Fukushima Update 6-21-2011 Fort Calhoun and Cooper Flooding Nuclear Plants

From: Chris in Delaware

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 13:14:27 –0400 Fukhshima Update - News with Commentary:

IAEA ministers agree to more nuke regulations http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/21_08.html

Ministers from the International Atomic Energy Agency member countries have agreed to set up a new international framework so that countries can cooperate in the event of an emergency at a nuclear power plant.

More than 900 participants, a record number, joined a 5-day meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna on Monday.

The ministers attended the first-day conference consisting of a plenary session and a working session to discuss the Fukushima accident. They received briefings from the IAEA team and the Japanese government.

The ministerial meeting will continue until Friday and is expected to discuss measures to bolster nuclear safety.

The participants unanimously adopted a ministerial declaration, agreeing that the IAEA will send experts to review the safety of nuclear power plants on a regular basis.

Some emerging economies are reluctant to strengthen safety regulations because of the cost of building and maintaining nuclear plants.

At the beginning of the conference, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano advised Japan to ensure absolute independence of its nuclear regulatory bodies.

He said the agency pointed out 4 years ago that Japan's regulator, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, should be free from other organizations, but said that the country did not revise the regulatory system.

Japan's Economy and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda, who is attending the meeting, said he wants to implement the IAEA's safety recommendation as soon as possible.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 07:19 +0900 (JST) Commentary:

What in heck has the IAEA been doing since its inception in 1957???? These are the folks who are supposed to be the best of the best in nuclear sciences and engineering, in order to promote intergovernmental scientific and technical cooperation amongst the signatories of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. A while ago I mentioned how disappointed I was with the international response. I don't see this as world government, but cooperation by all signatories of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. Nuclear Power can make a huge mess. Good neighbors help each other voluntarily, but they need to be prepared, with a plan and equipment.

2nd entrance opened at No.2 reactor http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20_23.html

Two doors at a disabled reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been opened as a part of efforts to bring down humidity inside the building.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says the humidity near the entrance dropped to 58.7 percent on Monday morning when the first door was opened. The ventilation began only after the operator had filtered radioactive substances from the air inside the building.

The second door was opened in the afternoon.

The humidity in the reactor building had been near 100 percent before the doors were opened because of steam believed to be from the containment vessel and a spent-fuel storage pool.

The utility now hopes workers will be able to enter the building to begin calibrating a water level gauge for the reactor and carrying out other tasks.

TEPCO says no significant change in radiation levels has been observed outside the plant.

The No.2 reactor is believed to have released more radioactive substances than the other damaged reactors.

Monday, June 20, 2011 19:00 +0900 (JST) Commentary:

It would be good to know the actual water level in the Unit 2 Reactor Vessel. We've been flying blind for months now. Let's wish them luck.

Pool reinforcement continues at No.4 reactor http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/21_03.html

Tokyo Electric Power Company is continuing work to reinforce a spent fuel pool at the Number 4 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The walls supporting the pool were heavily damaged by a hydrogen blast on March 15th, following the earthquake and tsunami 4 days earlier.

The pool contains 1,535 spent fuel rods and its weakened structure makes it vulnerable to future earthquakes.

TEPCO on Monday completed one stage of the reinforcement that began late last month. 32 iron pillars, each 8 meters tall and weighing 40 tons, were installed beneath the pool on the 2nd floor of the reactor building.

The utility plans to wrap the pillars in concrete by the end of next month.

TEPCO then plans to install the same type of circulatory cooling system used for the spent fuel pool at the No. 2 reactor.

It hopes to lower the temperature of the pool at the No. 4 reactor, which remains high at around 86 degrees Celsius.

But TEPCO found that the March 15th explosion damaged water pipes connected to the pool, which are integral parts of the cooling system.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 07:20 +0900 (JST) Commentary:

To me, this means that Unit 4 Spent Fuel Pool is not holding water, or at least enough to cover the Spent Fuel Assemblies (1,535 Assemblies). Remember that this Unit, had all its Core, offloaded into the Spent Fuel Pool for maintenance. Imagine performing construction work in a highly radioactive field, in high temperature and high humidity, standing in pools of radioactive water. Hostile environment to say the least, but it needs to be done. Again, wish them luck.

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Cooper Nuclear Plant. Cooper is approximately 70 Miles South of Omaha on the Missouri River. Cooper is a Dual Unit BWR, very similar to Browns Ferry. They are considered more advanced than Fukushima and are BWR 4 designs.

Flood Stats:

- Grade Elevation for Plant is 903' Above Mean Sea Level (MSL)

- This equates to River Stage of 46.5' as measured at the plant site.

- On 6/19/2011 @ 0402 CDT, Cooper declared a Notification of Unusual Event for River Level 42.5' or 899' above MSL (with the expectation that the River will rise further). The Declaration is in accordance with Plant Procedure. (see Notification below):

Power Reactor	Event Number: 46969
Facility: COOPER	Region: 4 State: NE
Unit: [1] [ ] [ ]	RX Type: [1] GE-4
NRC Notified By: BENJAMIN KEHOE	HQ OPS Officer: DONALD NORWOOD
Notification Date: 06/19/2011	Notification Time: 05:27 [ET]
Event Date: 06/19/2011	Event Time: 04:02 [CDT]
Last Update Date: 06/19/2011	Emergency Class: UNUSUAL EVENT

10 CFR Section:

50.72(a) (1) (i) - EMERGENCY DECLARED

50.72(b)(2)(xi) - OFFSITE NOTIFICATION

Person (Organization): GREG WERNER (R4DO), ERIC LEEDS (NRR), ELMO COLLINS (R4), JANE MARSHALL (IRD), JEFFREY JOSEY (SRI), ROD BRADSHAW (DHS), PETE VITALE (FEMA)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
1	N	Y	100	Power Operation	100	Power Operation

Event Text - UNUSUAL EVENT DECLARED DUE TO MISSOURI RIVER FLOODING

At 0402 CDT on 6/19/2011 a Notification of Unusual Event was declared due to the elevation of the Missouri River reaching 899.1 feet above mean sea level. This is above the Emergency Action Level HU1.5 elevation of 899 feet. The Missouri River is expected to crest at 899.5 feet within the next couple of days. It is expected that the elevation of the Missouri River will remain above 899 feet for most of the summer.

Actions are in progress in accordance with the site flooding procedure, including strategic placement of sand bags at building entrances and important facilities. There is no major plant equipment out of service at this time. Personnel access to the site is not presently impeded. Emergency evacuation routes remain available.

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector. The licensee notified the State of Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, the State of Missouri State Emergency Management Agency, the Nemaha County Emergency Operations Center, the Richardson County Emergency Operations Center and the Atchison County Emergency Operations Center.

* * * UPDATED FROM BRIAN STANDER TO DONALD NORWOOD AT 0743 EDT ON 6/19/2011 * * *

"On 6/19/2011 at 0447 CDT, Nebraska Public Power District issued a press release concerning the declaration of a Notification of Unusual Event declared today at 0402 for the Missouri River elevation above 899 feet above sea level.

"This is a four hour report per 10CFR50.72(b)(2)(xi) for any event or situation for which a news release is planned or notification to other government agencies has been or will be made which is related to heightened public or government concern. State and local agencies were notified of the expected news release during the NOUE notification.

"At 0402 CDT, Missouri River elevation was at 899.1 feet. No updated river projections are available at this time. Level is expected to remain at least below plant grade elevation. No deficiencies with the nearby protective levees have been identified surrounding the plant. Actions are in progress in accordance with the site flooding procedure, including strategic placement of sandbags at building entrances and important facilities. Personnel access to the site is not presently impeded, and required emergency evacuation routes remain available."

The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Notified R4DO (Werner).

Also see most recent Photograph of inundated Cooper Plant (Below) - most recent I could find:

Inundated Cooper Nuclear Plant

Fort Calhoun. Fort Calhoun is approximately 20 Miles North of Omaha on the Missouri River. It is a Combustion Engineering Single Unit Plant. It too is flooded, perhaps more severely than Cooper at this time. A Notification of Unusual Event has been declared at this site for abnormally high River Level, on June 6, 2011. It is still in effect. Although there was a fire at this station on the 7th, causing an Alert to be declared, this Emergency Level has been backed down to an Unusual Event due to Flooding.

Power Reactor	Event Number: 46929
Facility: FORT CALHOUN	Region: 4 State: NE
Unit: [1] [ ] [ ]	RX Type: (1) CE
NRC Notified By: ROBERT CROSS	HQ OPS Officer: CHARLES TEAL
Notification Date: 06/06/2011	Notification Time: 09:12 [ET]
Event Date: 06/06/2011	Event Time: 08:00 [CDT]
Last Update Date: 06/06/2011	Emergency Class: UNUSUAL EVENT

10 CFR Section:

50.72(a) (1) (i) - EMERGENCY DECLARED

50.72(b)(3)(xiii) - LOSS COMM/ASMT/RESPONSE

Person (Organization): JACK WHITTEN (R4DO), JOHN THORP (NRR), ELMO COLLINS (R4), BRUCE BOGER (NRR), JANE MARSHALL (IR), DANE GATES (DHS), PETE VITALE (FEMA)

Unit	SCRAM Code	RX CRIT	Initial PWR	Initial RX Mode	Current PWR	Current RX Mode
1	N	N	0	Cold Shutdown	0	Cold Shutdown

Event Text - UNUSUAL EVENT DECLARED DUE TO RIVER LEVEL

"At 0800 CDT a Notification of Unusual Event (HU 1, EAL 5) for operating mode less than 210 degrees F is being declared for a river level expected to exceed a 1004' MSL (Mean Sea Level), but less than or equal to 1009' MSL elevation. Currently Abnormal Operating Procedure AOP-1 is being implemented for high river level, as well as, PE-RR-AE-1001 for Flood Barrier and Sandbag Staging and Installation. This condition is being reported pursuant to 10 CFR 50.72(a)(1)(i) for declaration of an emergency class specified in the licensee's approved emergency plan. Applicable governmental agencies have been notified per plant procedures. No press release is expected at this time."

* * * UPDATE FROM ERICK MATZKE TO PETE SNYDER AT 1121 EDT ON 6/6/2011 * * *

"During the emergency notification the automated paging function did not cause the pagers to actuate. The issue is being investigated." A notification for 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(xiii) be added to the header.

Notified R4DO (Whitten).

* * * UPDATE FROM ERICK MATZKE TO HOWIE CROUCH AT 1305 EDT ON 6/6/2011 * * *

"OPPD will be making a press release for this event at about 1220 CDT."

The licensee will be notifying the NRC Resident Inspector. Notified R4DO (Whitten) and HQPAO (Brenner).

Inundated Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant

Commentary:

Which plant is in better shape to withstand Flooding PLUS another event. OR will flooding alone prove to be the demise of either plant. There was or is precipitation to the North of Nebraska on the prairie. No doubt that this will affect the flow of the Missouri River and its heights. But what about other effects? Tornadic activity is still being experienced in adjacent regions. A lucky shot can take away some or all of the plant's power used for cooling and decay heat removal. Below is a brief evaluation of the two plant's condition and how they are prepared.

Even though plants in the US score a low C or high D compared with Fukushima's F, we can see that there are some good practices and plenty of room for improvement.

Fort Calhoun - Decay Heat relatively Low because no Fission has occurred since April 6th. This is still plenty of heat if cooling systems are lost, to cause considerable damage. Fukushima Unit 4 was also in an Outage on March 11. More time to fuel damage.	Cooper - Still in Power Operation. If decay heat removal is lost, back up systems are extremely vital and soon.
Fort Calhoun - The Core that has been in operation prior to the Outage is in the Reactor Vessel and not in the Spent Fuel Pool. This means that there is a higher heat load in the Reactor Vessel than in the Spent Fuel Pool, however, they did lose Spent Fuel Pool Cooling because of the Fire, and the Temperature rose 2 degrees in a short time period.	Cooper- Similar Heat Load in the Spent Fuel Pools on site. Cooling would be an issue shortly after loss of power.
Fort Calhoun - The Reactor Head is OFF the Vessel and the Refueling Pool is Filled. This means that there is Atmospheric (or Containment Pressure) on the Reactor - This condition makes it much easier to fill, even by Gravity Feeding in the event of a loss of Power.	Cooper - The Units are in Operation, at approximately 1000 PSIG, of course with the Reactor Heads on The Reactor Vessel. This would make it impossible to fill the Reactor Vessel if the Power were lost and the batteries down.

In this condition, Fort Calhoun wins the Safety Race for Low Decay Heat and Easy to Fill/Makeup to the Reactor.

Preparation Grades

US gets Grade “C”

Fort Calhoun clearly has portable Emergency Diesel Generators visible in several photographs. I also understand that Cooper has taken similar precautions already. Other equipment has been preemptively installed and is prepped for use. Because we still rely on Sandbags and Water-filled dams to mitigate flooding, and that we still are not prepared for multiple events (or we would not require Portable Equipment), we get a C. Moses is not going to part this sea away from the Power Plants.

Fukushima of course, Failed.

There can be no "Grading Curve" when it comes to Nuclear Power.