Problem Inside Indian Point 2 Reactor: Bad Bolts

Faulty bolts were found inside the reactor at Indian Point 2 as the unit undergoes a 10-year inspection under its Aging Management Program.

Entergy said about 11 percent of the 2,000 bolts had issues; some had degraded, some were missing, some were missing bars meant to hold them in place. Assessing the issue and fixing the bolts is expected to add cost and several weeks’ duration to the scheduled refueling and maintenance outage that began March 7.

"Safety is always our first priority, and the hundreds of inspections performed over the last few weeks demonstrate these programs work as designed," said Larry Coyle, site vice president and Entergy’s top official at Indian Point. "Safeguards and automatic detection equipment are in place to alert plant operators of impacts on safe operations.”

They notified all the appropriate regulatory authorities about the bolt issue, company officials said.

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who is working to get the 40-year-old plant shut down, responded in a written statement: "This is the latest in a long series of incidents that raise deep concerns about the management, maintenance and equipment standards at this plant. While there is no immediate danger to public health and safety, this troubling news further validates the State’s ongoing investigation into the operations of this aging power plant and our position that it should not be relicensed. New York State will continue to investigate every facet of the plant’s operations and safety preparedness while ensuring that these critical defects are addressed immediately.”

SEE ALSO:

• NY Doubles Down on Indian Point Opposition
• Indian Point Sues New York State

Responding to the governor, Entergy spokeswoman Patricia Kakridas said:

Indian Point is a safe facility and we will continue to safely operate the plant under the strict oversight of our federal regulator, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The issues identified with the reactor vessel insert liner bolts did not have an impact on public health or safety and will be corrected prior to returning Indian Point Unit 2 to operation.

Engineers were able to identify the bolt issues as a result of a specialized, robust inspection of the unit 2 reactor vessel implemented in accordance with the plant’s license renewal application, going beyond normal inspections performed during each refueling outage. This program worked as intended to identify potential issues.

We will not operate the plants nor would the NRC allow us to continue operating, if we couldn’t do so safely.

Unit 2 was online 99.6 percent of the time since returning to service from its prior refueling outage in March 2014. It also set a record for continuous days of operation, at 626, and a record for the amount of electricity generated, at 17.8 million megawatt hours, according to Entergy officials.

Indian Point’s other operating unit, Unit 3, is in service. It has experienced several unplanned outages in the past couple of years which are now being investigated by New York state agencies and are the cause of additional inspections by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

News about the bolts galvanized environmentalists.

“This unprecedentedly serious damage right at the core of Indian Point reactor 2 makes it even harder for metro NY area residents to ignore the unfathomable risks that this nuclear plant poses to us every day,” said Riverkeeper President Paul Gallay in a written statement.

Riverkeeper called the extent of the problem "alarming."

“There’s no putting a brave face on this for Entergy," Gallay said. "The core of Reactor 2 is damaged and Reactor 3’s core — virtually identical in age and operating history — could be as well. So this announcement calls into question the soundness of both reactors. While Reactor 2 is closed for further inspection and repair, we call for Reactor 3 to also close for the health and welfare of the 20 million people who live and work within the zone of potential greatest damage.

“The public also demands to know why this degradation was not discovered during prior inspections and whether the pieces of missing bolts in Unit Reactor 2 can be found and recovered. If not, we need assurances that these loose pieces cannot cause damage to critical components such as fuel rods, valves, and control rods inside the reactor."

Here is Entergy's complete announcement on the issue:

Comprehensive inspections completed during a planned outage at the Indian Point nuclear power plant show critical components at Unit 2 continue to perform safely and as intended, with maintenance required in one area before the plant can be restarted, Entergy Corp. announced today.

"Safety is always our first priority, and the hundreds of inspections performed over the last few weeks demonstrate these programs work as designed," said Larry Coyle, site vice president and Entergy’s top official at Indian Point. "Safeguards and automatic detection equipment are in place to alert plant operators of impacts on safe operations.”

Indian Point Unit 2’s “Aging Management Program” -- implemented in connection with license renewal -- calls for an in-depth inspection of the reactor vessel every 10 years. The first such inspection took place during a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage that began March 7, and used visual and where possible, ultrasonic inspections.

Inspections of more than 2,000 bolts in the reactor’s removable insert liner revealed issues with approximately 11 percent that require further analysis. Issues were identified on bolts on the face of the removable liner, not on bolts along the liner’s edges. Engineers identified missing bolts, and bars meant to hold them in place, and other degradation requiring replacement of the bolts. Each bolt, about two inches long and made of stainless steel, holds plate inserts together inside the reactor.

The issues identified with the reactor vessel insert liner bolts did not have an impact on public health or safety and will be corrected prior to returning Indian Point Unit 2 to operation.

With comprehensive inspections on the entire reactor vessel finished, once a full engineering assessment of the issue is also completed and corrective actions taken, the unit can safely operate in the period of extended operation. This work is expected to add cost and several weeks’ duration to the refueling and maintenance outage.

Entergy has informed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other appropriate regulatory authorities of the issues with the bolts, in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.

The inspections are part of Indian Point’s comprehensive and expanded inspection program implemented in accordance with the plant’s license renewal application, going beyond normal inspections performed during each refueling outage.

In all, the refueling and maintenance outage of Unit 2 involves testing and inspection of the reactor containment area, the reactor vessel, the control rod mechanism, coolant pump motors and steam generators. In addition, inspections were performed outside the containment area, on dozens of valves, turbine rotors, condensate storage tanks and other equipment. Equipment replacement includes some of the mechanisms for the control rods, pipes, heat exchangers, steam condensers and reactor coolant pump motors.

Engineers have conducted more than 350 inspections of critical equipment, using industry best practices to ensure that even the slightest variation in equipment was identified, analyzed, and if necessary, repaired.

Indian Point Energy Center, in Buchanan, N.Y., is home to two operating nuclear power plants, unit 2 and unit 3, which generate approximately 2000 megawatts of electricity for homes, business and public facilities in New York City and Westchester County. Since acquiring Indian Point, Entergy has invested over $1 billion in plant equipment.

ILLUSTRATION/Entergy