Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 - Summary of Conference Calls Regarding the Fall 2013 Steam Generator Tube Inservice Inspection (TAC No. MF2799)

Three Mile Island Nuclear Station, Unit 1 - Summary of Conference Calls Regarding the Fall 2013 Steam Generator Tube Inservice Inspection (TAC No. MF2799)

Download ML14015A356

Waste Confidence Schedule Adjustment

Greetings,
Due to the government shutdown and subsequent rescheduling of public meetings and extension of the public comment period, the Commission has granted the Waste Confidence Directorate a four-week extension to the overall rulemaking schedule.  However, in granting the extension, the Commission urged the Waste Confidence Directorate to continue to work towards the original September 2014 deadline for the rulemaking, and the Directorate is doing just that.  A press release regarding this announcement was issued this afternoon:  http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2014/14-003.pdf.   Any additional schedule-related announcements will continue to be made via WCOutreach e-mail and will be posted to our website at http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/wcd/schedule.html.
And finally, a quick reminder that the Waste Confidence Directorate will be hosting a status update teleconference on Wednesday, January 29th, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EST.  To participate, prior to the start of the meeting, please dial 1-800-475-8385 and provide the operator with passcode 80907.

Sincerely,

Staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Waste Confidence Directorate
 

PPL nuclear: Stack Monitors Out of service

Power Reactor
Event Number: 49753
Facility: SUSQUEHANNA
Region: 1 State: PA
Unit: [1] [2] [ ]
RX Type: [1] GE-4,[2] GE-4
NRC Notified By: MARTIN J. LICHTNER
HQ OPS Officer: VINCE KLCO
Notification Date: 01/21/2014
Notification Time: 21:14 [ET]
Event Date: 01/21/2014
Event Time: 13:40 [EST]
Last Update Date: 01/21/2014
Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY
10 CFR Section: 
50.72(b)(3)(xiii) - LOSS COMM/ASMT/RESPONSE
Person (Organization): 
HAROLD GRAY (R1DO)
 
 
Unit
SCRAM Code
RX CRIT
Initial PWR
Initial RX Mode
Current PWR
Current RX Mode
1
N
Y
99
Power Operation
99
Power Operation
2
N
Y
99
Power Operation
99
Power Operation


Event Text
VENT STACK RADIATION MONITORS OUT OF SERVICE 

"At 1340 [EST] on 1/21/2014, Susquehanna Control Room Operators received an alarm due to the lockup of a monitoring panel utilized for Vent Stack Radiation Monitors (known as SPINGs - System Particulate, Iodine, and Noble Gas). There are two monitor panels, one in the control room and one in the Technical Support Center (TSC). Both panels are fully redundant. At the time, the control room panel was out of service for maintenance. 

"This event rendered all five SPINGs inoperable. Additionally, control room alarm capability was not available. The associated Technical Requirement (TROs) were entered for this inoperability. In order to clear the lockup, the TSC terminal needed to be powered down and rebooted. 

"The TSC monitoring terminal was restored to operable status at 1352 and the associated TROs were cleared. The SPING function and control room alarm functions were inoperable for a total of 12 minutes. 

"In accordance with the guidance of NUREG 1022, Revision 3, Item 3.2.13, this event is being reported as an 8 hour ENS notification due to a loss of emergency assessment capability. The loss of the Stack Monitoring System was not part of a pre-planned evolution. This equipment is relied upon by control room operators and emergency response personnel to implement procedures addressing classification, assessment, and protective actions associated with the emergency plan." 

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 - Request for Additional Information Regarding License Amendment Request for Extended Power Uprate (TAC Nos. ME9631 and ME9632)

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Units 2 and 3 - Request for Additional Information Regarding License Amendment Request for Extended Power Uprate (TAC Nos. ME9631 and ME9632)

Download ML14002A176

Update on Toronto GE-Hitachi struggle

Nuclear failure
Latest chapter in nuke watchdog’s fight with west-end residents over GE uranium plant ends in a meltdown
By Saul Chernos


It was a meltdown that GE Hitachi and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission likely hoped to avoid.

But it happened nonetheless.

After two days of testy back and forth between residents and CNSC members at a meeting on the subject of the uranium plant at Lansdowne and Dupont December 9-11, the commissioners ended up walking out.

The session, which was scheduled to run for three days but ended after two, was nothing short of historic. It was the first time in the plant’s 50-plus-year history that locals could air concerns to the regulator – an opportunity brought about solely because of grassroots pressure.

Read Article

Thursday, January 16, 2014

REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE FOR PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION, UNIT NOS. 2 AND 3 (TAC NOS. ME9631 AND ME9632)

REQUEST FOR WITHHOLDING INFORMATION FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE FOR PEACH BOTTOM ATOMIC POWER STATION, UNIT NOS. 2 AND 3 (TAC NOS. ME9631 AND ME9632)

Download ML13345B310

NRC Draft Waste Confidence Generic Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Rule – Expert Declaration by Arjun Makhijani

On December 20, 2013 environmental organizations filed comments with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the proposed rule for continued storage of spent nuclear fuel and on the draft waste confidence environmental impact statement (EIS). Included with these comments was an expert declaration by Dr. Arjun Makhijani regarding the proposed rule and EIS. Download the declaration.

Other related documents:
Group comments
Spent fuel pool leaks (Dave Lochbaum with Union of Concerned Scientists)
Spent fuel pool fires (Gordon Thompson with the Institute for Resource & Security Studies)
Spent fuel costs (Mark Cooper with the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School)

Read Article

Thursday, January 2, 2014

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Inspector General Reports

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of the Inspector General, recently issued a new report, OIG-14-A-09-Audit of NRC's Implementation of Its National Environmental Policy Act Responsibilities dated December 24, 2013. To view this report issued by the office, please click here.

To view other reports issued by The Office of the Inspector General, please click here.

Request For Additional Information Regarding Response to Bulletin 2012-01, "Design Vulnerability In Electric Power System"

Request For Additional Information Regarding Response to Bulletin 2012-01, "Design Vulnerability In Electric Power System"

Download ML13351A314

Request for Additional Information Associated with Near-Term Task Force Recommendation 2.3, Flooding Walkdowns

REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH NEAR-TERM TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATION 2.3, FLOODING WALKDOWNS

Download ML13325A891

Summary of Closed Meeting Held on December 16, 2013, With Exelon Generation Company, LLC to Discuss Steam Dryer Analysis Related to Proposed Extended Power Uprate for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Unit Nos. 2 and 3 (TAC No. ME9631 and ME9632)

Summary of Closed Meeting Held on December 16, 2013, With Exelon Generation Company, LLC to Discuss Steam Dryer Analysis Related to Proposed Extended Power Uprate for Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, Unit Nos. 2 and 3 (TAC No. ME9631 and ME9632)

Download ML13351A390

Emergency Preparedness & Response News - Volume 5 Issue 4

U.S.NRC Emergency Preparedness and Response Newsletter

The Emergency Preparedness & Response (EP&R) News is a quarterly newsletter developed to keep you informed about recent and upcoming initiatives in the NRC Emergency Preparedness and Response Program. If you would like to be emailed new issues of the EP&R News, please sign up by sending an email to EmergencyPreparedness.Resource@nrc.gov.

Download Emergency Preparedness & Response News - Volume 5 Issue 4

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 -INTERIM STAFF EVALUATION AND AUDIT REPORT RELATING TO OVERALL INTEGRATED PLAN IN RESPONSE TO ORDER EA-12-049 (MITIGATION STRATEGIES) (TAC NO. MF0803)

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 -INTERIM STAFF EVALUATION AND AUDIT REPORT RELATING TO OVERALL INTEGRATED PLAN IN RESPONSE TO ORDER EA-12-049 (MITIGATION STRATEGIES) (TAC NO. MF0803)

Download ML13225A552

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 - EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS OF 10 CFR PART 50, APPENDIX G AND 10 CFR 50.61, FOR INITIAL RTNorVALUES FOR LINDE 80 WELDS (TAC NO. MF0425)

THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR STATION, UNIT 1 - EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS OF 10 CFR PART 50, APPENDIX G AND 10 CFR 50.61, FOR INITIAL RTNorVALUES FOR LINDE 80 WELDS (TAC NO. MF0425)

Download ML13324A086