NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Entergy Nuclear VY license Renewal

Status of Review: ENVY still hasn’t resolved issue of metal fatigue.

NRC staff: NRC has worked over last few months to clarify problem. ENVY used software with unconventional methodology to predict metal fatigue. Used simplified calculations, combined six components into one component. It’s a mathematical manipulation but is not an industry standard. It was used before, but it was unknown to the NRC staff.

Method used has never been published in any professional literature.

NRC Conclusion: methodology MAY be used in some situations, but only if component not subject to sheer stress.

NRC asked ENVY to look at six locations with conventional mathematical modeling. Nozzle and pipe to pipe applications.

“WE got the last submission yesterday, so we haven’t evaluated it yet. But we think the applicant is now on the right path.”

Entergy: We made all kinds of improvements to get the 20% power boost.

Steam Dryer– cracks have been a problem,  but I won’t say the word CRACK until later. No fatigue cracking found, only intergranular cracking.

NRC- what do you do when you find cracks?

Entergy- we don’t repair them, we just enter them into our records and look at them again in 18 months.

NRC-No samples taken to determine what kind of cracking it is? Only visual inspection?

ENVY- that’s right.

Corrosion

Entergy- We did 63 inspections, and found no additional corrosion due to power boost.

NRC- Are you still monitoring the steam line?

Entergy- No

NRC You’re only monitoring the water levels?

Entergy- Yes.

NRC- does the noble metals coating cover the stream dryer?

Entergy- probably not. We’ll let you know.

Underground tanks for emergency diesel generators:

Entergy-

I’m not aware that we’ve seen any significant corrosion.

Classic non-denial denial!

Cooling Towers

ENVY- collapse was a significant event for us, that did not meet our expectations.

NRC- explain why

ENVY- Inspection was insufficient. We didn’t predict it, so we didn’t look for it. The safety related cell has a different design.

Environmentally assisted fatigue–gotta love it!

ENVY- Took our history and mixed it with history from younger, more robust reactor designs to show we’ll be good for another 20 years.

NRC-

Is this a reality?

ENVY consultant- It’s very conservative, used extensively over the life of the industry.

NRC-

I won’t go there! (laughter)

Corrosion  and stress, cont.

ENVY- The nozzles we’ve done calculations for all look great, even though the calculations don’t match up.

NRC- Did you expect the calculations to show different results?

ENVY- We’re so conservative, we expected the confirmatory calculations to be even better than the first analysis.

NRC staff- We’ll be looking into that further for the March meeting.

Dry Well and torus

ENVY- we haven’t seen any of the problems that other similar designs have found.

Sand cushion- corrosion of dry well shell has been seen elsewhere. ENVY is different-no insulating foam, it was a construction material that was removed. We’ve seen dust blowing that confirms that air is flowing, keeping air cushion dry. The sand drains are inspected daily to see if there’s any moisture.

Unasked question: Is there moisture found?

1999- found the moisture barrier degraded. Replaced (repainted?)

NRC- you have no measurements, because you didn’t think you had to?

ENVY-yes

NRC- you didn’t remove the sand to examine the metal?

ENVY-no

1998- de-sludged the torus and recoated it. No generalised corrosion, only localized. Blistering and paint failure.

NRC-why?

ENVY- poorly applied paint the last time.

NRC- not because of oxidation from underneath?

ENVY- Oh, no.

Emergency Back-up Power from the Vernon Dam

ENVY- If the dam generator is out, it takes about 30 minutes to restart it. Someone has to come to restart it. But we can go 2 hours before we get in trouble.

NRC- The dam generates 32 mW. How do you know it wouldn’t overload your incoming power system?

ENVY-Dam operator would only restart one unit at a time.

Safety Evaluation Report

2 week on site inspection

19 inspector weeks for aging management systems

We were skeptical of the glowing reports we were getting

re dry wall corrosion.

Some corrosion monitoring was not being done, as ENVY didn’t think it applied to them.

NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Entergy Nuclear VY license Renewal

Status of Review: ENVY still hasn’t resolved issue of metal fatigue.

NRC staff: NRC has worked over last few months to clarify problem. ENVY used software with unconventional methodology to predict metal fatigue. Used simplified calculations, combined six components into one component. It’s a mathematical manipulation but is not an industry standard. It was used before, but it was unknown to the NRC staff.

Method used has never been published in any professional literature.

NRC Conclusion: methodology MAY be used in some situations, but only if component not subject to sheer stress.

NRC asked ENVY to look at six locations with conventional mathematical modeling. Nozzle and pipe to pipe applications.

“WE got the last submission yesterday, so we haven’t evaluated it yet. But we think the applicant is now on the right path.”

Entergy: We made all kinds of improvements to get the 20% power boost.

Steam Dryer– cracks have been a problem,  but I won’t say the word CRACK until later. No fatigue cracking found, only intergranular cracking.

NRC- what do you do when you find cracks?

Entergy- we don’t repair them, we just enter them into our records and look at them again in 18 months.

NRC-No samples taken to determine what kind of cracking it is? Only visual inspection?

ENVY- that’s right.

Corrosion

Entergy- We did 63 inspections, and found no additional corrosion due to power boost.

NRC- Are you still monitoring the steam line?

Entergy- No

NRC You’re only monitoring the water levels?

Entergy- Yes.

NRC- does the noble metals coating cover the stream dryer?

Entergy- probably not. We’ll let you know.

Underground tanks for emergency diesel generators:

Entergy-

I’m not aware that we’ve seen any significant corrosion.

Classic non-denial denial!

Cooling Towers

ENVY- collapse was a significant event for us, that did not meet our expectations.

NRC- explain why

ENVY- Inspection was insufficient. We didn’t predict it, so we didn’t look for it. The safety related cell has a different design.

Environmentally assisted fatigue–gotta love it!

ENVY- Took our history and mixed it with history from younger, more robust reactor designs to show we’ll be good for another 20 years.

NRC-

Is this a reality?

ENVY consultant- It’s very conservative, used extensively over the life of the industry.

NRC-

I won’t go there! (laughter)

Corrosion  and stress, cont.

ENVY- The nozzles we’ve done calculations for all look great, even though the calculations don’t match up.

NRC- Did you expect the calculations to show different results?

ENVY- We’re so conservative, we expected the confirmatory calculations to be even better than the first analysis.

NRC staff- We’ll be looking into that further for the March meeting.

Dry Well and torus

ENVY- we haven’t seen any of the problems that other similar designs have found.

Sand cushion- corrosion of dry well shell has been seen elsewhere. ENVY is different-no insulating foam, it was a construction material that was removed. We’ve seen dust blowing that confirms that air is flowing, keeping air cushion dry. The sand drains are inspected daily to see if there’s any moisture.

Unasked question: Is there moisture found?

1999- found the moisture barrier degraded. Replaced (repainted?)

NRC- you have no measurements, because you didn’t think you had to?

ENVY-yes

NRC- you didn’t remove the sand to examine the metal?

ENVY-no

1998- de-sludged the torus and recoated it. No generalised corrosion, only localized. Blistering and paint failure.

NRC-why?

ENVY- poorly applied paint the last time.

NRC- not because of oxidation from underneath?

ENVY- Oh, no.

Emergency Back-up Power from the Vernon Dam

ENVY- If the dam generator is out, it takes about 30 minutes to restart it. Someone has to come to restart it. But we can go 2 hours before we get in trouble.

NRC- The dam generates 32 mW. How do you know it wouldn’t overload your incoming power system?

ENVY-Dam operator would only restart one unit at a time.

Safety Evaluation Report

2 week on site inspection

19 inspector weeks for aging management systems

We were skeptical of the glowing reports we were getting re dry wall corrosion.

Some corrosion monitoring was not being done, as ENVY didn’t think it applied to them.

NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Entergy Nuclear VY license Renewal

Status of Review: ENVY still hasn’t resolved issue of metal fatigue.

NRC staff: NRC has worked over last few months to clarify problem. ENVY used software with unconventional methodology to predict metal fatigue. Used simplified calculations, combined six components into one component. It’s a mathematical manipulation but is not an industry standard. It was used before, but it was unknown to the NRC staff.

Method used has never been published in any professional literature.

NRC Conclusion: methodology MAY be used in some situations, but only if component not subject to sheer stress.

NRC asked ENVY to look at six locations with conventional mathematical modeling. Nozzle and pipe to pipe applications.

“WE got the last submission yesterday, so we haven’t evaluated it yet. But we think the applicant is now on the right path.”

Entergy: We made all kinds of improvements to get the 20% power boost.

Steam Dryer– cracks have been a problem,  but I won’t say the word CRACK until later. No fatigue cracking found, only intergranular cracking.

NRC- what do you do when you find cracks?

Entergy- we don’t repair them, we just enter them into our records and look at them again in 18 months.

NRC-No samples taken to determine what kind of cracking it is? Only visual inspection?

ENVY- that’s right.

Corrosion

Entergy- We did 63 inspections, and found no additional corrosion due to power boost.

NRC- Are you still monitoring the steam line?

Entergy- No

NRC You’re only monitoring the water levels?

Entergy- Yes.

NRC- does the noble metals coating cover the stream dryer?

Entergy- probably not. We’ll let you know.

Underground tanks for emergency diesel generators:

Entergy-

I’m not aware that we’ve seen any significant corrosion.

Classic non-denial denial!

Cooling Towers

ENVY- collapse was a significant event for us, that did not meet our expectations.

NRC- explain why

ENVY- Inspection was insufficient. We didn’t predict it, so we didn’t look for it. The safety related cell has a different design.

Environmentally assisted fatigue–gotta love it!

ENVY- Took our history and mixed it with history from younger, more robust reactor designs to show we’ll be good for another 20 years.

NRC-

Is this a reality?

ENVY consultant- It’s very conservative, used extensively over the life of the industry.

NRC-

I won’t go there! (laughter)

Corrosion  and stress, cont.

ENVY- The nozzles we’ve done calculations for all look great, even though the calculations don’t match up.

NRC- Did you expect the calculations to show different results?

ENVY- We’re so conservative, we expected the confirmatory calculations to be even better than the first analysis.

NRC staff- We’ll be looking into that further for the March meeting.

Dry Well and torus

ENVY- we haven’t seen any of the problems that other similar designs have found.

Sand cushion- corrosion of dry well shell has been seen elsewhere. ENVY is different-no insulating foam, it was a construction material that was removed. We’ve seen dust blowing that confirms that air is flowing, keeping air cushion dry. The sand drains are inspected daily to see if there’s any moisture.

Unasked question: Is there moisture found?

1999- found the moisture barrier degraded. Replaced (repainted?)

NRC- you have no measurements, because you didn’t think you had to?

ENVY-yes

NRC- you didn’t remove the sand to examine the metal?

ENVY-no

1998- de-sludged the torus and recoated it. No generalised corrosion, only localized. Blistering and paint failure.

NRC-why?

ENVY- poorly applied paint the last time.

NRC- not because of oxidation from underneath?

ENVY- Oh, no.

Emergency Back-up Power from the Vernon Dam

ENVY- If the dam generator is out, it takes about 30 minutes to restart it. Someone has to come to restart it. But we can go 2 hours before we get in trouble.

NRC- The dam generates 32 mW. How do you know it wouldn’t overload your incoming power system?

ENVY-Dam operator would only restart one unit at a time

NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Entergy Nuclear VY license Renewal

Status of Review: ENVY still hasn’t resolved issue of metal fatigue.

NRC staff: NRC has worked over last few months to clarify problem. ENVY used software with unconventional methodology to predict metal fatigue. Used simplified calculations, combined six components into one component. It’s a mathematical manipulation but is not an industry standard. It was used before, but it was unknown to the NRC staff.

Method used has never been published in any professional literature.

NRC Conclusion: methodology MAY be used in some situations, but only if component not subject to sheer stress.

NRC asked ENVY to look at six locations with conventional mathematical modeling. Nozzle and pipe to pipe applications.

“WE got the last submission yesterday, so we haven’t evaluated it yet. But we think the applicant is now on the right path.”

Entergy: We made all kinds of improvements to get the 20% power boost.

Steam Dryer– cracks have been a problem,  but I won’t say the word CRACK until later. No fatigue cracking found, only intergranular cracking.

NRC- what do you do when you find cracks?

Entergy- we don’t repair them, we just enter them into our records and look at them again in 18 months.

NRC-No samples taken to determine what kind of cracking it is? Only visual inspection?

ENVY- that’s right.

Corrosion

Entergy- We did 63 inspections, and found no additional corrosion due to power boost.

NRC- Are you still monitoring the steam line?

Entergy- No

NRC You’re only monitoring the water levels?

Entergy- Yes.

NRC- does the noble metals coating cover the stream dryer?

Entergy- probably not. We’ll let you know.

Underground tanks for emergency diesel generators:

Entergy-

I’m not aware that we’ve seen any significant corrosion.

Classic non-denial denial!

Cooling Towers

ENVY- collapse was a significant event for us, that did not meet our expectations.

NRC- explain why

ENVY- Inspection was insufficient. We didn’t predict it, so we didn’t look for it. The safety related cell has a different design.

Environmentally assisted fatigue–gotta love it!

ENVY- Took our history and mixed it with history from younger, more robust reactor designs to show we’ll be good for another 20 years.

NRC-

Is this a reality?

ENVY consultant- It’s very conservative, used extensively over the life of the industry.

NRC-

I won’t go there! (laughter)

Corrosion  and stress, cont.

ENVY- The nozzles we’ve done calculations for all look great, even though the calculations don’t match up.

NRC- Did you expect the calculations to show different results?

ENVY- We’re so conservative, we expected the confirmatory calculations to be even better than the first analysis.

NRC staff- We’ll be looking into that further for the March meeting.

Dry Well and torus

ENVY- we haven’t seen any of the problems that other similar designs have found.

Sand cushion- corrosion of dry well shell has been seen elsewhere. ENVY is different-no insulating foam, it was a construction material that was removed. We’ve seen dust blowing that confirms that air is flowing, keeping air cushion dry. The sand drains are inspected daily to see if there’s any moisture.

Unasked question: Is there moisture found?

1999- found the moisture barrier degraded. Replaced (repainted?)

NRC- you have no measurements, because you didn’t think you had to?

ENVY-yes

NRC- you didn’t remove the sand to examine the metal?

ENVY-no

1998- de-sludged the torus and recoated it. No generalised corrosion, only localized. Blistering and paint failure.

NRC-why?

ENVY- poorly applied paint the last time.

NRC- not because of oxidation from underneath?

ENVY- Oh, no.

NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Entergy Nuclear VY license Renewal

Status of Review: ENVY still hasn’t resolved issue of metal fatigue.

NRC has worked over last few months to clarify problem. ENVY used software with unconventional methodology to predict metal fatigue. Used simplified calculations, combined six components into one component. It’s a mathematical manipulation but is not an industry standard. It was used before, but it was unknown to the NRC staff.

Method used has never been published in any professional literature.

NRC Conclusion: methodology MAY be used in some situations, but only if component not subject to sheer stress.

NRC asked ENVY to look at six locations with conventional mathematical modeling. Nozzle and pipe to pipe applications.

“WE got the last submission yesterday, so we haven’t evaluated it yet. But we think the applicant is now on the right path.”

Entergy: We made all kinds of improvements to get the 20% power boost.

Steam Dryer– cracks have been a problem,  but I won’t say the word CRACK until later. No fatigue cracking found, only intergranular cracking.

NRC- what do you do when you find cracks?

Entergy- we don’t repair them, we just enter them into our records and look at them again in 18 months.

NRC-No samples taken to determine what kind of cracking it is? Only visual inspection?

ENVY- that’s right.

Corrosion

Entergy- We did 63 inspections, and found no additional corrosion due to power boost.

NRC- Are you still monitoring the steam line?

Entergy- No

NRC You’re only monitoring the water levels?

Entergy- Yes.

NRC- does the noble metals coating cover the stream dryer?

Entergy- probably not. We’ll let you know.

Underground tanks for emergency diesel generators:

Entergy-

I’m not aware that we’ve seen any significant corrosion.

Classic non-denial denial!

Cooling Towers

ENVY- collapse was a significant event for us, that did not meet our expectations.

NRC- explain why

ENVY- Inspection was insufficient. We didn’t predict it, so we didn’t look for it. The safety related cell has a different design.

Environmentally assisted fatigue–gotta love it!

ENVY- Took our history and mixed it with history from younger, more robust reactor designs to show we’ll be good for another 20 years.

NRC-

Is this a reality?

ENVY consultant- It’s very conservative, used extensively over the life of the industry.

NRC-

I won’t go there! (laughter)

Reactor Water Chemistry

NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Entergy Nuclear VY license Renewal

Status of Review: ENVY still hasn’t resolved issue of metal fatigue.

NRC has worked over last few months to clarify problem. ENVY used software with unconventional methodology to predict metal fatigue. Used simplified calculations, combined six components into one component. It’s a mathematical manipulation but is not an industry standard. It was used before, but it was unknown to the NRC staff.

Method used has never been published in any professional literature.

NRC Conclusion: methodology MAY be used in some situations, but only if component not subject to sheer stress.

NRC asked ENVY to look at six locations with conventional mathematical modeling. Nozzle and pipe to pipe applications.

“WE got the last submission yesterday, so we haven’t evaluated it yet. But we think the applicant is now on the right path.”

Entergy: We made all kinds of improvements to get the 20% power boost.

Steam Dryer- cracks have been a problem,  but I won’t say the word CRACK until later. No fatigue cracking found, only intergranular cracking.

NRC- what do you do when you find cracks?

Entergy- we don’t repair them, we just enter them into our records and look at them again in 18 months.

NRC-No samples taken to determine what kind of cracking it is? Only visual inspection?

ENVY- that’s right.

Corrosion

Entergy- We did 63 inspections, and found no additional corrosion due to power boost.

NRC- Are you still monitoring the steam line?

Entergy- No

NRC You’re only monitoring the water levels?

Entergy- Yes.

NRC- does the noble metals coating cover the stream dryer?

Entergy- probably not. We’ll let you know.

Underground tanks for emergency diesel generators:

Entergy-

I’m not aware that we’ve seen any significant corrosion.

Classic non-denial denial!

Cooling Towers

ENVY- collapse was a significant event for us, that did not meet our expectations.

NRC- explain why

ENVY- Inspection was insufficient. We didn’t predict it, so we didn’t look for it. The safety related cell has a different design.

Environmentally assisted fatigue-gotta love it!

ENVY- Took our history and mixed it with history from younger, more robust reactor designs to show we’ll be good for another 20 years.

NRC-

Is this a reality?

ENVY consultant- It’s very conservative, used extensively over the life of the industry.

NRC-

I won’t go there! (laughter)

NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Entergy Nuclear VY license Renewal

Status of Review: ENVY still hasn’t resolved issue of metal fatigue.

NRC has worked over last few months to clarify problem. ENVY used software with unconventional methodology to predict metal fatigue. Used simplified calculations, combined six components into one component. It’s a mathematical manipulation but is not an industry standard. It was used before, but it was unknown to the NRC staff.

Method used has never been published in any professional literature.

NRC Conclusion: methodology MAY be used in some situations, but only if component not subject to sheer stress.

NRC asked ENVY to look at six locations with conventional mathematical modeling. Nozzle and pipe to pipe applications.

“WE got the last submission yesterday, so we haven’t evaluated it yet. But we think the applicant is now on the right path.”

Entergy: We made all kinds of improvements to get the 20% power boost.

Steam Dryer- cracks have been a problem,  but I won’t say the word CRACK until later. No fatigue cracking found, only intergranular cracking.

NRC- what do you do when you find cracks?

Entergy- we don’t repair them, we just enter them into our records and look at them again in 18 months.

NRC-No samples taken to determine what kind of cracking it is? Only visual inspection?

ENVY- that’s right.

Corrosion

Entergy- We did 63 inspections, and found no additional corrosion due to power boost.

NRC- Are you still monitoring the steam line?

Entergy- No

NRC You’re only monitoring the water levels?

Entergy- Yes.

NRC- does the noble metals coating cover the stream dryer?

Entergy- probably not. We’ll let you know.

Underground tanks for emergency diesel generators:

Entergy-

I’m not aware that we’ve seen any significant corrosion.

Classic non-denial denial!

Cooling Towers

ENVY- collapse was a significant event for us, that did not meet our expectations.

NRC- explain why

ENVY- Inspection was insufficient. We didn’t predict it, so we didn’t look for it. The safety related cell has a different design.

NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Entergy Nuclear VY license Renewal

Status of Review: ENVY still hasn’t resolved issue of metal fatigue.

NRC has worked over last few months to clarify problem. ENVY used software with unconventional methodology to predict metal fatigue. Used simplified calculations, combined six components into one component. It’s a mathematical manipulation but is not an industry standard. It was used before, but it was unknown to the NRC staff.

Method used has never been published in any professional literature.

NRC Conclusion: methodology MAY be used in some situations, but only if component not subject to sheer stress.

NRC asked ENVY to look at six locations with conventional mathematical modeling. Nozzle and pipe to pipe applications.

“WE got the last submission yesterday, so we haven’t evaluated it yet. But we think the applicant is now on the right path.”

Entergy: We made all kinds of improvements to get the 20% power boost.

Steam Dryer- cracks have been a problem,  but I won’t say the word CRACK until later. No fatigue cracking found, only intergranular cracking.

NRC- what do you do when you find cracks?

Entergy- we don’t repair them, we just enter them into our records and look at them again in 18 months.

NRC-No samples taken to determine what kind of cracking it is? Only visual inspection?

ENVY- that’s right.

Corrosion

Entergy- We did 63 inspections, and found no additional corrosion due to power boost.

NRC- Are you still monitoring the steam line?

Entergy- No

NRC You’re only monitoring the water levels?

Entergy- Yes.

NRC- does the noble metals coating cover the stream dryer?

Entergy- probably not. We’ll let you know.

NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)

Entergy Nuclear VY license Renewal

Status of Review: ENVY still hasn’t resolved issue of metal fatigue.

NRC has worked over last few months to clarify problem. ENVY used software with unconventional methodology to predict metal fatigue. Used simplified calculations, combined six components into one component. It’s a mathematical manipulation but is not an industry standard. It was used before, but it was unknown to the NRC staff.

Method used has never been published in any professional literature.

NRC Conclusion: methodology MAY be used in some situations, but only if component not subject to sheer stress.

NRC asked ENVY to look at six locations with conventional mathematical modeling. Nozzle and pipe to pipe applications.

“WE got the last submission yesterday, so we haven’t evaluated it yet. But we think the applicant is now on the right path.”

Children living within three miles of nuclear power stations are more than twice as likely to get leukaemia as those who live further away, scientists say.

A large study commissioned by the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BFS) found clusters of cases of the blood or bone marrow cancer among children aged under five-years-old living near 16 power stations in the country.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ear…