NRC: News Release - Region II - 2004-048 - NRC Cites Surry Nuclear Power Plant for Inspection Findings of Low to Moderate Safety Significance

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NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region II
61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
www.nrc.gov

No. II-04-048		September 17, 2004
CONTACT:	Ken Clark (404) 562-4416 Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417	E-mail: opa2@nrc.gov
NRC CITES SURRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOR INSPECTION FINDINGS OF LOW TO MODERATE SAFETY SIGNIFICANCE Printable Version
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has determined that certain of the licensee’s fire response procedures may not effectively ensure the safe shutdown of Units 1 and 2 during severe fires in the respective Emergency Switchgear and Relay Rooms at the Surry nuclear power plant, operated by Dominion Energy near Surry, Virginia. The staff, following inspections and an April regulatory conference, concluded the issue rates a “white” finding on the agency’s “green, white, yellow, red” safety significance scale, meaning the issue is considered to have a low to moderate impact on plant safety. The NRC requires that fire response procedures ensure a safe shutdown during a postulated severe fire. The finding primarily concerns the untimeliness of operator actions to re-establish charging system injection flow to the reactor coolant pumps. This constitutes a violation of NRC regulations on fire safety because plant parameters may not be maintained within safe shutdown limits. The licensee has modified its procedures to restore compliance with requirements. A supplemental inspection will be conducted at a future date to gauge the utility’s response to the staff finding on fire safety and a previous “white” finding related to potential AC emergency power safety system unavailability. Additional details on the white finding are available from the NRC public affairs office in Region II at the above address and phone number and on the Internet in the agency’s ADAMS document system at http://www.nrc.gov./reading-rm/adams.html. When searching, enter this number: ML042590472. Help in using ADAMS is available by contacting the NRC Public Document Room at 301 - 415-4737 or 1 - 800 - 397-4209.