NRC: News Release - Region III - 2005-043 - NRC Begins Special Inspection of Electrical Problems in Shutdown at D. C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant

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NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region III
801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532
www.nrc.gov

No. III-05-043		November 10, 2005
CONTACT:	Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662	E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov
NRC BEGINS SPECIAL INSPECTION OF ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS IN SHUTDOWN AT D. C. COOK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT Printable Version
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun a special inspection of electrical problems at the D. C. Cook Nuclear Power Station associated with the automatic shutdown of the plant’s Unit 2 on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The two-reactor facility, located at Bridgman, Mich., is operated by American Electric Power Co. The Unit 2 reactor shut down automatically when the main generator failed. The main generator is conventional power plant equipment which produces electricity for distribution to the utility’s customers. The Unit 1 reactor was not affected and continued to operate at full power. Following the Unit 2 shutdown, two separate circuit breakers failed to operate properly to provide power to certain safety systems, and the utility is continuing to investigate those failures. The plant has parallel safety systems, and all safety functions were available to the plant. "The safety of the plant was not jeopardized," said James Caldwell, NRC regional administrator. "We’ve sent the special inspection team to better understand the circumstances surrounding the electrical equipment failures and what corrective actions are needed." The three-person NRC team will monitor the utility’s investigation of the failures and the resulting repairs. A report of the team’s inspection findings will be issued within 30 days of the close of the inspection and will be available online in the NRC’s document library at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html.