NRC urges other plants be checked for leaks

[Norman Cohen <ncohen12@comcast.net>]

I thought this was already done??

Norm



Mark Graffis wrote:



> NRC urges US nuclear plants be checked for leaks

>

> USA: August 12, 2002

>

> WASHINGTON - The Nuclear Regulatory Commissilast week urged operators

> of U.S. nuclear power plants with pressurized water reactors to

> further inspect the top of their reactors for possible cracks and

> leaks.

>

> The NRC said it issued the bulletin in response to cracked and leaking

> nozzles found at several reactors and significant corrosion discovered

> in the reactor vessel head at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in

> Oak Harbor, Ohio.

>

> Instead of relying only on visual inspections to find any problems,

> the agency said reactor operators should also use ultrasound, electric

> currents and liquid dyes to check for cracking and corrosion in a

> reactor's metal head.

>

> "Inspection programs that primarily rely on visual examinations may

> need to be supplemented," the NRC said in a statement.

>

> The NRC asked plant operators to file their future inspection plans

> with the agency within 30 days.

>

> During a scheduled refueling outage at the Davis-Besse plant last

> February, the plant's engineers found boric acid had leaked at the

> base of several of the control rod nozzles that penetrate the reactor.

> The plant has been shut down since then.

>

> Boric acid is used in the primary coolant bath surrounding uranium

> rods in the reactor core.

>

> At one of the nozzles, the acid had eaten all the way through the

> vessel head, which was 6 inches (15-cm) thick. The vessel head is a

> massive piece of carbon steel 17 feet (5.2 meters) wide that is bolted

> down on top of the reactor to prevent any radioactive material from

> escaping.

>

> The corrosion was so severe that a stainless steel liner 3/8-inch (1

> cm) thick inside the reactor was the only barrier left between the

> reactor core, which operates under enormous pressure, and the metal

> shroud surrounding the reactor vessel.

>

> The 25-year-old Davis-Besse plant is owned by FirstEnergy Corp.

>

> Of the 103 nuclear reactors operating in 34 states, 69 facilities are

> of the pressurized-water type.

>

> With a pressurized reactor, water is kept in the reactor under high

> pressure so it does not boil. The heated water flows from the reactor

> through pipes to a nearby steam generator. The pipes are surrounded by

> a second water supply that boils and produces steam to spin the

> turbine generator and produce electricity.

>

> The water then returns to the reactor, where it is reheated and sent

> back to the steam generator in a continuos loop.

>

> Agency staff will meet at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Maryland on

> Aug. 23 with the Nuclear Energy Institute and power plant operators to

> discuss the new inspection guidelines. The meeting is open to the

> public.

>

> Story by Tom Doggett

>

> REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

>

>

>

>

>

>

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