Alabama Nuclear Plant, Farley, Gets a "Yellow" Card

An inspection at the Farley nuclear plant near Dothan, Alabama turned up a problem with valves in a heat removal system and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has designated the issue as "yellow", as in a yellow alert. The findings of the inspection will result in more in-depth inspections and reviews to decide what actions need to be taken to restore the plant to full safety compliance.

The inspections took place in May, after sump suction valves in the heat removal and containment system failed in two instances in April 2006 and again in January 2007. The NRC assessed that the Southern Nuclear Operating Company, which owns the Farley plant, had not corrected the issue, as they should have. The NRC determined the failure was "yellow, a warning that needed to be addressed.

The NRC worked with the Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNOC) to see what SNOC was doing or had done to fix the safety issue. Not satisfied with SNOC's response to the matter, the NRC found that the "yellow" assessment was correct and appropriate, and the company will be issued a violation citation.

"Yellow" status means that the Farley Plant will be placed in the "degraded cornerstone" category in the NRC framework for safety issues and corresponding actions. This status will result in much closer scrutiny and more fervent inspections by the NRC. The NRC has four levels of these safety assessments, and "yellow" is the second highest level of significant safety concerns, after "red." The lowest rating on the safety alert scale is "green" and "white" is just above green.

The NRC Regional Administrator William Travers said in the NRC press release announcing the "yellow" designation, "I want to reassure residents near Farley that the plant continues to operate safely. However, the failure to promptly address these valve failures warrants increased oversight by the NRC."

The NRC will continue to work with Farley to take corrective measures and ensure that the plant is moving forward to meet minimum safety levels. However, the Farley plant will remain in the "degraded cornerstone" category for at least one year.

There are ten other nuclear plants that fall into the "degraded cornerstone column" in the NRC "action matrix," in which plants have any color above a "green" category of issues (although the plants may have numerous "green issues). The Brunswick 2 Plant in North Carolina has a "white" designation for an emergency power system issue as well as numerous green "issues". Oconee Plants 1, 2 and 3 in South Carolina also have white issues with the emergency power system.

The D.C. Cook Plants 1 and 2 in Southern Michigan on the shores of Lake Michigan each has yellow issues with the alert and notification systems. Fort Calhoun in Nebraska has a white issue in safety system functional failures. Kewaunee in Wisconsin has two white issues in the emergency power system and unplanned scrams, which is an issue with heat removal failure.

Palo Verde 1 and 2 in Arizona complete the list with yellow warnings that have been addressed, but not so far as to the root problems that caused the original warning, but the matter has been downgraded to green status. However, Palo Verde 3 is the only operating nuclear plant in the US to have had multiple warnings and remains in the "repetitive degraded cornerstone" category in the NRC matrix.

In the NRC action matrix, there are five categories. The lowest and first step or category is simply a "licensee response", followed by a "regulatory response." The degraded cornerstone category is next, and if there is more than one instance of the degraded cornerstone classification, then the plant moves into the "multiple/repetitive" category such as Palo Verde 3. The fifth and most significant column that will lead to a plant being shut down is the "unacceptable performance column." Currently, no plants are listed in the fifth column.

Source: Nuclear Regulatory Commission