Feds coming to inspect Brunswick Nuclear Plant

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has dispatched a Special Inspection Team to the
Brunswick nuclear power plant, operated by Progress Energy near Southport on the southeastern
coast of North Carolina. The team will review the circumstances associated with an event classified as an Alert at the plant on June 6.

On Sunday, June 6, the Brunswick plant declared an Alert due to the discharge of halon gas, a fire suppressant, into the basement of the emergency diesel generator building. There was no fire at the facility and both units continued operation without interruption. Plant operators declared the Alert – the next to the lowest of NRC’s emergency classifications for commercial nuclear plants – within the time required by NRC regulations. However, the activation of the plant’s Emergency Response Organization was significantly delayed, as was the initiation of the plant’s Emergency Response Data System.

The Alert was terminated after about 4 ½ hours when operators had restored normal atmospheric conditions in the diesel generator building. No one was injured during the incident.

The NRC’s Special Inspection Team is composed of two region-based inspectors. The team will review the circumstances surrounding the event and the licensee’s ensuing actions that led to the delay in activating their emergency response organization.

The special inspection began Wednesday, June 9 and is expected to be completed this week. The NRC will issue a report within 45 days of the completion of the inspection.

INFORMATION FROM A NEWS RELEASE SENT TO THE WWAY NEWSCHANNEL 3 NEWSROOM…