NRC NEWS

 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

 801 Warrenville Road

 Lisle IL 60532

 Web Site: http://www.nrc.gov E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

No. III-04-008 February 11, 2004

CONTACT: Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663 

Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662 

NRC SENIOR OFFICIALS WILL MEET WITH POINT BEACH

MANAGEMENT TO DISCUSS PLANT PERFORMANCE 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Executive Director for Operations, William Travers,

the Regional Administrator for NRC Region III, James Caldwell, and other NRC officials will meet

with representatives of Nuclear Management Company on February 20 to discuss performance at Point

Beach Power Station and the results of a special inspection which thoroughly reviewed the overall

performance at the plant. The plant is located near Two Rivers, Wisconsin.

The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. at the Holiday Inn, 4601 Calumet Avenue, in Manitowoc,

Wisconsin. The public is invited to observe the meeting and will have an opportunity to make

comments and ask questions of the NRC staff before the meeting is adjourned.

The NRC conducted a special in-depth inspection in response to a significant safety finding

related to the auxiliary feedwater system identified by plant personnel in 2001. 

NRC inspection findings are evaluated using a four-level scale of safety significance, ranging

from "green" for a finding of very low significance, through "white" and "yellow" to "red," for a

finding of high safety significance. 

The 2001 “red” finding was associated with a problem with valves on the auxiliary feedwater

system recirculation lines. The NRC determined that if these valves failed to function because of

equipment damage, the protective recirculation flow required to support the operation of the auxiliary

feedwater pumps would stop and result in pump damage. 

 

A second “red” finding was associated with potential blockage of recirulation lines in the

auxiliary feedwater system by debris typically found in the plant’s service water system under certain

abnormal conditions. This blockage could also lead to pump damage. This problem, which was

related to the first "red" finding in that they both affect the auxiliary feedwater recirculation system,

was discovered by the utility in October of 2002.

The auxiliary feedwater system is used to safely cool the reactor if problems occur during plant

operations and to continue removing heat from the reactor after shutdown. The service water system is

the backup to the normal supply of water to the auxiliary feedwater system.
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Normal plant operations were not affected by these problems. The utility took action to revise

procedures and train reactor operators to address the immediate safety concerns and modified the

auxiliary feedwater system to further correct these problems.

The two "red" findings were treated separately because they occurred at different points in

time.

The special inspection was tasked with taking a comprehensive look at principal aspects of

plant operations to identify other possible performance problems. It examined the adequacy of the

utility’s investigation and the corrective actions to address both auxiliary feedwater pump issues. The

results of the inspection were discussed at a public meeting in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, on December

16, 2003 (refer to press release issued on December 9, 2003).

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