilot valve discs failed by corrosion bonding to their valve seats. The valve discs were previously platinum coated to prevent this, but the valve seat's rough Stellite surface caused the coating to flake off. TVA determined that the MSRVs were inoperable from March 19, 2014 to February 20, 2016. Upon further analysis, the affected valves remained capable of maintaining reactor pressure within ASME code limits. The valves' ability to open by remote-manual operation, activation through the Automatic Depressurization System, and MSRV\ Automatic Actuation Logics were not affected. The system remained capable of performing its required safety function. TVA’s corrective actions were to replace all Unit 3 MSRV pilot valves, to analyze the pilot valves of the inoperable MSRVs, and to revise procedures to verify the pilot disc finish meets its requirements prior to valve assembly. MSRV operability was restored on March 28, 2016, during the scheduled replacement of the MSRVs with refurbished valves which were certified to lift within the technical specification required setpoint limits.

Analysis: The licensee’s failure to maintain operability of the MSRVs was a performance deficiency. Two of the twelve required MSRVs were determined to be inoperable during testing following the Unit 3 refueling outage. The performance deficiency was more than minor because it adversely affected the mitigating systems cornerstone attribute of equipment performance. Specifically, two required MSRVs were not able to lift within their required pressure band. This performance deficiency was screened using IMC 0609, Appendix A, Exhibit 2, Mitigating Systems Screening Questions, dated June 19, 2012. This performance deficiency screened to Green because although the system was inoperable for greater than its allowed outage time and follow on action completion time, the system maintained its function. The inspectors assigned a cross cutting aspect of Resolution since the licensee has not taken sufficient corrective actions to address the continued out of tolerance lift results caused by corrosion bonding of the MSRV pilot valve seats. (P.3)

Enforcement: Technical Specification 3.4.3 required, in part, that 12 MSRVs be operable while in Modes 1, 2, and 3 and that if one required MSRV is inoperable that the Unit be placed in Mode 3 in 12 hours and Mode 4 in 36 hours. Contrary to the above, from March 19, 2014 to February 20, 2016, Browns Ferry Unit 3 operated in Mode 1 with more than one required MSRV inoperable and did not enter Mode 3 within 12 hours and Mode 4 in 36 hours. The licensee’s immediate corrective action was to replace all Unit 3 MSRV pilot valves prior to the completion of the refueling outage. This violation is being treated as an NCV, consistent with section 2.3.2 of the Enforcement Policy. The violation was entered into the licensee’s corrective action program as CR 1157981. (NCV)