NRC ISSUES SAFETY EVALUATION CONCLUDING SUMMER PLANT CAN SAFELY RESUME OPERATION

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued its safety evaluation associated with reactor coolant system pipe cracks identified at the Summer nuclear power plant near Jenkinsville, South Carolina. Although NRC approval is not required prior to plant restart, the staff has concluded that the licensee has identified the root cause of the problem, made effective repairs, and the plant can safely resume operation for approximately 18 months.

After South Carolina Electric and Gas shut the plant down for a scheduled refueling outage in early October, workers noticed traces of boron beneath a large pipe inside the containment building. This indicated leakage of reactor cooling water containing the boron from the area of the pipe. Subsequent tests indicated a crack in a weld. The damaged section was removed and replaced.

The safety evaluation report, "Integrity Evaluation for Future Operation: Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Plant Reactor Vessel Nozzle To Pipe Weld Regions," discusses the NRC's review of the repairs and the potential impact of other small weld defects discovered after shutdown.

A copy of the safety evaluation report is available in the NRC Public Document Room, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, telephone: 301/415-4737. A copy also will be available at: http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/REACTOR/SUMMER/index.htm on the NRC's web site under the heading: "Correspondence," and through ADAMS, the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System.

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Thursday, February 22, 2007