***Y2K Urgent: Senate Update on Nuclear Plants in the US ***

Computers/Internet News Keywords: Y2K, NRC, SENATE Source: United States Senate_Special Committee on the Y2k Tech Porblem Author: Senate Posted on 08/04/1999 18:23:54 PDT by Lady GOP

22 NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS WILL PUSH Y2K READINESS ENVELOPE

WASHINGTON, DC --

The chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said today that six nuclear power plants in the United States will remain unprepared for possible Year 2000 computer problems after November 1, and according to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), at least three of those plants have Y2K readiness deadlines in mid-December. Also identified by NEI were 16 additional plants with deadlines in late October.

"Setting a late deadline for Y2K readiness in a nuclear power plant may not allow enough time to address unforseen problems in such an immensely complex and potentially dangerous facility," said U.S. Senator Robert F. Bennett, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on the Y2K Technology Problem. "Total Y2K readiness of the nation's nuclear power plants is vital to keeping the lights on in certain areas, and is absolutely necessary to guarantee public safety during the millennium date change."

"Nuclear power plants shouldn't play Russian roulette when it comes to Y2K - where they wait until the last minute and then hope for the best," said U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Vice-Chairman of the Senate Y2K Committee. "It is essential that there be adequate time left so systems can be tested in order to assure a safe and continuous power supply."

In testimony posted on the web site of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, NRC chair Greta Joy Dicus said that the two D.C. Cook plants in Berrien County, Michigan would not be Y2K ready until after November 1, and would remain shut down during the Y2K transition. The plants are currently in the midst of an extended shutdown, and have Y2K readiness deadlines of December 15.

Dicus also said that four other plants with November-or-later deadlines would require outages to complete Y2K activities. Those plants are the Brunswick Unit 1 near Wilmington, N.C.; Comanche Peak Unit 1 in Sommervell County, Texas; Salem Unit 1 in Salem County, N.J.; and Farley Unit 2 near Dothan, Alabama, which has a December 16 deadline.

"These outages have been scheduled, and each of the licensees have experience on sister units in completing the most significant Y2K remediation activities," she said.

Additionally, 15 plants have late October deadlines: Browns Ferry Units 1 and 2 near Decatur, Alabama; Comanche Peak Unit 2 in Sommervell County, Texas; Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 near San Luis Obispo, California; Hope Creek in Salem County, New Jersey; North Anna Unit 2 in Louisa County, Virginia; Peach Bottom Unit 3 in York County, Penn.; Salem Unit 2 in Salem County, N.J.; Sequoyah Units 1 and 2 near Chattanooga, Tenn.; South Texas Project Units 1 and 2 near Matagorda, Texas; Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Penn.; Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vermont; and Watts Bar in Rhea County, Tennessee.

Currently 30 of 103 U.S. nuclear power plants remain unprepared for Y2K. The NRC expects most to be Y2K ready by September 30, when it will make a determination whether certain facilities will remain operational.

Dicus said, however, that she believes all plants Awill be able to operate...safely during the transition from 1999 to 2000, and we do not anticipate the need for the NRC to direct any plant-specific action.@

Today=s hearing also addressed the Y2K preparedness of gas utilities, upon which 60 million homes and businesses rely for heat. Statements by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and American Gas Association indicate that natural gas industries plan to be Y2K ready by September 30, but did not offer specifics on current levels of Y2K preparedness. Bennett and Dodd said they would be asking for additional information regarding current readiness and industry progress toward the September deadline.

"I am pleased that the natural gas industry has set a goal of 100 percent compliance this fall," said Bennett. "But more specifics are necessary in order for Congress and the American public to be assured that this goal can be met."

"The natural gas industry's testimony today shows a good faith effort is being made to become Y2K compliant," Dodd said. "I look forward to receiving more detailed information so we can be sure the public won't be left out in the cold."

The Y2K technology problem, also called the Y2K or Millennium bug, prevents computers from reading the year 2000 correctly and can potentially cause wide ranging system failures.

# # #

-- helium (heliumavid@yahoo.com), August 05, 1999

Answers

Link:

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a37a8e7aa0c1d.htm

-- helium (heliumavid@yahoo.com), August 05, 1999.

Link to original Artical At Government Site:

http://y2k.senate.gov/news/pr990804.htm

-- helium (heliumavid@yahoo.com), August 05, 1999.

Senator Bennett said.

"Total Y2K readiness of the nation's nuclear power plants is vital to keeping the lights on in certain areas, and is absolutely necessary to guarantee public safety during the millennium date change."

I think that I read somewhere that the nuclear power plants are needed during the rollover to keep the power grids stable. Does anyone know if this is true?

Also, I have the feeling that unless the plants are definately a risk they will let them stay up for as long as possible.

This whole issue of so many nuclear plants not being ready until this late is very alarming, and only two have said they will shut down during the rollover. I certainly hope they will shut down any plant that is not 100% compliant. I know - impossible!

-- flb (fben4077@yahoo.com), August 05, 1999.

Let's see..."Y2K ready" by December 14...with over two full weeks for testing.

Can you say "slip?"

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), August 06, 1999.

Sorta OT, but maybe not:

[ Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only ]

8/9/99 -- 7:10 PM

Hot weather, low lake level affect nuclear plants

CLEVELAND (AP) - The high temperatures and low water levels in Lake Erie have brought two nuclear plants close to having to shut down their reactors.

The northern Ohio plants rely on Lake Erie's chilly water to cool down the facilities. But the lake has been warm this summer and came close to the 85-degree limit that requires the plants to stop generating electricity.

FirstEnergy Corp., which operates the two plants, has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to raise the temperature cutoff to 90 degrees at Davis-Besse plant near Toledo, spokesman Todd Schneider said Monday. The Akron-based company also may request that Perry's limit be raised to 88 degrees, he said.

``Engineering studies show we can operate if the water temperature is higher than 85 degrees,'' Schneider said.

The NRC will decide in the next few weeks whether the Davis-Besse plant's cooling systems could function properly with the warmer water, said spokesman Jan Strasma.

He said the last time a nuclear plant came close to passing the water temperature limit was four years ago.

``This doesn't happen very often,'' he said. ``Our staff was on standby that weekend. We won't do anything to compromise safety but we try to keep the plants operating.''

The two plants use Lake Erie water to run their emergency cooling systems, which can quickly shut down the plants in an accident.

The lake's temperature near the Perry plant peaked at 84.7 degrees on July 31, Schneider said. It was 83.7 degrees at Davis-Besse that same day, he said.

Temperatures that day were in the mid-90s along Lake Erie's shores. Because the lake is at its lowest point in 30 years, the water is warmer than normal, Schneider said.

``It's several unique circumstances coming together. It's usually not that hot and the water level is two to three feet below normal,'' he said.
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-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 09, 1999.