HATCH 1 0% 01/26/00
Cold Shutdown
REACTOR SCRAM WITH HPCI INJECTION
DUE TO FW CONTROL FAILURE - SEE
EVENT #36625

FARLEY 1 57%
Power Operation
HOLDING POWER DUE TO EXTRACTION
STEAM LEAK IN CONDENSER

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), January 27, 2000

Answers

Spider,

Thank you for all of your informative posts.

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), January 27, 2000.

Thanks. Where is Hatch?Farley?

-- carolyn (carolyn@luvmyhub.com), January 27, 2000.

Hatch appears to be in Georgia. see following:

Power Reactor |Event Number: 36625 | +--------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------+ +--------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------+ | FACILITY: HATCH REGION: 2 |NOTIFICATION DATE: 01/26/2000| | UNIT: [1] [] [] STATE: GA |NOTIFICATION TIME: 07:42[EST]| | RXTYPE: [1] GE-4,[2] GE-4 |EVENT DATE: 01/26/2000| +------------------------------------------------+EVENT TIME: 06:48 [EST]| | NRC NOTIFIED BY: FRANK GORLEY |LAST UPDATE DATE: 01/26/2000| | HQ OPS OFFICER: STEVE SANDIN +-----------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------+PERSON ORGANIZATION | |EMERGENCY CLASS: N/A |CAUDLE JULIAN R2 | |10 CFR SECTION: |WILLIAM BATEMAN NRR | |ACCS 50.72 ( b ) ( 1 ) ( iv ) ECCS INJECTION |FRANK CONGEL IRO | |ARPS 50.72 ( b ) ( 2 ) ( ii ) RPS ACTUATION | | |AESF 50.72 ( b ) ( 2 ) ( ii ) ESF ACTUATION | | | | | +-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+-------- +-----------------+ |UNIT |SCRAM CODE|RX CRIT|INIT PWR| INIT RX MODE |CURR PWR| CURR RX MODE | +-----+----------+-------+--------+-----------------+-------- +-----------------+ |1 A/R Y 100 Power Operation |0 Hot Shutdown | | | | | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------+ EVENT TEXT +--------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------+ | UNIT 1 EXPERIENCED AN AUTOMATIC REACTOR SCRAM ON LOW REACTOR VESSEL WATER | | LEVEL DUE TO A FEEDWATER ( FW ) CONTROL FAILURE | | | | AT APPROXIMATELY 0648 EST ON 1/26/2000 CONTROL ROOM OPERATORS RESPONDED TO A | | FEEDWATER CONTROL FAILURE ALARM. WHILE INVESTIGATING, FEEDWATER PUMP SPEED | | DECREASED CAUSING REACTOR VESSEL WATER LEVEL ( RVWL ) TO DROP FROM ITS NORMAL | | OPERATING LEVEL OF 37.5" TO APPROXIMATELY -45". AT 0" AN AUTOMATIC REACTOR | | SCRAM AND GROUP 2 ENGINEERED SAFEGUARDS FEATURES ( ESF ) ACTUATION OCCURRED, | | AS EXPECTED. ALL CONTROL RODS FULLY INSERTED. AT -38" BOTH THE HIGH | | PRESSURE COOLANT INJECTION ( HPCI ) AND REACTOR CORE ISOLATION COOLING ( RCIC ) | | SYSTEM RECEIVED A START SIGNAL. HPCI INJECTED UNTIL THE HPCI PUMP TRIPPED | | AT ITS RVWL SETPOINT OF 51.5". THE FW PUMPS TRIPPED AT 58" WITH RVWL SWELL | | CAUSING LEVEL TO REACH 100". FOLLOWING THE LEVEL TRANSIENT OPERATORS HAD | | DIFFICULTY IN ESTABLISHING THE LO-LO SET RANGE FOR PRESSURE CONTROL. | | NORMALLY, ONE OF THE FOUR SAFETY RELIEF VALVES USED FOR PRESSURE CONTROL, | | i.e., "H", "A", "G", OR "C" SRV, IS OPENED ELECTRICALLY FROM THE CONTROL | | ROOM WHICH THEN ESTABLISHES THE LOWER PRESSURE CONTROL. TEN OF THE ELEVEN | | SRVs FAILED TO OPEN IN RESPONSE TO CONTROL ROOM SWITCH POSITIONING. THE | | LAST SRV ATTEMPTED, THE "B" SRV, OPENED. UNIT 1 IS CURRENTLY STABLE IN HOT | | SHUTDOWN REJECTING DECAY HEAT TO THE TORUS WITH BOTH TRAINS OF SUPPRESSION | | POOL COOLING IN SERVICE. EFFORTS ARE UNDERWAY TO RESTORE THE MAIN CONDENSER | | AS A HEAT SINK. UNIT 1 INTENDS TO COOLDOWN TO INVESTIGATE AND RESOLVE THE | | PROBLEM WITH THE SRVs. THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT THE SRV MECHANICAL | | SAFETY OR ADS FUNCTION IS IMPAIRED AT THIS TIME. DURING THE TRANSIENT, | | REACTOR COOLANT SYSTEM ( RCS ) TEMP AND PRESSURE DECREASED FROM THEIR NORMAL | | AT POWER VALUES OF 532 DEGREES F AND 1035 PSIG TO AN OBSERVED MINIMUM OF 480 | | DEGREES F AND 871 PSIG. BOTH ARE CURRENTLY AT 510 DEGREES F AND 977 PSIG. | | THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT THE 100 DEGREES F/ HR COOLDOWN RATE WAS | | EXCEEDED. | | | | THE LICENSEE INFORMED THE NRC RESIDENT INSPECTOR. | +--------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------+

-- Bill P (porterwn@one.net), January 27, 2000.

The Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, is
located near Baxley in southeastern Georgia.

Farey Nuclear Plant is located in southeast
Alabama, east of Dothan, Alabama.

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), January 27, 2000.

Clickable map for info on the plant near you.

Nuclear Control Institute

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), January 27, 2000.

............................

The Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant, located near Baxley in southeastern Georgia, is jointly owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electrical Authority of Georgia and the City of Dalton (2.2%).

Unit 1 is rated at 924 megawatts and Unit 2 is rated at 924 megawatts. The plant is powered by boiling water reactors (BWR) supplied by General Electric Company.

...............

The Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant, located near Dothan in southeast Alabama, is owned by Alabama Power and operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Company. It is one of three nuclear facilities in the Southern electric system.

Construction of the plant began in 1970. Unit 1 achieved commercial operation in December 1977. Unit 2 began commercial peration in July 1981. The total cost of the plant was about $1.57 billion.

Each unit is capable of generating 888 megawatts (Mw) for a total of 1,776 megawatts. The plant is powered by pressurized water reactors (PWR) manufactured by Westinghouse. In 1998 Plant Farley supplied 18.1 percent of Alabama Power's electricity, generating more than 11.5 million megawatt hours.

....................................... Bugeye

-- Bugeye (New@lurker.com), January 27, 2000.

There seem to have been quite a number of valve problems recently in nuclear plants. I have the current day's reports bookmarked but does anyone know how to get a summary from say the first of the year?

-- Pam (jpjgood@penn.com), January 27, 2000.

Dare one suggest Electronically controled valves! Let's ee..Electronically controlled; doesn't that mean digital possibly? Oh well! Just another one of those "date challenged" problems they are dealing with..Hey Joe! Send up a replacement from stores will ya!

I wonder if Mr. Krempasky is composing up his "Doomer" posting yet? "As for me...I shall finish the Game" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shakey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-- Shakey (in_a_bunker@forty.feet), January 27, 2000.

This is getting to be a little too much for me. If you read this thread:

Link

It's obvious that we are experiencing greater than normal rate of failure. So I called the Hatch plant directly, and after being tranfered around many times, finally spoke to Steve Tipps (912-367- 2378).

He informed me that the problem, initially identified as a feed water pump problem, was actually a problem with a"control switch for a valve in the feedwater system"

It was a worn spring control switch. Purely mechanical. Due to it's failure, the feedwater system failed in a closed position.

So feed water levels went down. There will be an update to the "red phone" report which evidentally feeds the NRC site noted above.

He insists there were no embedded systems involved with this failure.

My questions for anyone who knows about these things:

Is this a load of crap I've been told, or is this truly non-system related??? Could this type of problem really be misdiagnosed as a slowing down of the feedwater pump???

-- Duke1983 (Duke1983@aol.com), January 27, 2000.

Hey Spindoc, Can you hear the drum roll? What's the total for January now? 12? I'm sure it has nothing to do with Y2K right?Probably be explained as another mechanical failure. Sure.

-- Shoo (flyonthewalls@yahoo.com), January 27, 2000.

Wait! LOOK! Up in the SKY!!!!!!! It's ..... it's SUPER-KREMPASKY!! Not to worry folks, Here's SUPER-K with his syuper-statistics to substantiate his soothing condescending factoid-posts, reassuring us all that HE ALONE knows anything, and will willingly speak the last word resolving our every indecsision.

>"<

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.tree), January 27, 2000.

Can anyone out there answer my question posed above:

Is this a load of crap I've been told, or is this truly non-system related??? Could this type of problem really be misdiagnosed as a slowing down of the feedwater pump???

-- Duke1983 (Duke1983@aol.com), January 27, 2000.

By the way, looks like the number for Steve Tipps is incorrect. 2378 is definitely his extension at Hatch, but the exchange I gave seems to be the wrong exchange. 912-367-7781 will get you into the facility, then ask for his extension or name. Thanks!

-- Duke1983 (Duke1983@aol.com), January 27, 2000.

Shoo,

I think you may be confusing me with Mr. John H Krempasky. Actually, my opinions tend to be opposite from his. It seems to me that the nuclear plant shutdown rate appears to be substantially greater than normal, but the data isn't all in yet. Given the circumstantial evidence, the larger failure rate *may* be due to y2k problems, but it's too soon to tell.

Spindoc'

-- Spindoc' (spindoc_99_2000@yahoo.com), January 28, 2000.

Time to scram!



"If you live within 50 miles of a nuclear reactor, you're toast."

-- Hawk (flyin@high.again), January 29, 2000.