NRC Sets Forum on Annual Review of Indian Point Performance

Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials will talk about the annual safety performance assessment of Indian Point at a public forum Wednesday.

In addition to discussing the annual review, officials will also discuss the problem of degraded and missing bolts in Unit 2's reactor baffle.

The faulty bolts were found inside the reactor at Indian Point 2 as the unit undergoes a 10-year inspection under its Aging Management Program. The number of degraded baffle-former bolts was the largest seen to date at a U.S. reactor, according to the NRC blog.

Entergy has been working to replace all the 227 bolts with identified issues, and expects to return Unit 2 to service by late June, said spokesman Jerry Nappi.

According to the NRC blog, cracking in this kind of bolt was identified in the late 1980s; the degradation is caused by irradiation-assisted stress corrosion. In 2012 the agency set a new standard that required nuclear plants with pressurized-water reactors (such as Indian Point 2 and 3) to conduct an initial ultrasonic examination of all of their baffle-former bolts when the plant had between 25 and 35 effective full power years of service.

"This is exactly what was being done at Indian Point Unit 2 during the current outage. [Entergy] was adhering to the standards of MRP-227-A. In the course of this review, it was determined that 227 of 832 baffle-former bolts at the plant were degraded, which means any indication of cracking. What’s more, two bolt heads were missing," wrote NRC Public Affairs Officer Neil Sheehan on the NRC blog.

"The unprecedented degradation of critical baffle bolts in the Indian Point 2 reactor has triggered an extensive investigation by federal officials seeking to learn why the problem was so severe, why systems designed to detect loose metal objects failed, and whether the plant has a specific flaw that could compromise its ageing management program," Cortlandt resident Roger Witherspoon reported on his blog Energy Matters.

SEE ALSO:

• Indian Point 2 Refueling after Record Run
• Problem Inside Indian Point 2 Reactor: Bad Bolts

The event, at the DoubleTree hotel in Tarrytown, is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Here's the NRC's full statement about the upcoming hearing:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will share information on its annual assessment of safety performance at the Indian Point nuclear power plant during a public meeting on Wednesday, June 8, in Tarrytown. N.Y.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tarrytown, at 455 South Broadway. (Directions to the hotel are available here.) During the meeting, NRC staff will answer questions regarding the plant’s performance and the agency’s oversight activities at the Buchanan (Westchester County), N.Y., plant, which is owned by Entergy Nuclear Operations Inc. In addition, the staff will be prepared to address more recent issues, including degradation identified in a portion of the Indian Point 2 baffle-former bolts.

Determinations on performance are based on a combination of inspection findings and performance indicators utilized by the NRC’s Reactor Oversight Process, the foundational program used by the agency to complete its mission of assessing plant safety. The findings and indicators are classified by color, ranging from “green,” for an issue of very low safety or security significance, to “white,” “yellow” or “red,” representing high safety or security significance.

Indian Point Units 2 and 3 operated safely during 2015. Unit 2 was under the normal level of NRC oversight as of the end of last year by virtue of having no inspection findings that were “greater than green” and no performance indicators that were other than “green.” However, Unit 3 transitioned to increased NRC oversight during the fourth quarter of 2015 after its Performance Indicator for Unplanned Scrams (shutdowns) per 7,000 Hours of Operation went from “green” to “white.” That change occurs if a plant has more than three unplanned shutdowns for 7,000 hours of operation.

The NRC will perform a Supplemental Inspection at Indian Point Unit 3 focused on ensuring the company understands the root causes of the shutdowns, whether the issues could affect other areas of plant performance and any corrective actions. That will take place once Entergy notifies the NRC of its readiness for the review.

In 2015, the NRC performed approximately 10,150 hours of inspection at Indian Point.

“While Indian Point Unit 2 will receive our standard, wide-ranging battery of inspections, Unit 3 will be the subject of additional scrutiny because of the number of unplanned shutdowns,” NRC Region I Deputy Administrator David Lew said. “Our expectation is that Entergy will develop a full understanding of, and address, any underlying problems.”

The NRC issues reports on performance at each plant twice a year: during the mid-cycle, or mid-point, of the year, and at the conclusion of the year. Inspection findings and performance indicators are also updated on a quarterly basis on the agency’s website. Following the release of the Annual Assessment letters each March, the NRC meets with the public in the vicinity of each plant to discuss the results. Normal inspections are carried out by the three Resident Inspectors assigned to Indian Point. Reviews are also performed at the sites by specialist inspectors assigned to the agency’s Region I Office in King of Prussia, Pa.

Among the areas to be inspected this year at Indian Point are emergency preparedness, fire protection and radiological safety.

The Annual Assessment letter for Indian Point, as well as the notice for the June 8th meeting, are available on the NRC website. Current performance information is also available for Unit 2 and Unit 3.

ILLUSTRATION/Entergy