NRC: News Release - Region III - 2003-059 - Special NRC Inspection of Equipment Problems at Perry Nuclear Plant

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NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

Office of Public Affairs, Region III
2443 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL 60532
www.nrc.gov

No. III-03-059		August 28, 2003
CONTACT:	Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662	E-mail: OPA3.RegionIII@nrc.gov
SPECIAL NRC INSPECTION OF EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS AT PERRY NUCLEAR PLANT Printable Version
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun a special inspection of two equipment problems which occurred during and after the August 14 loss of offsite electrical power at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant. The facility, operated by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, is located at Perry, Ohio. The inspection is being performed by the two NRC resident inspectors at the Perry plant, assisted by a third NRC inspector. With the loss of offsite electrical power on August 14, the Perry plant shut down automatically, and the facility’s three emergency diesel generators started to provide power to plant safety systems. After the plant shut down, a small support system pump failed to operate properly, possibly because of air in the piping. A parallel system was fully operational, and, therefore, the problem had no effect on plant conditions. The pump problem was corrected before the plant resumed operation on August 20. After the plant returned to service, one of the emergency diesel generators did not provide the correct voltage during a routine test on August 21. The NRC inspectors will review the circumstances surrounding the two equipment problems, including any possible connection between the loss-of-offsite power and the malfunctions. The report of the inspection will be publically available from the NRC Region III Office of Public Affairs when it is issued, about 30 days after the inspection is complete. It will also be posted on the NRC’s web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html. Use Docket Number 05000440. Assistance in using the web reading room is available by calling the NRC Public Document Room at 800-397-4209.
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