SimplyInfo » Entries tagged with "Oyster Creek"
What Really Happened At Oyster Creek, Report Released
[Translate] The US NRC has finally issued an inspection report on Oyster Creek and the events during hurricane Sandy. During the storm the public was left with many unanswered questions and a considerable lack of information about what was going on at Oyster Creek nuclear plant. On October 31st Reuters reported a 6.8 feet water level. The NRC official event report is more vague, only citing “over 6 feet“. A few reports admitted the full 7.4 feet of flooding but this didn’t get widely distributed via the press or the NRC’s public website. The full flooding height at Oyster Creek was 7.4 feet. The concrete deck at the intake structure sits at 6 feet. Existing documents at the plant stated that the bottom of needed intake pumping equipment was 7 feet. Water … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, The Latest
Groups File Complaints With NRC About Oyster Creek Failures
[Translate] A number of environmental and public safety groups have filed an emergency legal complaint with the NRC over failures at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant. Some of these issues were related to incidents during hurricane Sandy. Others related to more degraded reactor equipment found as part of the refueling inspections. This collection of groups also demanded the plant’s emergency plans be updated to take into consideration the current situation in the area after the hurricane. Many roads are not passable, people are concentrated in different areas, local emergency services are degraded and other upheaval changes the conditions of what was already a very unworkable evacuation plan. The groups also point out that Sandy would have been much worse had the reactor been operating at the time of the storm. Flooding took out … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Oyster Creek Under Special Inspection By The NRC
[Translate] The NRC announced they are doing a special inspection of Oyster Creek today, after incidents that arose during Hurricane Sandy. The NRC didn’t elaborate about specifics but gave a somewhat vague statement via email. “The team of three NRC inspectors is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the company’s event declaration activities related to water level increases at the plant’s water intake structure during the storm” “Nevertheless, there are certain observations involving procedures and on-site activities that surfaced during the event warranting a closer look. This Special Inspection will focus on those areas to gain a better understanding of how the intake water level information was monitored and communicated during the event.” It is unclear exactly what the NRC is referring to but will issue a report within 45 days. Hopefully this tells the public what the problems actually were. … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
NRC Provides Additional Information On Salem & Oyster Creek Outages
[Translate] The NRC has updated their last post about the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. The newest post provides details about the intakes at Oyster Creek. The NRC claims the intakes continued to operate and pull in water during the alert. They did not provide an answer to the time frame of the cooling outage at Oyster Creek. Previous NRC reports cited the cooling went out until it was “reenergized” as part of switching to diesel back up power but they did not provide a time frame. On Salem the NRC makes this statement about the intake pumps that they were “no longer able to perform their function because of high river levels and debris in the waterway,” Platts quotes a PSEG Official “Ralph Izzo said during a press teleconference Wednesday morning. One of … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
The Media Takes On The Nuclear Industry After Sandy Failures
[Translate] A long list of media outlets are criticizing the nuclear industry and the safety lapses exposed by hurricane Sandy. While the nuclear industry talking heads have bragged up Sandy as a “success” because there were no major nuclear disasters, it has been pointed out everywhere that this is a public relations deception. Multiple plants lost grid power, had to shutdown, lower power or had failures that challenged critical reactor systems. Questions remain about Oyster Creek’s specific systems through the alert and information on the intake pump damage at Salem has been slim. United Press International said nuclear plant safety was questioned by Sandy. Washington Post highlighted how little is known about the real natural risks in the US and how dangerously close these plants are to major population centers. The New York Times points out … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Oyster Creek Leaves Alert Status, Questions Linger
[Translate] Exelon is reporting via email press release that Oyster Creek has exited alert status. Water levels have receded below the alert levels but there is still no clear information on the status of the intake pumps during the alert. It is also unclear if access to the ultimate heat sink (the river) was lost at any point during the alert. This is critical as it is required to cool both the reactor and the spent fuel pool even if the reactor is turned off. The reactor does have some alternative methods to cool the reactor in an emergency but there is not an alternative heat removal system for the spent fuel pool. This makes access to the river for cooling critical for safety. Temperatures and water levels for the reactor … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Update On Oyster Creek & Salem Nuclear Plant Status
[Translate] Oyster Creek has been without any information most of the day from either the NRC or the operator. The NRC did release some information late this afternoon. NRC reports “Shutdown cooling and spent fuel pool cooling have been restored.” They do not clarify if this is just the electrical power to these systems or if these systems have access to the ultimate heat sink (the river) by way of the pumps & intake systems down by the river that have been flooded by storm surge. So we still do not know for sure if Oyster Creek has functioning access to the ultimate heat sink via the normal pumping systems. Entergy claimed via Reuters that a temporary pump was brought in in case it was needed. Since the public has no access … Read entire article »
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Area Near Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant Damaged, Flooded
[Translate] Enenews has two videos reporting that the area near Oyster Creek nuclear plant is heavily damaged and flooded as of today. Many homes are damaged and rivers are still over their banks in the area. Videos etc. here This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content may also be copyright of other specific original authors or creators and was reproduced here with limited permission. While we welcome the sharing of information or promoting our work, please do so with respect to the large amount of effort and time that goes into our research and analysis. Referring to something or a quote is great, copying it all or in substantial parts is not so great. If … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Oyster Creek Continues To Be Under Alert – UPDATED
[Translate] Update: Reuters reported last night that 7 feet was the height of the service water pump needed to cool the spent fuel pool. “However, a further rise to 7 feet could submerge the service water pump motor that is used to cool the water in the spent fuel pool” Reuters quoted the NRC this morning that water peaked at 7.4 feet. They have moved in a temporary pump but the NRC claimed they have not needed to use this. The vague statement does not clarify if the service water system continues to operate or if they have shut it off and are going to use the temporary pump to restart cooling if the pool reaches an increased temperature level. “On Tuesday, an NRC spokesman said the levels reached a peak of 7.4 feet … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Update On Multiple East Coast Reactor Incidents & Alerts
[Translate] Oyster Creek had service water pumps at risk due to high water from Sandy. This included the cooling water for the spent fuel pool cooling system. As of 2:53am EST Exelon did not know if the service water pumps had been impacted. Media contacts at Exelon, owner of Oyster Creek are promising an update shortly. We will pass on any new information as soon as we get it. Update: Oyster Creek as of 2003 has more than 3025 assemblies in the spent fuel pool with a capacity of 2645 assemblies that are at risk if the service water pump is lost. As of November 2010, there were 1,159 used assemblies stored in 19 dry casks. Casks are stored in a concrete block system and would not be at risk in this scenario. Oyster Creek; 36 … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Oyster Creek Lost Grid Power, Spent Fuel Pool Cooling At Risk
[Translate] We have full confirmation that Oyster Creek nuclear station has lost grid power via Yahoo news. “The plant’s owner, Exelon Corp., said power was also disrupted in the station’s switchyard, but backup diesel generators were providing stable power, with more than two weeks of fuel on hand.” http://news.yahoo.com/nations-oldest-nuclear-plant-alert-024720174.html The loss of grid power puts Oyster Creek in a tense situation where the diesel generators are the only source of AC power needed for many critical systems. The reactor itself is shut off as the plant was in an outage but still requires some cooling. As was seen at Fukushima Daiichi Units 5 and 6 were shut down yet still had their own issues with hydrogen and heat build up as they lost cooling from the ocean. Flooding is still a problem at Oyster … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Alert At Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant Due To Flooding, Millstone At 75%
[Translate] Oyster Creek Nuclear Station is under an alert after storm waters exceeding the high level criteria per the NRC. The NRC does not state what that level was. In our earlier reporting today we mentioned that the plant itself sits about 10 feet above sea level and the water levels at the nearby USGS station had already exceeded 8 feet today. The USGS station near Oyster Creek nuclear station has been going in and out all day. It showed the 8 foot reading, a bit of a drop below 8 feet but then the station stopped reporting before Sandy officially made landfall. “The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is continuing to monitor impacts from Hurricane Sandy on nuclear power plants in the Northeastern United States, including an Alert declared at the Oyster … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
Oyster Creek Sees High Water, Possible Power Outage As Sandy Makes Landfall
[Translate] Oyster Creek is now seeing elevated water as Sandy makes landfall in the area. Barnegat Bay is the area near the plant. The USGS water sensor went up over the 8 foot level last night and is currently about 7.5 feet.. Atlantic City is showing a 6 foot water level increase at a USGS sea station and has some street flooding as of this morning. NOAA is predicting landfall for about 4pm EST give or take 3-5 hours. Reader April contacted us to explain the flooding in the area near Oyster Creek. She used to live near the plant. During Irene last year they had 10 foot waves that went 40 feet onto their property. Their home and neighbors homes lost bulkheads and outdoor structures during Irene. Damage to the area … Read entire article »
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US Nuclear Protesters Rally In VT While 2 US Reactors Could Be Scrapped
[Translate] On Thursday 1000 protesters in Vermont marched to the offices of Entergy in Brattleburo demanding the shut down of the aging reactor. A large number of protesters were arrested at the Entergy office near the plant. A federal judge ruled that the state’s nuclear waste permit for Vermont Yankee that expired Wednesday could not be enforced. So the reactor continues to operate, generating nuclear waste that it does not have a permit to store in Vermont. It is not clear if the waste storage issue will become part of the ongoing appeals by the state to exert state rights to decide if they want an aging reactor to run in their state. In New Jersey opponents of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant have pointed out that the NRC timeline for post Fukushima upgrades requires these … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest
NRC Delays New Reactors, Old Units Struggle To Stay Viable
[Translate] The NRC had declared delays in the new reactor approval process for AP1000 and ESBWR reactor designs. They NRC wants to complete their analysis on information from Fukushima Daiichi before moving ahead with the process to possibly approve either new design. Meanwhile Nuclear power companies are forging ahead with preparing sites for the reactors they hope to build. An interesting twist in that power companies can start a project before getting approval for the reactor they intend to build. This is then frequently used to pressure the NRC because work and spending is already underway. It was a key circumstance during the initial approval process at North Anna. The Oyster Creek reactor in New Jersey, one of the oldest in the US has announced they will shut down for good in … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest, US Nuclear News
Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant To Shut Down Permanently
[Translate] Excelon, operator of Oyster Creek has announced they will permanently shut down Oyster Creek in December of 2019. They recently received a license extension to operate until 2029. Exelon did not explain the reason for the decision. During the re-licensing process opposition groups brought up that the process didn’t require any metals testing to assure the reactor vessel steel was stable enough to withstand additional years of operation. The NRC license review process states that it does not specifically look at technical limitations in relation to the 40 year time frame. “Based on the Atomic Energy Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues licenses for commercial power reactors to operate for up to 40 years and allows these licenses to be renewed for up to another 20 years. A 40-year license term was … Read entire article »
Filed under: The Latest, US Nuclear News
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