Seabrook nuke plant's renewal pushed back

Sep 19 - Gloucester Daily Times (MA)

 

More than four years after Seabrook's NextEra Energy Seabrook nuclear power plant filed for a 20-year extension to its license, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has again revised its schedule for the application, with the decision date now pushed back to March 2016 .

But that can still change, officials say.

In June 2010 -- 20 years after beginning commercial production of electricity -- NextEra applied for a 20-year extension of its operating license, from 2030 to 2050, as allowed by the commission's regulations.

The NRC customarily spends from 22 to 30 months reviewing license renewal applications. Involving two tracks -- safety and environmental -- during the review, the NRC looks at the management and programs of the key safety systems, structures and components to ensure they can meet the extended time period and regulations. There is also a very thorough environmental review to study any potential environmental impact the plant might have if it continues for another 20 years.

But Seabrook Station's review schedule was derailed when a concrete degradation problem was reported to the NRC after NextEra staff discovered the problem while conducting inspections for the extension application. The problem is known as alkali-silica reaction, or ASR, which happened when water seeped into subterranean concrete structures and interacted with some of the materials used to make concrete. The reaction combined to form alkali-silica gel, which expands within the concrete, causing very tiny micro-cracks.

After numerous inspections, the NRC has assured the public that ASR has not affected the safety or stability of Seabrook Station . But NRC Region 1 spokesman Neil Sheehan said the NRC does not intend to issue a final decision on the Seabrook license renewal application until it has reviewed and approved a long-term plan from NextEra on how it will manage concrete degradation at the plant.

The future of the plant has drawn the attention of lawmakers and other officials in two states, and it has drawn interest on Cape Ann . While none of Cape Ann's communities lie within the recognized 10-mile evacuation zone in the event of any accident, the plant sits just 17 miles across the water from Rockport's Halibut Point State Park , and on clear days is visible from Rockport and Gloucester's village of Lanesville.

This week, the NRC Office of License Renewal issued its latest full update of the schedule for Seabrook Station's license renewal application. According to the notice, NRC's staff will issue its final supplemental environmental impact statement for the application in February 2015 and a final safety evaluation report in November 2015 .

But Debbie Grinnell , of Newburyport -based Seabrook Station watchdog C-10, believes the NRC's schedule could be pushed considerably further out due to another ASR study being conducted that won't be ready for years.

Grinnell said that in 2013, the Nuclear Energy Standards Coordination Collaborative issued a report on the standards of repair of nuclear plant concrete structures. The conclusion was that the current research on ASR concrete degradation has not reached a level to mitigate or predict the service life of Seabrook (Station), Grinnel said.

The task force included C-10's expert, Dr. Paul Brown , as well as representatives from NextEra and the NRC, she said.

In March 2014 , the NRC formed a $6 million agreement to study ASR with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to be completed by May 2018 .

"The goal is the following," Grinnell said, "to aid Seabrook Station to develop a comprehensive plan to assess the plant, do additional testing, develop long-term monitoring criteria, and conduct a structural assessment under design loads and long-term age management."

Sheehan confirmed that the NRC contracted with the NIST for research to develop a technical basis for enhancing the NRC's license renewal regulatory guidance concerning ASR. Once developed, the commission will incorporate the information into its principle guidance document for license renewal, he said.

This effort is to assess the structural performance of ASR-affected concrete structures for design basis static and dynamic loading and load combinations through their service life, including 20-year extensions beyond the original operating license, he said.

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