Nuke Plant in Critical SItuation - in the Carolinas?

[truedelphi]

Anyone who is in the Carolinas, is this on your local news?


Officials: Fire/Explosion Reported at US Nuclear Plant — Emergency Alert Declared — Fire/Explosion occurred after “unexpected power decrease” in reactor — “Emergency response facilities staffed” — “Abnormal event with potential to impact plant equipment or public health and safety” (VIDEO)

Published: February 9th, 2016 at 11:03 am ET
By ENENews
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159 comments

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Feb 8, 2016 (emphasis added): Facility: BRUNSWICK [Nuclear Plant in N.C.]… Emergency Class: ALERT… EMERGENCY DECLARED… RPS [Reactor Protection System] ACTUATION – CRITICAL… MANUAL SCRAM AND ALERT DECLARATION DUE TO ELECTRICAL FAULT RESULTING IN FIRE/EXPLOSION… Unit 1 declared an Alert… due to an explosion/fire in the Balance of Plant 4 kV switchgear bus area. Prior to the Alert declaration, the operators initiated a manual SCRAM due to an unexpected power decrease from 88% to 40%. The licensee has visually verified that there is no ongoing fire and is investigating the initial cause of the event… [T]he licensee reported the following… “a manual reactor scram was initiated due to loss of both recirculation system variable speed drives as a result of an electrical fault. At this time, a Startup Auxiliary Transformer (SAT) experienced a lockout fault; interrupting offsite power to emergency buses 1 and 2. Emergency Diesel Generators (EDGs) 1, 2, 3, and 4 automatically started”… The licensee has notified… DHS, FEMA, USDA, HHS, DOE, DHS NICC, EPA… FDA… and Nuclear SSA…

WWAY, Feb 7, 2016: Electrical damage sets off alert at Brunswick Nuclear Plant… An Alert is the second in increasing significance of four nuclear emergency classifications.

WECT, Feb 8, 2016: [Unit 1] remains in shutdown mode, while officials work through “detailed process/procedures to fully understand this event and make the needed repairs”… An alert… is used when abnormal events have the potential to impact plant equipment or public health and safety… No estimated timeline has been given for getting Unit 1 back into service.

North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Feb 7, 2016: Duke Energy notified the emergency management agencies… of damaged electrical equipment at the Brunswick Nuclear Plant…

Duke Energy, Feb 7, 2016: Alert declared and exited at Brunswick… federal, state and local officials were notified, and Brunswick plant emergency response facilities were staffed…

WWAY’s broadcast here

[noretreatnosurrender]

1. Wow

First NY and now NC?

[HassleCat]

2. Why this sounds serious

OK, let's translate some of the technical gobbledegook. The disturbing part of this report is that it sounds like the system that circulates coolant through the reactor core is not working because the electrical system that supplies the coolant pumps has failed. That's why the diesel generators started automatically. I expect the system is set up to automatically switch the coolant pumps to the diesel generators when they start, so coolant should be flowing through the reactor core, I hope, as long as they keep the diesel generators running.

SCRAM just means they shut down the reactor by driving or dropping the control rods into the reactor core very quickly. The problem is, a reactor continues to produce lots of heat, called "decay heat," after it's shut down, so it has to be cooled or it will melt. The initial event sounds like what the tech geeks call a CLOFA, catastrophic loss of flow accident. In spite of the word "catastophic," this is not the worst kind of accident, and things will be OK if they can keep cooling the reactor after the SCRAM.

[Wilms]

4. It's a bit jumbled on close reading.

They talk about an unexpected power decrease (is that the plant...or the recirculating). Then they mention explosion.

But also, they switched to back/up power but got "locked out". So they went to the generators and that, fortunately worked.

Seems scary.

[Fred Drum]

5. a loss of flow causes an automatic scram

they manually scrammed, so i would say there was never a loss of flow

[truedelphi]

7. Thanks for the clear explanation.

Although I do appreciate you offering reassurance, the experts always reassure us that things will be fine as long as "they can keep cooling the reactor down after the SCRAM."

It didn't work out that well at Harrisburg back in late 1970's. So I do hope this incident is stopped, with the situation normalized by now.

[yodermon]

3. I think this is a Fukushima type reactor

if memory serves, will double check

[truedelphi]

8. Thanks yoderman. n/t

[mindwalker_i]

6. I'll bring the hot dogs!

What's a couple of stray neutrons between friends?

[Paulie]

9. Keep calm and

Baryon

[mindwalker_i]

10. That was a quarky joke, a little bt charming, a little strange

I'm glad you lepton it.

[Paulie]

11. I'm up and down with the spin!

[mindwalker_i]

12. Well, I hope this conversation does get too conservative

They wouldn't like that around here We'll have to gauge it carefully.

[Paulie]

13. Momentum will abide

[mindwalker_i]

14. What a great way to start the day

Unfortunately, it will decay rapidly.

[Paulie]

15. Entropy wins

But I wouldn't ionize too much about it. As long as there is Brownian motion, there is life.

[Mojorabbit]

24. I needed the laugh!!! nt

[Paulie]

25. Here's one more: The universe is

Really gassy.

[Mojorabbit]

26. LOL! nt

[marions ghost]

16. Location

https://www.duke-energy.com/power-plants/nuclear/brunswick.asp

Located south of Wilmington near all the lower NC resort beaches.

[truedelphi]

17. The photo of the nuke plant that is displayed on that website

Makes the place look like some sort of Zen-style Buddhist retreat center!

[KamaAina]

18. First the Panthers melt down in the Super Bowl, now this!

In between, Gov. McCrony (R-Yuck!) got in a car accident!

[KamaAina]

19. I have a close friend who has family down there

right in Southport, the nearest town.

[KamaAina]

20. Must not have been a very big deal

top local news story down there is a winter weather advisory. (YUGE sigh of relief)

[Beach Rat]

21. It's Duke Energy. What could possibly go wrong?

[truedelphi]

28. Good to know they got THAT situation

under control.

I have been looking to see what mishaps the company is involved in. (I live in Calif., and PG & E, the state's major utility has done nothing wrong other than incinerate a neighborhood over in Burlingame, in the SF Bay area, and then try to sue the locals for the problem! Oh and the little matter of PG & E Enron-ning their business, using Enron itself to help them. This means that we citizens have an additional 20 Billion Dollars in utility fees to make up over the next ten yrs.)

But it seems that Duke has had so many people complaining abut the theft of their monies via Duke Energy's "automatic debit of checking account" that I would need to two or three days just to sift through those accounts to get to actual injury and property destruction incidents.

[closeupready]

22. Just finished last weekened watching "The China Syndrome" for a second time.

Weird how a film like that can still be just as riveting almost 40 years later, and even on subsequent viewings.

K&R

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. So that was 4 days ago.

Unit at Brunswick Nuclear Plant remains in shutdown

This situation never posed a threat to public safety, according to the Department of Public Safety. However, officials say it provided the state’s emergency response team with an opportunity to test and coordinate plans and procedures.

At 5:30 p.m. the alert was downgraded to an Unusual Event as plant operators realigned plant equipment.

An Unusual Event is the lowest of four nuclear emergency classifications.

Since then, the Brunswick Nuclear Plant has exited all event classifications.

http://www.wect.com/story/31162342/unit-at-brunswick-nuclear-plant-remains-in-shutdown

[truedelphi]

27. I'm relieved to hear that this event did not become another

Three Mile Island.

But disheartened when I think of all the many nuke plants that sit close to an ocean - and therefore at risk to a Fukishima type event.

We keep fighting to have headway on the issue of the San Onofre nuke plant here in Southern California. Haven't followed the activists' blogs lately and no longer remember the status of the plant. Couldn't say if it is up and running or shut down.

But with Global Climate Change and all the weird weather,we really should not have any nuke plants on our coastal shores.