(Fwd) News on IP2 worsens

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

I've been asked to forward this news item to the list:

Indian Point 2 plagued by problems during leak
By TOM ANDERSEN
and SERGIO BUSTOS
The Journal News
Publication date: 6/21/2000

Indian Point 2 workers had to overcome dozens of organizational and
equipment failures in the critical early hours of a radioactive leak in
February, including poor training, malfunctioning communications systems and
colleagues who could not be accounted for, according to a Consolidated
Edison memo.
Pagers and telephones did not work properly, an emergency data system was
offline for five hours, and corporate officials were so unfamiliar with the
plant's nuclear emergency plan that it took almost a half-hour to activate
an emergency pager network, according to the memo.
Many of the problems had plagued the nuclear power plant during a lesser
emergency in August 1999 but had not been corrected, the memo said.
The memo, which was obtained recently by The Journal News, gives a far more
detailed account of problems that occurred during the Feb. 15 emergency at
Indian Point 2 than either the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's April
inspection report or a Con Edison assessment presented to the NRC in March.
The NRC had declared that Con Edison workers did a good job in keeping the
radioactive leak under control and in protecting the public and plant
workers. Experts who read the May memo this week said the accumulation of
mistakes and malfunctions could have caused serious problems had the
emergency been greater.
"The delays in providing the adequate staffing, in getting the telephones
and communications networks established, is very troubling," said Edward
Smeloff, executive director of the Pace University Energy Project in White
Plains and a former nuclear utility official. "If you had had a more serious
event, the neighboring communities would have had to respond immediately."
Con Edison sent the memo to other nuclear utilities to brief them on the
kinds of problems that can occur during an emergency. Con Edison officials
declined to answer questions about the memo.
In a written statement, the company said: "Con Edison constantly strives for
improvement in every aspect of its operations, including Indian Point 2.
Self-critique is an important part of that process. We have learned a lot
from our own review of the events of Feb. 15 and have already made
improvements. We must stress, however, that every review confirmed that
there was no danger to the public or our employees and that our response to
the event was prompt and appropriate."
According to the Con Edison memo, many of the problems of Feb. 15 cropped up
during a lesser emergency at the Buchanan plant on Aug. 31, 1999, and during
a safety drill less than a month later.
"Actions to correct these conditions were identified, scheduled and
initiated prior to the Feb. 15, 2000, event but had not been fully
implemented," the memo said.
Wayne Lanning, the NRC's regional director of the division of reactor
safety, said yesterday that Con Edison's memo contained more detail than the
NRC's April inspection report but that the NRC was aware of all the key
issues.
The commission was satisfied with the pace of improvements that Con Edison
was working on after the Aug. 31 incident, he said.
"They were caught mid-stride in the implementation of those improvements,"
he said.
On June 1, Con Edison performed well in a full-scale emergency drill,
Lanning said, except for problems at the Joint News Center, which officials
consider critical to communicating emergency information to the public.
Overall, Lanning said, the NRC believes that Con Edison can carry out its
emergency response plan. "We have confidence that they're able to implement
the emergency plan to ensure the public health and safety," he said.
He acknowledged, however, that the commission was similarly confident before
Feb. 15.
The February emergency was caused when a tube burst in one of Indian Point
2's four steam generators, spewing radioactive water into the plant. Con
Edison officials declared an alert, the second-lowest of four emergency
levels, and emergency workers in the four counties surrounding the plant
began preparing for an evacuation.
The leak was brought under control within hours, however, and evacuation was
unnecessary.
The leak was traced to corrosion in a steam generator tube. Indian Point 2
has been offline ever since. Last month, Con Edison asked the NRC for
permission to restart the plant using repaired steam generators and then
shut the plant down before the end of the year to replace the generators
with equipment the company bought in the 1980s.
The NRC is expected to decide in July.
Rep. Sue Kelly, R-Katonah, said yesterday that the problems detailed in the
Con Edison memo must be resolved by the NRC before it makes a decision on
the utility's request.
"There are extremely serious public safety issues being raised, and there
are far too many unanswered questions," she said. "It appears local
residents have been kept in the dark."
Numerous officials and nuclear industry watchdog groups want the NRC to keep
the plant closed until the steam generators are replaced. The Pace Energy
Project, Public Citizen and other organizations made that request formally
in a petition to the NRC and have recently asked the commission to require
Con Edison to successfully carry out a complete emergency drill before
reopening.
Con Edison's six-page memo emphasizes inadequate training in several levels
of the Indian Point 2 organization.
Equipment failures also caused problems, according to the memo. The plant
was equipped with too few telephones, and some critical telephones and
pagers did not work. Two emergency data systems failed for five hours, and
some automated radiation monitors beyond the plant's boundaries were unable
to transmit data.
Not all the problems were confined to the plant.
The Joint News Center, which is at the Westchester County Airport, could not
be opened on time because staff members did not have the keys.
The center's heating and ventilation system did not work properly, forcing
workers to open windows, which allowed airplane noise and exhaust to enter
the building. And news center workers had not completed training because the
staff had recently undergone significant changes.

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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
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Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
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