nuclear-news

Nuclear plant safety problem

NRC to probe switch problem at Diablo Canyon nuclear plant Mercury News.com Associated PressP 12/01/2009  SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Federal regulators are inspecting the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant to determine why a pair of reactor safety switches were misaligned.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says inspectors began work Monday at the plant on the Central California coast. The inspection is expected to take several days.

In October, it was discovered that two switches used to remotely open cooling water valves were misaligned. That would have forced workers to manually open the valves in an emergency, delaying the response time and possibly exposing them to radiation.
Last week, plant owner Pacific Gas & Electric Co. applied to the NRC for license extensions to keep operating the plant for another 20 years.

NRC to probe switch problem at Diablo Canyon nuclear plant – San Jose Mercury News

December 1, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, radiation, radioactive