Y2K Bug Could Cause Problems At U.S. Nuclear Power Plants

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

WHY isn't the industry being more vocal in supporting all of the 
efforst that the nuclear industry has made to ensure that there is 
minimal impact from the Y2K issue? WHY are we bombarded with 
the anti's rhetoric, when we all know that the majority of facilities 
HAVE modified their software to preclude the probloems epoused 
by those who have their own agenda, and have grasped the Y2K as 
their mechanism? While the need to ensure backup is provided, all 
the public hears is that there have been minimal efforts on our part 
top ensure that there are no consequences, come January 1.

Monday March 8 4:48 PM ET 

Y2K Bug Could Cause Problems At U.S. Nuclear Power Plants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. nuclear power industry is ill-
prepared for the year 2000 computer bug, which could disrupt the 
delivery of electricity needed to cool reactors and avoid meltdowns, 
experts warned Monday.  

The warning came amid concern that the nuclear sector may not 
be as far along as other U.S. industries in preparing its 
computerized operations for the turn of the century.   

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey said the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission needed to be more aggressive in dealing with the 
computer problem's potential effect on the nation's electricity grid 
and its nuclear power-plant infrastructure.   

``The NRC needs to ensure that reliable backup power sources will 
be available for all of the reactors that are operating when the 
millennium arrives,'' the Massachusetts Democrat told a 
Congressional symposium on Y2K nuclear threats.   

The millennium problem arises because many older computers 
record dates using only the last two digits of the year. If left 
uncorrected, such systems could treat the year 2000 as the year 
1900, generating errors or system crashes next Jan. 1.   

Normally, reactors are connected to the larger electrical grid, which 
brings in the necessary power for cooling. The NRC requires every 
reactor to have on site at least two diesel-powered generators to 
provide emergency power in case of failure.   

But some experts at the symposium questioned the reliability of 
the backup generators in the face of Y2K-induced power shortages. 

``It is imperative that this issue is addressed at this very critical 
time frame,'' Paul Gunter, director of the Nuclear Information and 
Resource Service's Reactor Watchdog Project, told reporters at a 
news conference.   

He added the NRC should be more stringent in setting Y2K 
standards, especially in light of a November audit of the Seabrook, 
New Hampshire, reactor, which found 12 safety-related systems 
affected by the Y2K bug.  

``They have to draw a line of nuclear safety and shut down any 
plant that crosses the line,'' Gunter said.  

However, Steven Unglesbee, a spokesman for the Nuclear Energy 
Institute, said nuclear power plants have been working with the 
NRC on a standard industry approach to potential Y2K problems 
for the past three years.  

Plants have multiple safety systems, in addition to the diesel 
generators, and reactor controls respond to conditions within the 
reactor itself that have nothing to do with the computer, Unglesbee 
said.  

``We're confident that the power plants will enter the next century 
generating electricity at the same safe levels they do today,'' he 
said. ``When the clock strikes midnight, they will be as safe as 
they are now.''  

Western analysts have been more concerned about Russia's 
nuclear plants, which have lagged behind the United States in Y2K 
preparations.  

Last week, an independent Ukraine power expert said that all five of 
the Ukraine's aging nuclear power plants could be paralyzed when 
the clock ticks into the next century.  

The world's worst nuclear accident occurred in 1986 when 
Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, spewing a cloud 
of radioactive dust over Russia and parts of Western Europe. 

Sandy Perle
E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html