Update on Oyster Creek, NY

Fuel Pool Crisis Narrowly Averted at Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant

WashingtonsBlog,

30 October, 2012

Problems at 4 Other Nuclear Plants … Apparently None Were Severe

We reported last Friday that Hurricane Sandy could cause problems at Oyster Creek, Salem, Indian Point, Limerick and other nuclear plants in the Northeast.

We noted yesterday that Oyster Point was most vulnerable to the storm,  that it lacked diesel backup generators for its fuel pool pumps, and that storm-related problems could present challenges in cooling the fuel in it its fuel pools.

 

Reuters reports today that that challenge has just become real:

Exelon Corp’s 43-year-old Oyster Creek plant in New Jersey remains on “alert” status, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said early Tuesday.

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Exelon however was concerned that if the water rose over 7 feet it could submerge the service water pump motor that is used to cool the water in the spent fuel pool, potentially forcing it to use emergency water supplies from the in-house fire suppression system to keep the rods from overheating.

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The water levels reached a peak of 7.4 feet

– apparently above the threshold — but the pump motors did not flood, Sheehan said. As of 11 a.m. EDT Tuesday the water level was down to 5.8 feet, with the next high tide at 11:45 a.m.

“They need the water level to stay below 6 feet for a while to exit the alert,” Sheehan said, noting when the water level falls below 4.5 feet, the plant could exit the unusual event.

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The relatively small 636-megawatt (MW) Oyster Creek plant earlier experienced a “power disruption” at its switch yard, causing two backup diesel generators to kick in and maintain a stable source of power, Exelon said.

The NRC spokesman said the company could use water from a fire suppression system or a portable pump to cool the pool if necessary. The used uranium rods in the pool could cause the water to boil in about 25 hours without additional coolant; in an extreme scenario the rods could overheat, risking the eventual release of radiation.

The concerns over the status of the spent fuel pool at Oyster Creek was reminiscent of the fears that followed the Fukushima disaster last year, when helicopters and fire hoses were enlisted to ensure the pools remained filled with fresh, cool water.

In other words, we dodged a bullet.

There were also problems at the Salem, Indian Point, Limerick and Nine Mile Point nuclear plants. See this NRC report.

Update: Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant Exits Alert Status