Dominion Seeks to Add Nuclear Reactor in Louisa Co.

NBC29.COM - RICHMOND, Va (WVIR) - Dominion Virginia Power has plans to build a new nuclear reactor in Louisa County, but the idea has some worried.

Dominion already has two nuclear reactors running at the North Anna Power Station, but the company is going through the licensing process to add a third.

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North Anna Nuclear Power Station To Face Additional Federal Oversight

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Dominion Virginia Power will face additional federal oversight at its North Anna Nuclear Power Station in central Virginia because of a safety violation related to its emergency diesel generators, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday.
Federal regulators said inspectors found that a gasket failure prevented one of the four diesel generators from performing its function following the August 5.8-magnitude earthquake. The failed gasket was not caused by nor related to the earthquake. While the gasket was replaced the same day, inspectors found the plant did not have adequate procedures for installing it.
Richmond-based Dominion discussed the issue with federal regulations in April. The NRC has deemed it a "white" violation, or being of low to moderate safety significance. The NRC evaluates performance at commercial nuclear power plants with a color-coded system that classifies findings as green, white, yellow or red, in increasing order of safety significance.
Dominion spokesman Rick Zuercher said the energy provider isn't challenging the NRC's findings but said the issue never posed any public threat and that maintenance procedures have been improved at the plant about 40 miles northwest of Richmond.
Additionally on Monday, the NRC said that after meeting with Dominion, it found no violation at the company's nuclear power plant in Surry.
The NRC had said last month that inspectors found Dominion failed to provide appropriate maintenance procedures for a standpipe that indicates coolant levels in one of the reactors at its Surry plant during maintenance activities. In a letter to Dominion on Monday, regulators said that the basis for the preliminary finding and apparent violation described in the inspection report are "no longer valid."
Dominion Virginia Power is a subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc., one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy. It serves retail customers in 15 states and has the nation's largest natural gas storage system.

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Virginia: Latest reports on North Anna nuclear plant

LOUISA, VA (WWBT) - It's back in operation, but is the North Anna Nuclear Plant safe after last summer's historic earthquake? Residents still want to know and Tuesday night, they got a chance to speak with regulators at the power station's annual assessment meeting.

Many are rebuilding, now eight months after the earthquake, but several residents say they're having a hard time building confidence in the safety of the North Anna Nuclear Plant. It's located not far from the August earthquake's epi-center.  

 "This seems to be the worst place to put and operate a nuclear power plant," Chris Dorsey told regulators Tuesday night.

Officials say it meets regulations. And even though the earthquake registered higher than what the plant was designed to withstand, officials say nuclear power plants are rarely built to a minimum standard-- that there was some margin for a larger seismic event.

But we did ask officials checking for safety point-blank, is the plant safe for those living nearby?

Roger Hannah, with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission says, "Absolutely. If the North Anna Nuclear Plant were not safe, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would not allow the plant to operate."

We asked Jerry Bishof, Vice President of the North Anna Power Station, "Are you comfortable that this site is safe moving forward if there were to be another earthquake?"

He told us, "Absolutely!"

Then he told us, he moved his family nearby the plant.

Those guarantees are enough to convince neighbor Michael Rigdon. He lives two miles from the plant and is also a former nuclear engineer for another company.

"People that live across the street have no reason to worry about anything," said Rigdon.

 "We want to be sure that the plant is operated safely. That's our goal and that's what our inspectors do on a daily basis," said Hannah.

Officials tell us regulations regarding power plants are being re-assessed after the earthquake and flooding in Japan.

They say it could lead to more stringent regulations for power plants in the future, and that Lake Anna will be a focal point of research because of the earthquake nearby.

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Virginia: North Anna Nuclear Plant Safety Meeting Set

MINERAL, Va. (AP) - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a public meeting to discuss its annual assessment of the safety performance of Dominion's North Anna nuclear power plant.

Federal regulators are set to hold the meeting next week to answer questions on the safety performance of the plant about 40 miles northwest of Richmond and discuss the NRC's role in ensuring plant operations.

NRC officials say that the plant operated safely in 2011 and is under normal oversight. The NRC, however, says it has not yet finalized the significance of an inspection finding related to the failure of a gasket on one of the plant's emergency diesel generators.

The meeting will take place May 1 from 5-7 p.m. at Louisa County Middle School in Mineral.

NRC flags incident at Dominion nuclear plant

April 11, 2012, 11:59 p.m. EDT

By Drew FitzGerald

Federal inspectors found shortcomings with an equipment replacement at Dominion Resources Inc.'s D -0.06% North Anna nuclear power plant in Virginia after an August earthquake forced it to shut down.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it will discuss an apparent violation of the plant's technical specifications with Dominion officials on April 20 before determining how to proceed.

Inspectors flagged the plant after finding a gasket failure prevented one of its emergency diesel generators from working properly. Workers replaced the gasket the same day, but the NRC said the utility company didn't have adequate procedures for installing the part.

A Dominion spokesman said the company looks forward providing the NRC with details about the event, adding the incident didn't affect public health or safety.

Nuclear safety procedures have attracted renewed public attention after Japan's earthquake catastrophe last year exposed gaps in its nuclear industry's disaster preparedness. The country's Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered a triple meltdown after an earthquake-triggered tsunami knocked out backup generators that were supposed to keep the reactors cool.

On Tuesday, the NRC said it determined the significance of the North Anna deficiency was "greater than green" on its color-coded safety scale, which ranges from green to red in severity. The NRC has not determined the event's actual significance, however.

Dominion in October said the North Anna plant was ready to restart after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake forced it to shut down. The utility said it had "found no damage whatsoever that could preclude operation."

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North Anna nuclear plant reports elevated tritium reading

Location: Central Virginia, U.S.A.

By RUSTY DENNEN

For the second time in 16 months, elevated levels of tritium have been found in groundwater at North Anna Power Station.

The sample, reported Tuesday by Dominion power to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, contained 53,300 picocuries of tritium per liter of water. That is above the voluntary reporting threshold of 20,000 picocuries. A picocurie (pronounced PEE-ko curee) is one trillionth of a curie—a measurement of radioactivity.

Tritium is a weakly radioactive hydrogen isotope that is formed in nature, and also during the operation of nuclear power plants.

A Dominion official said there is no danger to plant workers or to the public.

According to the NRC, someone drinking water from a well with a level of 1,600 picocuries for a year would receive a radiation dose equal to 1 percent of that from a dental X–ray.

The report says hydrological studies at North Anna have determined that the groundwater in that area migrates away from Lake Anna, built in the 1970s to cool the plant’s reactors.

The report says there is “no increase in the projected annual [tritium] dose to the public,” and no sources of drinking water in the area.

Groundwater-monitoring sites outside the plant’s protected area showed no detectable levels of tritium, meaning there is no migration of the substance off-site.

The sample, taken at one of eight monitoring sites at the plant on the Louisa County shore of Lake Anna, was obtained as part of ongoing study to determine the source of tritium first reported to the state and the NRC in October 2010.

At that time, a monitoring-well sample showed a tritium concentration of 16,500 picocuries per liter. Normal for that site is 3,000 to 4,000 picocuries.

“It’s a very small amount, and is not migrating off-site,” said Richard Zuercher, spokesman for Dominion’s nuclear power operations.

Zuercher said the sample was taken between the Unit 1 containment building and its turbine building.

The underground circulation-water tunnel for Unit 2 was one known source of tritium. When the units were shut down because of the Aug. 23 earthquake, “We did extensive inspection in the tunnel and made repairs where water may have migrated out of the tunnel and into the soil,” Zuercher said.

He said that area is no longer considered a contributor to to the problem.

Excessive levels of tritium in groundwater have been a concern at nuclear power plants in recent years.

Leaking steam pipes caused tritium to leak into groundwater at Entergy Corp.’s Vermont Yankee plant. Elevated levels have also been reported at Entergy’s Pilgrim plant in Plymouth, Mass.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking-water threshold is 20,000 picocuries. Nuclear plants must file written reports with the NRC for any levels over 30,000 picocuries.

North Anna has had a radiological monitoring program since Units 1 and 2 went online in 1978 and 1980, respectively. Wells have been monitored for tritium since 2006.

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