Brattleboro Reformer
March 16, 2005
By CAROLYN LORIE
BRATTLEBORO -- The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board dismissed one of the state's legal challenges in the Vermont Yankee uprate case.
On Oct. 18, 2004, the Vermont Department of Public Service filed a late contention -- after the five it originally filed -- challenging a calculation plant officials included in their uprate application.
The calculation had to do with the ability of plant operators to act in time to keep the core covered, in the event of an accident.
If Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee is allowed to produce 20 percent more power, the amount of time it would take for the core to be exposed during an accident would drop from 25.3 minutes to 21.3 minutes.
In the uprate application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, plant officials claimed that operators could start the cooling systems that would keep the core covered within 15 minutes. The claim was based on a shutdown analysis that was done but it had not yet been verified. Verification was expected on Dec. 1, 2004.
The state, however, charged that the application was not in compliance with NRC regulations because it had not verified its calculations but was instead relying on assumptions.
Furthermore, the state argued that not only was verification needed but it had to verify the calculations according to NRC regulations.
While the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board -- a quasi-judicial body that presides over licensing hearings -- accepted the state's challenge, it limited it to the need for verification.
It rejected the state's request that the method of proving the calculation and the conclusions reached also had to be proven accurate.
On Dec. 8, 2004, Entergy officials submitted the report to the NRC. In it, plant officials stated that a training program guide had been developed for the operators and that all six licensed operators crews had been trained.
It also stated that each crew took part in a timed dry run of the new procedure and demonstrated that the cooling systems could be started within "approximately 15 minutes."
Because the verification had been completed, the board dismissed the contention.
According to state nuclear engineer Bill Sherman, the Department of Public Service wanted the issue kept open until the NRC reviewed the data.
He added that the department is reviewing its options, one of which would be to file a new contention focused solely on the conclusions of the verification process.
In other Vermont Yankee news, the NRC staff reported to the board that they did not yet have a schedule for completing several reports the board requested.
According to documents filed, the staff could not provide a schedule due to the "continued delays in the submission of necessary application supplements" from Vermont Yankee.
When asked why there was a delay, Rob Williams, spokesman for the plant, said that staff and contractors "were taking the time necessary" to insure that all the information was accurate and complete.
The uprate will boost power production at Vermont Yankee by 20%. The plant currently produces 30% of the state’s electricity and, unlike plants that burn fossil fuels, does not emit greenhouse gases or other pollutants into the atmosphere.
This uprate will allow the plant to provide the people of Vermont with environmentally clean electricity and will eliminate the need for additional transmission lines. Throughout this process, Vermont Yankee has been working with the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board which has ruled that the proposed uprate will in no way adversely effect the safe operation of the plant.
Vermont Yankee and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are still collaborating to identify a date for the uprate to begin.
