An apparently well meaning man from the NRC was in Vermont last week holding meetings on what could be described as a listening tour.
Here in Vermont NRC Chairman Jaczko was told that the NRC had a credibility problem with regard to Vermont Yankee and its myriad of safety issues. He [Jaczko] said there is a "trust gap" between Vermont residents and the NRC.
What better illustration does the NRC need of what could be fixed, credibility wise than the report from his agency, released days after his visit, of VY’s 65 “relevant” and “non relevant” cracks in the thirty year old plants steam dryer.
The report filed earlier this month with the NRC by Entergy was given the traditional soft entry into the news flow on a quiet Friday afternoon. A relevant explanation of these two cracking classifications, “relevant” and “non-relevant” was not available.
No relevant change in procedures at the NRC, kind of incredible.
BRATTLEBORO —A recent inspection of Vermont Yankee’s steam dryer, considered a critical indicator of aging and stress at the nuclear reactor, showed only one new crack, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said late Friday afternoon.
The new crack brings the total to 65 cracks in the steam dryer. At the same time, Entergy said it reevaluated 39 cracks identified during the 2008 refueling outage which had been determined as “relevant” at the time, and were now “non-relevant.”
Neither Entergy nor the NRC could explain the difference between “relevant” and “non-relevant,” saying technical staff were unavailable Friday afternoon.
So, for PR purposes, a new crack is better than an old crack getting bigger.
Nice to know.
when a long-standing crack in the bedroom ceiling begins to grow, it usually means that water will shortly follow…and that represents one heck of a “trust gap” regarding the integrity of the roof.
cracks are those that are in the structure, casings, pipes, etc. @ VY.
Irrelevant cracks better be those of the inspectors and plumbers doing the work.
I really think we need to start a VY Friday thing. Sort of like casual Fridays in the corporate world, where you can wear that Hawaiian print shirt that shouldn’t leave the closet, try to get some honest work done, but are foiled by the semi festive mood of your boss (if she’s in the office) and the regulators who dropped by in flip flops and are drinking those Cuervo shots you ‘accidentally’ left in the lunch room fridge.
I think you have hit the nail on the head with “Non Relevant Cracks” (NRC)!
…as [insert deity or entity or non-of-the above of your choice] is my witness, I was certain that this read “non-relevant cranks.”
A BWR Steam Dryer functions like a fine strainer, but is built differently. The result is the same – water removed from the steam. (The removed water is recycled through the reactor.) There is also a steam separator which fuctions like a coarse strainer, before the Dryer. Both sit on top of the fuel bundles and are removed for refueling.
The Dryer is internal to the reactor and not a pressure boundary, so cracks don’t let anything out of the reactor. They are not like cracks in the roof and ceiling, but more like cracks in the wall between rooms.
The cracks and other wear and tear is evaluated: 1-even though it is a non safety component, could a failure interfere with post accident core cooling? 2- could a failure keep it from doing its drying job.
The actual report to the NRC on the inspection will be emailed to Green Mountain Daily. I will email it to you if you wish -see my bio page for my email. I got it from Region I by asking. You may see that the one item which made the headlines is in a different perspective.
The Steam Dryer is good for this cycle.
Quad Cities plants replaced their steam generators. The plants are 1138 MWe and have been uprated, and have license extensions.
VY plans to spend a lot of money on the plant if it operates beyond 2012. The press reported they plan to replace the main condenser in 2014. This last refueling they made a repair good for several years by putting sleeves inside the tube entrances. Wouldn’t you only make a short term repair to your car, if you knew that you were going to replace it, particularly if the repair did not involve safety?
I reread my earlier comments. I don’t feel quoting someone or pointing out where their facts are wrong are personal attacks. For example, Mrs. Gundersen said at a public meeting at Vermont Law School that she believes the entire nuclear power industry should be shut down. I disagree with her on this national policy, but that is not a personal attack. It it does give me insight into the actions her company takes, and those of her Chief Engineer.