Vermont’s Congressional delegation
today sent the following letter to Nils J. Diaz, Chairman of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, after a recent NRC inspection
discovered more than 40 additional cracks in the steam dryer at
the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. These cracks are in
addition to 18 cracks found during inspections of the steam
dryer in 2004.
In the letter, Vermont’s
Congressional delegation wrote:
“We
request that the condition of the steam dryer be fully
evaluated, using the techniques of the most recent inspection
and any other appropriate means, as the NRC considers Entergy
Nuclear's request to produce an additional 100 megawatts of
power from Vermont Yankee.”
”As the NRC reviews the Vermont
Yankee power uprate request, we believe it is essential that our
constituents receive needed information about whether the
plant’s steam dryer will be able to withstand boosted power
conditions and operate safely and reliably,” the letter said.
The letter was signed by Sens. Jim
Jeffords, I-Vt., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Bernie
Sanders, I-Vt. Jeffords is Ranking Member of the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee, which has oversight of
the NRC. Rep. John Olver, D-Ma., joined Vermont’s delegation in
signing the letter.
The text of the complete letter
follows. A PDF is also
available.
November 10,
2005
The Honorable Nils J. Diaz
Chairman
U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission
Washington,
DC 20555-0001
Dear Mr.
Chairman:
We write in
response to the announcement today of the discovery, during a
recent scheduled outage, of more than 40 additional cracks in
the steam dryer at Vermont Yankee. We understand that a Region 1
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspector was dispatched to
assist the resident inspector in the determining whether these
cracks pose safety and operational concerns for the plant’s
current power production. We request that the condition of the
steam dryer be fully evaluated, using the techniques of the most
recent inspection and any other appropriate means, as the NRC
considers Entergy Nuclear's request to produce an additional 100
megawatts of power from Vermont Yankee.
We understand
that these cracks were discovered through the use of enhanced
visual inspection techniques. As you know, these cracks are in
addition to some 18 cracks, both hairline and larger, that were
discovered through visual inspections of the plant’s steam dryer
in April and May of 2004. Steam dryer cracking is of concern at
many boiling water reactor facilities. We know that cracking
problems have persisted at the Quad Cities facilities’ steam
dryers, despite repeated fixes, and that uprated power
conditions at those facilities place additional stresses on
dryer performance. While the steam dryer itself is not a
safety-related piece of equipment, its proper functioning is
important to the plant’s safe and reliable operation. Steam
dryer cracking could result in pieces breaking off, and falling
back into the steam lines that lead out of the reactor. In the
case of the Quad Cities reactors, these plants have been forced
to shut down because of cracking, making their operation less
reliable.
As the NRC
reviews the Vermont Yankee power uprate request, we believe it
is essential that our constituents receive needed information
about whether the plant’s steam dryer will be able to withstand
boosted power conditions and operate safely and reliably. The
functioning of this piece of equipment should receive the
Commission’s full and thorough attention during the review of
the uprate application.
We look forward
to a prompt reply.
Sincerely,
(Signatures of Sens. Jeffords and
Leahy, Reps. Sanders and Olver)
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