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NRC NEWS
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION |
| Office of Public Affairs |
Telephone: 301/415-8200 |
| Washington, DC 20555-001 |
E-mail: opa@nrc.gov |
No. 96-145 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Thursday, October 17, 1996)
NRC ASKS UTILITY LICENSEES FOR INFORMATION ON
CONCRETE CONTAINMENT FOUNDATIONS AT NINE NUCLEAR PLANTS
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has sent letters to five utility licensees
requesting additional information on their use of porous concrete in containment
foundations at nine nuclear power plants.
The NRC staff has been studying the reported erosion of the containment
foundation basemat at the Millstone 3 Nuclear Power Plant, operated by Northeast Utilities,
in Waterford, Conn. Based on information gathered by the staff thus far, there is no
immediate safety concern about the Millstone 3 containment foundation, which is supported
on rock. The amount of concrete that may have eroded since the plant was built in 1975 is
only a small fraction of the total cement weight, and no adverse consequences have either
been observed or predicted. The NRC staff is continuing its review of this issue in order to
ensure that any potential consequences of this phenomenon are completely understood.
However, the NRC staff has identified nine other nuclear plants for which it requires
more detailed information on their use of porous concrete. They are:
. Beaver Valley Units 1 and 2 operated by the Duquesne Light
Co., 17 miles west of McCandless, Pa.
. James A. Fitzpatrick operated by the New York Power Authority eight miles northwest of Oswego, N.Y.
. Haddam Neck operated by Northeast Utilities, 13 miles east of
Meriden, Ct.
. North Anna Units 1 and 2 operated by Virginia Electric & Power Co., 40
miles northwest of Richmond, Va.
. Perry operated by the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co.,
seven miles northeast of Painesville, Ohio.
. Surry Units 1 and 2 operated by the Virginia Electric & Power
Co., 17 miles
northwest of
Newport News,
Va.
In the letters, dated October 16, the NRC staff asked each utility to provide
information within 14 days on whether they have found slurry in the drainage below their
containment basemats, and whether they have observed any settlement of the containment
basemats. NRC also asked if they have noticed any unusual conditions which may be
related to the porous concrete sub-foundation layers and if they are monitoring anything
related to the drainage from the porous concrete sub-foundation layers below their
containment basemats.
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