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NRC NEWS
U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION IV
1450 Maria Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 |
| CONTACT: |
Mark Hammond (510) 975-0254/E-mail: mfh2@nrc.gov |
CONTACT: Mark Hammond April 3, 1996
Office: (510) 975-0254 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Home: (415) 674-1024 RIV-2496
Pager: (800) 916-4952
NRC STAFF APPROVES AMENDMENT FOR PALO VERDE
TO MOVE STUCK FUEL ASSEMBLY
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has approved a
temporary license amendment that enables efforts to proceed
to remove a fuel assembly stuck in the Unit 2 reactor vessel
at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station near Buckeye,
AZ. Arizona Public Service Co. personnel may remove the
assembly tomorrow.
APS personnel experienced difficulty in removing the
fuel assembly during routine refueling operations at the Unit
2 reactor on March 24 and subsequently determined that the
assembly had suffered structural damage and was stuck in the
reactor.
The NRC staff action authorizes a temporary change to
Palo Verde's technical specifications that permits the plant
to use a manually operated hoist rather than a refueling
crane customarily used during refueling operations.
Use of the hoist is necessary because the fuel assembly
is being reinforced, with metal plates on top and bottom and
metal cables down the sides, to ensure its structural
integrity. That increases the assembly's dimensions slightly,
so that there is not sufficient clearance at certain points
if the assembly was moved with the refueling crane.
NRC staff has reviewed Palo Verde's plans for the
removal project as they developed over the last several days.
They include the licensee's use of structural reinforcements
to the assembly, notches in the lower end fitting of the
assembly to relieve stress and the installation of hydraulic
jacks beneath the assembly to boost it upwards.
Palo Verde has successfully removed the other 240 fuel
assemblies from the reactor core earlier in the Unit 2
refueling outage. The remaining assembly is submerged in
coolant water, and monitoring has indicated no damage to fuel
pins and no release of radiation. The temporary license
amendment approved by NRC staff will expire when the damaged
fuel assembly has been moved to the unit's spent fuel pool.
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