nuclear-news

The NRC usually allows a nuclear plant 10 days to make such repairs. In this case, the agency granted the plant’s operator, Arizona Public Service Co., two extensions. NRC officials said the decision came after a careful review of the risks.

But not everyone at the agency agreed with the decision. NRC employees filed three dissents that were given to The Arizona Republic by the scientist watchdog group. The NRC subsequently released one of the documents, a petition asking for the time extensions to be revoked.

“The NRC’s action is inconsistent with the NRC mission, NRC vision, NRC safety objectives, NRC regulatory effectiveness strategies, NRC openness strategies and the principles of good regulation,” said Roy Mathew, a longtime agency employee, in his Jan. 23 petition to his employer……

Among Mathew’s concerns were that if the nuclear plant lost power from the grid and had a similar failure in its other diesel generator, it would not have been able to cool nuclear fuel in a timely manner. If the fuel can’t be cooled, it can lead to radiation releases……

David Lochbaum, director of the nuclear safety project at the Union of Concerned Scientists, questioned whether the FLEX equipment could have restored power soon enough to prevent the fuel from overheating……. http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/energy/2017/06/13/palo-verde-nuclear-plant-reactor-still-ran-after-backup-generator-exploded/385951001/