No violations - great job!

Green: A Violation of 10 CFR was identified for failure to properly follow plant procedures to perform a surveillance test for calibration of pressurizer pressure channel II. Specifically, the instrument maintenance surveillance test procedure 1-SI-68-6, 18 Month Channel Calibration Pressurizer Pressure Channel II, Loop 1-LPP-68-334 (P-456), Revision 10, was not adequately followed by maintenance personnel during the calibration test.

The finding directly involved the cross-cutting area of Human Performance, work practices component under the aspect related to proceeding in the face of uncertainty.

Three other self-identified violations were identified in this in this inspection period.

1. Unit 2 Materials License, SNM-2014, allows storage of 193 fuel assemblies for Unit 2. From September 28, 2011, until July 18, 2012, the licensee was in possession of 194 fuel assemblies, one more than allowed by its license.

On October 15, 2012, the NRC issued a Confirmatory Order to Honeywell (Reference 2). Section IV of that Order outlined a number of actions that Honeywell must complete before it could resume operations at the Metropolis Works facility in Metropolis, Illinois. Since then, Honeywell has undertaken detailed analyses and performed extensive plant modifications to address the items in the Order.  

Honeywell does not intend to resume operations until at least June 8, 2013. Honeywell will not resume licensed operations until the NRC grants authorization in writing. Honeywell will continue to communicate with the NRC on the status of the remaining activities.

NRC issues updated guidelines for system gas accumulation. The NRC recently completed the Final Safety Evalution for this document and is appropriate to reference in licensing documents.

The TR acceptably covers:

• causes of gas accumulation,

• personnel participation,

• currently recognized gas intrusion mechanisms,

• items to prevent gas intrusion,

• operating experience guidance,

• systems that should be included in a gas management program,

• potential gas accumulation locations,

• fill and vent processes,

• corrective actions,

• system maintenance discussion,

• gas monitoring,

• conditions where gas exceeds the current design limit,

• station-specific training,

• operability determination, and

• Net Positive Suction Head required (NPSHr).

This update can be located at the NRC ADAMS website:   ML13136A129

At 1050 hours on Thursday, May 23, 2013, with Pilgrim Station in the Startup/Hot Standby Mode and with the reactor coolant pressure at approximately 525 psig, the High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) system was declared inoperable. The HPCI system was being operated in accordance with plant procedures to complete post maintenance test requirements. The flow controller could not achieve required system flow rates with the flow controller in the automatic mode. Plans to restore the automatic flow control capability are in progress.

At 0455 hours on Thursday, May 23, 2013, with Pilgrim Station in the Startup/Hot Standby Mode and reactor coolant pressure approximately 550 psig, primary containment was declared inoperable due to a leak on the High Pressure Coolant Injection system (HPCI) turbine exhaust line while performing the HPCI system flow rate test. Power ascension was suspended pending investigation and repair. Repair plans to restore system integrity are in progress.

The plant is in a safe condition and plant personnel are investigating the cause. The Resident Inspector has been informed of this notification. This notification is being made in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(v)(C) and (D). The licensee will notify the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

The licensee has entered Technical Specification 3.7.A.2 to be in cold shutdown within 24 hours.

by Bob Meyer

Good luck to the new graduates. Nuclear power and the common knowledge, respect and understanding of this science brings our societies and contries closer due to the common requirement of the respect for our science. Here is the story:

Gulf Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Institute (GNEII) Symposium Also Discussed Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards

Khalifa University’s Gulf Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Institute (GNEII) hosted a graduation ceremony for its 20 fellows during a two-day symposium on nuclear safety, security and safeguards at Khalifa University’s Abu Dhabi campus. Held on May 19th and 20th, the ceremony marked the largest number of fellows to graduate since the program’s inception. 

The students came from across the GCC, representing the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and underwent over 400 hours of training as part of the course. Twelve specialized nuclear instructors, who ran the program, were also in attendance at the graduation. The instructors came from Khalifa University, Texas A&M, Sandia National Laboratories and the World Institute for Nuclear Security.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is launching a special inspection at Duke Energy’s Harris nuclear power plant to assess the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a quarter-inch flaw on the plant’s reactor vessel head.

The plant is located near New Hill, N.C., about 20 miles southwest of Raleigh. The plant was shut down on May 15 when further analysis of ultrasonic data gathered during an earlier refueling outage revealed an irregularity about one-quarter inch long near a nozzle on the vessel head. The flaw did not penetrate the vessel head wall and there was no evidence of leakage. Duke Energy has begun the repair process.

"There was no immediate threat to the public or plant workers, but because the discovery is on the vessel head and was not seen in the original review, we are sending specialists from our Atlanta office to further evaluate the issue," said Victor McCree, Region II Administrator. "The special inspection team will work to analyze and understand all the details."

Federal regulators have indefinitely delayed a decision on the proposed restart of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant in California, raising new questions Monday about whether the twin reactors will produce electricity again.

The seaside plant between San Diego and Los Angeles has been dark since January 2012, after a small radiation leak led to the discovery of unusual damage to hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water.

Operator Southern California Edison wants permission to restart the Unit 2 reactor and run it at reduced power in hopes of stopping vibration and friction that was blamed for damaging tubing.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission delayed several earlier target dates for a ruling. Its website on Monday listed no date for a restart decision _ only "to be determined."

Agency spokesman Victor Dricks had no comment.

Last week, the NRC's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board sided with environmentalists who have called for lengthy hearings on the restart plan, concluding that firing up the plant would allow Edison "to operate beyond the scope of its existing license."

Edison had no immediate comment.

Last month, SCE's parent, Edison International, raised the possibility of retiring the plant if it can't get one reactor running later this year. The company also disclosed that costs tied to the long-running shutdown had hit $553 million.

Edison is facing a tangle of regulatory obstacles that include a separate state investigation into who should pay for the trouble _ customers or shareholders.

Vienna – The IAEA, supported by the Government of Japan, will designate a new Response and Assistance Network (RANET) Capacity Building Centre in the city of Fukushima next week.

The Centre will be home to several IAEA activities aimed at enhancing emergency preparedness and response capacity, both in Japan and worldwide, in light of the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

A ceremony to mark the designation of the Centre, which was designated following Practical Arrangements entered by the IAEA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in December 2012, will be held on 27 May, 2013.

The first activity in the Centre, an IAEA RANET workshop, will start the following day, and conclude on 31 May. About 40 experts from 18 countries will participate in the workshop, which will involve a field exercise in Fukushima Prefecture.

Through RANET, the IAEA can mobilise the expert support and equipment to facilitate the provision of international assistance by request under the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency.

The ceremony to mark the designation of the IAEA RANET Capacity Building Centre is open to the media. The ceremony, set to start at 14:00 at Fukushima Jichikaikan, will feature speeches by Ms. Elena Buglova, IAEA Incident and Emergency Centre head; Ambassador Shin Maruo, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Fukushima Deputy Governor Masao Uchibori. The ceremony will be followed by an informal press briefing.