ML120050290
| ML120050290 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Palisades  |
| Issue date: | 01/05/2012 |
| From: | Office of Public Affairs Region II |
| To: | |
| References | |
| Press Release-III-12-002 | |
| Download: ML120050290 (2) | |
See also: see also:Press Release-III-12-002
Text
NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs Region III
2443 Warrenville Road
Lisle IL 60532
Site: www.nrc.gov
Blog: http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov
No. III-12-002 January, 5 2012
Contact: Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 E-Mail: OPA3.RegionIII@nrc.gov
Prema Chandrathil (630) 829-9663
NRC TO HOLD TWO REGULATORY CONFERENCES ON JANUARY 11 TO
DISCUSS PRELIMINARY WHITE AND PRELIMINARY YELLOW FINDINGS AT
PALISADES NUCLEAR PLANT
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold two regulatory conferences with Entergy
Nuclear Operations on Wednesday, Jan. 11, to discuss two preliminary inspection findings
issued to the plant. The plant is located in Covert, Mich., approximately 50 miles west of
Kalamazoo.
The first meeting for the preliminary white finding is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and
the second for the preliminary yellow finding will begin at 1:30 p.m. Both meetings will take
place at the NRCs Region III office, 2443 Warrenville Rd. Suite 210, in Lisle, Ill. The public is
invited to observe and will have an opportunity to talk with NRC officials after the business
portion of the meetings.
The preliminary white finding of low-to-moderate safety significance is related to the
service water system.
The system is comprised of three motor-driven pumps that are used to provide cooling to
safety-related equipment, such as containment air coolers and diesel generators. Last August, one
of the service water pumps failed due to cracking in one of the couplings. This was a repeat of a
previous event in 2009. The NRC conducted a Special Inspection and preliminarily concluded
the utility failed to prevent a recurrence of the cracking condition and failed to completely
consider the properties of the steel material used in the coupling.
The preliminary yellow finding of substantial significance to safety is related to an
electrical fault caused by personnel at the site. The electrical fault resulted in a reactor trip and
the loss of half of the control room indicators, and activation of safety systems not warranted by
actual plant conditions. This made the reactor trip more challenging for the operators and
increased the risk of a serious event occurring. The NRC conducted a Special Inspection and
preliminarily determined the actions and work preparation for the electrical panel work were not
done correctly.
The two regulatory conferences are being held to discuss the preliminary findings and
their safety significance, and to assist the NRC in making a final enforcement decision. No
decisions will be made at these conferences. After the conferences, the NRC will review the
information received and make a final determination on the safety significance of both findings.
The NRCs inspection reports detailing the findings are available online at:
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The number to access the preliminary white report
is ML113330819. The number to access the preliminary yellow report is ML113330802.
News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE
link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's website.