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NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION II 61 Forsyth Street, Suite 23T85, Atlanta, GA 30303

NRC & SCE&G OFFICIALS TO MEET IN ATLANTA ON DECEMBER 20 TO DISCUSS FLAWED PIPE WELD AT SUMMER NUCLEAR PLANT

Officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and South Carolina Electric & Gas Company will meet in Atlanta on December 20 to discuss laboratory analysis results of a flawed reactor cooling water pipe weld at the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant and the significance of "indications" found by additional tests on five similar welds, pipes and nozzles.

The meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. (EST) in the NRC's Region II offices, located in the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., in room 24T20 on the 24^th floor. It is open to observation by the public, and NRC officials will be available at its conclusion to answer questions from interested observers.

NRC officials said initial tests did not indicate anything unusual in five other reactor nozzles, welds and pipes at Summer but that subsequent, more definitive testing revealed indications of possible additional problems.

The NRC will discuss with company officials the significance of multiple indications found by more definitive tests of the affected weld and additional pipe areas, along with the acceptability of the plant's inservice inspection program. They will also discuss the adequacy of planned ultrasonic testing of the replaced pipe area and the adequacy of the plant's leakage detection system.

The Summer plant is located near Jenkinsville, South Carolina, about 30 miles north of Columbia. The pipe weld problem was identified by the company last month when employees noticed traces of boron, a neutron absorber used to moderate the plant's nuclear chain reaction, beneath a large pipe inside the containment building. This indicated leaking or "weeping" of reactor cooling water containing the boron from the area of the pipe. The plant had been shut down for refueling and maintenance.

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