NRC: News Release - Region IV - 2008-034 - NRC Finalizes "White" Finding for Cooper Nuclear Plant

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U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region IV
611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400, Arlington TX 76011
www.nrc.gov

No. IV-08-034		August 4, 2008
CONTACT:	Victor Dricks Phone: 817-860-8128	E-mail: OPA4.Resource@nrc.gov
NRC FINALIZES “WHITE” FINDING FOR COOPER NUCLEAR PLANT Printable Version
The Cooper nuclear plant will continue to receive additional oversight from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission based on a violation that adversely affected the reliability of one of the plant’s emergency diesel generators. The plant, located near Brownville, Neb., is operated by the Nebraska Public Power District. The NRC uses a color-coded system to categorize inspection findings. They range from “green,” for an issue of very low safety significance, to “red,” for a highly significant issue. In this case, the violation has been determined to be “white,” indicating it is of low to moderate safety significance. The finding is based on an NRC inspection described in a report issued on May 6. The inspection identified a violation involving improper electrical maintenance of an emergency diesel generator which resulted in failure during testing on January 15. The diesel generators supply power to plant safety systems during emergencies in the event of a loss of off-site power. The licensee has taken corrective action to prevent recurrence, but the failure was significant. The NRC offered the licensee the opportunity to take part in a regulatory conference, at which additional details on an issue can be brought forward, or to respond in writing to the proposed action. The licensee provided additional information in writing which was taken into consideration by the NRC staff in reaching a final determination of the safety significance of the violation. The licensee has 30 days to appeal the decision. Cooper has been receiving additional oversight from the NRC since early 2008.
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