NRC inspection reveals problems with unit 3

The Federal Nuclear Supervision Commission has completed the special audit of the expansion of the Vogtle Block 3 power plant. The report identified several preliminary problems with the cable installation during the construction of the new nuclear power plant.

“The NRC inspectors determined that Southern Nuclear did not adequately separate safety and non-safety cables for reactor coolant pumps and equipment designed to safely shut down the reactor,” said a press release accompanying the report. “They also found cases where the company failed to identify and report build quality issues related to the safety-related electrical career system and include them in its corrective action program.”

Southern Nuclear, the construction company, may accept the results of the inspection or provide additional information before making a final decision. Unit 3 currently has no fuel loaded into the reactor, and the press release makes it clear that there is no increased risk to the public from safety issues. The Southern Company is not allowed to operate the reactor until construction is up to standards.

Continue reading:Employees of the public service commission testify to mechanical problems and delays in the Vogtle plant

The NRC uses a code for safety topics of green, white, yellow and red, topics can also be marked larger than green. The inspection has a tentative white break for failure to quickly identify and correct problems with improper cable spacing and a tentative “greater than green” for failure to maintain the separation in the first place. It also includes a final green violation determination for improper installation of the electrical conduit holding the cables.

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In June, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced the start of the special inspection to follow the remediation work on Unit 3 by Southern Nuclear, the facility operator and a subsidiary of the Southern Company. This was the first special test at the Vogtle plant.

“On March 18, 2021, a work freeze was issued by the licensee for which the underlying issues were not fully understood and … it was a significant event that required additional inspection or oversight,” the report said. “In particular, the circumstances leading to electrical cable disconnection and seismic / structural nonconformities have revealed several concerns about construction practices that warrant additional inspections.”

Dave Gasperson, public affairs officer for the NRC, said when the inspection was announced that the NRC would investigate how Southern Nuclear is handling the remediation work and how it will apply the lessons learned to Block 4. instead of proactive, inspection.

Previous reporting:Georgia Power announces that the expansion of the Vogtle plant will be delayed for a long time and will continue to move forward

The expansion units 3 and 4 were plagued by delays. At the end of July, Southern Company again postponed the start-up schedule for Unit 3 to the second quarter of 2022.

The problem with cables was also identified in previous reports by Georgia Public Service Commission officials. During a semi-annual review process, William R. Jacobs, the Commission’s independent construction monitor for the project, highlighted concerns about cable spacing.

“That’s a pretty big deal,” said Jacobs, mostly because the problem wasn’t discovered until late in the process. “When they first started the search, they found over 600 cases of cable disconnection that needed to be corrected.”

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