NRC cites Wisconsin Energy for nuclear safety problem
Date: 17-Jul-02
Country: USA
The NRC issued a final decision that a backup cooling water system at the 1,022-megawatt plant might fail to work under certain, although unusual, operating conditions. Normal plant operations were not affected by the problem.
The commission said in a statement that the potential failure was tagged with the NRC's red safety code, signifying "high safety significance."
The NRC uses a four-color scale of increasing safety problems, ranging from green for a finding of minor significance, through white and yellow, to red.
In addition to the red finding, the NRC issued a violation notice to plant operator Nuclear Management Co. for inadequate operating procedures for the backup system and for failing to identify and fix the problem between 1997 and 2001.
The utility subsequently took prompt steps to revise procedures and train reactor operators to handle safety concerns, the NRC said. The backup cooling system also was modified.
The commission said it will do more inspections and review actions taken by Wisconsin Electric, a unit of Wisconsin Energy .
