Chronology of Incidents at TMI Unit 1: 2004-2008

Below is a chronological account of safety incidents at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant Unit 1 reactor on the Susquehanna River.

 

Nov. 4, 2008

 

An integrated inspection of Three Mile Island's Unit 1 generating station found two violations of "very low safety significance." The inspection, completed Sept. 30, 2008 , found that fire seal inspections performed in August and October 2007 did not properly identify two degraded siesmic floor penetration fire seals and initiate corrective measures. 

The NRC reported explained that as a consequence of the failure, "numerous fire seals associated with plant areas containing safety related accident mitigation equipment remained degraded until independently identified by the NRC inspectors." 

The report went on to state that the finding was categorized as "Green" because "the cracks, foam separation and holes through the seals were small." 

Also, inspectors noted an equipment performance problem that was called "more than minor." A pump test did not set differential pressure according to code and "could have impacted proper vibration trending to adequately detect a degraded pump condition." 

Neither finding received a citation. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

 

May 29, 2008

Inspectors note repeat violation, other "Green" findings

 

Five violations, including one repetitive issue, went uncited after an inspection of Three Mile Island Unit 1 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, whose inspectors determined the findings were of very low safety significance. 

Inspectors identified a failure to implement engineering code requirements for in-service testing of decay heat removal pumps. AmerGen was found using differential pressure gauges that did not meet requirements for instrument accuracy, according to the NRC report. The issue was identified by AmerGen in 2005, but corrective action was not taken prior to testing the pumps in 2005 and 2007, the report explained. 

Inspectors found a regulatory guide was not followed and the "abnormal operating procedure" it outlined for loss of river water was not implemented adequately. Listed with that finding was a  note that AmerGen had realized hoses were missing in January 2008 but did not take action to replace the hoses until NRC inspectors identified the problem again. 

Also, AmerGen did not ensure that fuel consumption calculations included the additional fuel needed for allowable emergency diesel generator frequency variations of up the 61 Hertz. 

Inspectors also found a failure to provide safe shutdown actions for operators to manually operate a valve after any severe fire. Federal code requires emergency lighting with an eight-hour battery supply in areas where safe shutdown of equipment would be necessary. Emergency lighting was not provided at one valve and portions of the access and egress routes. 

A fifth, low safety significance violation was identified by AmerGen, reviewed by NRC inspectors and a corrective plan was made, according to the NRC report. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

May 21, 2008

NRC needs more info for license renewal application

Severe Accident Mitigation Alternatives lacking

 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission requested discussions of peer reviews related to risk assessment and analysis, as well as the indentification of related changes in the plant. 

 

May 16, 2008

Security violation leads to more checks 

 

The U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission will increase inspections at Three Mile Island Unit 1 for an incident, the nature of which was not clarified, though the public was assured it not not an issue of guards sleeping on duty.  

TMI was not cited for the incident, as it did not jeopardize public health and safety, in the estimation of inspectors. 

"The underlying issue was identified by the company, and the NRC has verified that appropriate actions have been taken to address the problem," Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the NRC told the York Daily Record/Sunday News. "As always, our inspectors will not leave the site until a security issue has either been fully addressed or compensatory measures put in place pending the completion of corrective actions."

Recently, TMI officials suspended an Exelon Nuclear Security guard for being inattentive while on duty. Last month, a security supervisor at the plant spotted a guard with his eyes closed.

As the supervisor approached the officer's post, the guard immediately opened his eyes and acknowledged the manager.

Both the NRC and Exelon are continuing to investigate that incident.

sadkins@ydr.com;771-2047 

 

 

May 15, 2008

Security determination stands 

 

The NRC made permanent its classification of a security finding as 

"Greater than Green," and of "greater than very low safety significance," following an undisclosed inspection finding from February 2007 that was reported by TMI. Owner Exelon and subsidiary AmerGen declined the opportunity to challenge the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's preliminary determination. 

The details of the security failure at TMI were not disclosed, as required by federal regulations. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

May 1, 2008

Guard accused of being inattentive

 

A security officer at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant was suspended from duty Tuesday for being inattentive, plant officials reported.

The officer was stationed in a rooftop enclosure but was not at a surveillance post, said Ralph DeSantis, a spokesman for AmerGen Energy, the subsidiary of Exelon Corp. that operates the plant.

Plant safety was never jeopardized and the officer was relieved of duty pending an investigation, DeSantis said.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees commercial nuclear power plants, was notified of the incident, said spokeswoman Diane Screnci. The NRC's resident inspectors will follow up with AmerGen to ensure that the company was following regulations.

NRC rules require that employees in critical positions, such as security officers and control room operators, be attentive at all times.

Tuesday's incident at TMI is the first since Exelon took over security at the plant on March 1 and the fifth involving inattentiveness or security in four years.

After incidents in 2004 and 2005, the company stepped up management oversight, requiring supervisors to make more frequent rounds of security posts. That program led to the discovery of the officer, DeSantis said.

-Report by Garry Lenton of the Patriot-News

 

April 25, 2008 

TMI inspection report clean 

 

An NRC integrated inspection of TMI's Unit 1 power station was completed March 31, 2008. The report stated, "no findings of significance were noted." 

 

Feb. 8, 2008

TMI security review after problem

 

TMI could not under federal regulations disclose the nature of a security deficiency identified in an inspection completed Feb. 8, 2008. However, a plant spokesman told the Patriot-News on March 26 that it caused no threat to public health and safety, and had been corrected. Plant security, however, is under review by the NRC, according to the Patriot-News report. 

The undisclosed finding was classified as moderate to serious. Many NRC inspection findings fall under the "Green" classification, the lowest in a four-tiered system of Green, White, Yellow and Red. This security issue was preliminarily classified as "Greater than Green," according to the NRC. 

An NRC report on the matter excluded details, but stated, "Recognizing local sensitivities related to the identification of inattentive officers at another facility last year, the staff notes that this finding does not involve inattentive security officers." The reference is to security guards videotaped while sleeping on duty at the Exelon's Peach Bottom nuclear power plant downriver from TMI, in 2007. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

Jan. 10, 2008

Wackenhut chief leaves after guards caught sleeping 

 

Wackenhut Corp. Chief Executive Officer Gary Sanders left a month after the security company lost contracts from Exelon Corp. because guards fell asleep on the job at a nuclear power plant.

Sanders, 55, will be replaced by G4S Plc Chief Operating Officer Grahame Gibson, Wackenhut said in a statement today. Gibson will continue to serve as operating chief and a board member of UK-based G4S, parent company of Wackenhut.

Exelon, owner of the largest fleet of U.S. commercial reactors, said last month it was terminating all nuclear-plant security contracts with Wackenhut after guards at its Peach Bottom reactor in Pennsylvania were videotaped asleep while on duty. The videotapes were made public in September.

The sleeping guards incident drew criticism from members of Congress, including Michigan Democratic Representatives John Dingell and Bart Stupak of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The legislators said this week they will ``conduct a comprehensive review'' of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's operations because of the sleeping guards and other agency issues.

``This change in leadership had nothing to do with the Exelon situation at all,'' Wackenhut spokesman Marc Shapiro said in a telephone interview. Wackenhut provides security service at 31 of the 65 U.S. nuclear power-plant sites. About half of the plants have their own in-house security services, said Lochbaum.

``Mr. Sanders' resignation does not resolve the outstanding issues of how Wackenhut handled security concerns at Peach Bottom or Wackenhut's performance at other facilities,'' Senator Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said in an e-mailed statement. 

-Report by Tina Seeley 

 

 

Nov. 27, 2007

More info needed for NRC to OK change 

 

The NRC asked TMI for more detail regarding a requested change to the plant's buffer pH control system. AmerGen sought in June 2007 to change the sump system in the reactor building from one using sodium hydroxide as a buffering chemical, to using trisodium phosphate (TSP), according to the NRC's response letter dated Nov. 27, 2007. 

The letter explained problems with TSP contacting dissolved calcium. The situation can cause "rapid formation of calcium phosphate precipitates that can be detriment to Emergency Core Cooling System operability," according to the letter. 

It further explained that any licensed nuclear plant that uses TSP must ensure that "their plant-specific calcium loading will not create a precipitate load that challenges the operability of the strainers." 

The NRC asked for a detailed account of any sources of calcium that could come within TMI's containment system, noting that even "calcium from leached concrete can contribute to chemical effects." The NRC further requested an account of the dissolved calcium levels from those sources, and for a comparison of the present buffer system to the proposed TSP system at the maximum pH value of 8, for the containment pool. 

-Report by Marlene Lang 

 

Nov. 9, 2007 

Watchdog takes a drive on TMI 

 

A nuclear safety hound and a photographer drove onto Three Mile Island on Thursday and spent more than 30 minutes photographing the plant without being challenged by security.

Eric Epstein, chairman of the watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert, said he and the photographer entered the island through the south gate and drove about a half mile to a parking lot. The location is about 200 yards from the high security area of the plant.

Epstein said he expected to be challenged by security guards at any moment, but wasn’t.

“It just became clear that we were not going to be challenged the farther we got onto the facility,” he said.

He called the experience disturbing and said it raised more questions about the adequacy of nuclear security.

But a spokesman for AmerGen Energy, the operator of the plant, said the only thing disturbing about the incident was that Epstein and the photographer trespassed on private property.

“From a nuclear security point of view, this poses no threat to the plant,” said Ralph DeSantis, spokesman for AmerGen.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which establishes security requirements for commercial nuclear reactors like TMI, said none of its procedures or requirements were violated, based on accounts provided by a reporter.

The state Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Radiation Protection also downplayed the event.

“These people were ... Outside the area where nuclear security can be compromised,” said Ron Ruman, a DEP spokesman. “Therefore, there was no reason for security personnel to act.”

Epstein said he crossed onto the island through the south gate, which is rarely used except when the plant is shut down for maintenance and refueling. TMI went off line for refueling two weeks ago.

During outages the south entrance is used by some 1,200 part-time employees hired to make repairs and upgrades at the plant.

Once across the bridge, Epstein drove to within 50 feet of a guard station, but made no attempt to go past it.

He said he saw no security officers during his visit.

Epstein said he was giving the photographer a drive-by tour of TMI when he noticed the gate to the south bridge was open and decided to go in.

“I was curious to see how far you could go without being stopped,” he said. “I was disturbed that I was able to penetrate that far onto the island without an impediment.”

The photographer declined comment.

Two years ago, AmerGen spent about $500,000 to build a fortified checkpoint that would stop vehicles using the south entrance from getting into the “protected” area of the plant. The checkpoint is about a half-mile from the south entrance and is only staffed during outages. The area, however, is under surveillance, officials said.

-Report by Garry Lenton of the Patritot-News

 

Oct. 24, 2007 

An integrated inspection of Three Mile Island Unit 1 was completed by the NRC on Sept. 30, 2007 and inspectors reported no findings of significance, according to a letter from the NRC to AmerGen's CEO. The letter accompanied a report on the scope of the inspection and results. 

 

Oct. 7, 2007 

Fire brigade rides elevator to fire

 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors said AmerGen allowed fire brigade members to use elevators while responding to an in-plant fire at TMI's Unit 1, even though power or control of the elevator could be lost because of the fire. 

Firefighters could potentially be trapped in the elevators, which would delay their response to a fire emergency, the report noted. 

Inspectors determined the fire safety violation of NRC regulations was of "very low safety significance," and TMI was not cited for the failure, according to the NRC's report. It fell under the "Green" category. 

The finding was entered into the plant's corrective action program, the Oct. 7, 2007 letter stated. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

October 2007

Inspectors found a violation of NRC regulations related to fire safety at TMI's Unit 1, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported the finding was of "very low safety significance," and TMI was not cited. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors said AmerGen allowed fire brigade members to use elevators while responding to an in-plant fire, even though power or control of the elevator could be lost because of the fire. Firefighters could potentially be trapped in the elevators, which would delay their response to a fire emergency, the report noted. 

The finding was entered into the plant's corrective action program, the Oct. 7, 2007 letter stated. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

 

October 2007 

Three Mile Island shuts down for refueling 

 

TMI planned to shut down for refueling and maintenance, a bi-annual routine. 

Though the plant was built in the early 1970s and it is time to reapply for its license, a TMI spokesman said the plant is not "that old." Ralph DeSantis told the Press And Journal of MIddletown that AmerGen spends $10 million each year on improvements, replacing and upgrading parts as needed. 

The company planned, at the end of 2007, to spend another $400 million in upgrades over the coming decade, DeSantis told the Press And Journal.

DeSantis also said that since the attacks of 9/11, AmerGen has invested $17 million in security upgrades.  

-Press And Journal report

 

Aug. 31, 2007 

Mid-year performance gets "Green" rating

 

A mid-cycle performance review by the NRC of Three Mile Island's Unit 1 showed the plant had operated within license requirements. The inspection covered the first half of 2007. According to the NRC's report, all inspection findings had "very low safety significance," and the plant had performed at a level requiring no additional NRC oversight, receiving a "Green" rating. 

The inspection report did not include security information, which is sent separately and is designated for official use only. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

July 19, 2007

OT worked was within limits 

 

Overtime hours worked by security officers at Three Mile Island for much of last year were mostly within limits imposed by federal regulators, an investigation by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission concluded.

The officers, who are employed by Wackenhut Nuclear Services, also said that a manpower shortage was disrupting training schedules and that fatigued staff were reluctant to report themselves unfit for duty for fear of losing their jobs.

Pay records obtained by the newspaper showed that one employee worked 13 hours a day, five to six days a week for six weeks.

But the NRC, relying on an internal investigation carried out by Exelon Nuclear, the parent company of plant operator AmerGen Energy, concluded that the hours worked were allowable under agency rules. Those rules allow individuals to work up to 72 hours a week. The rule also permits plant operators to average the hours worked by several employees, allowing some, but not all, to spend longer hours on the job.

The probe found two exceptions where a security officer worked more than the allowed hours. The finding was characterized as a minor violation that didn't require an enforcement action, according to the NRC's report.

Investigators found two instances where training was delayed, but both sessions were rescheduled, the report said.

Investigators also found that some security officers believed they could be disciplined for reporting themselves unfit for duty. But a review of Wackenhut records for 2006 "found no instances in which an officer was disciplined for self declaring," the report said.

-Report by Garry Lenton of the Patriot News 

 

July 11, 2007

NRC asks for more info before amending license

 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave AmerGen 30 days to provide more information before the NRC would grant an amendment to TMI's Unit 1 license. 

AmerGen in March 2007 requested an amendment to its license to operate the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, asking for approval of changes to the variable low pressure trip setpoint that would reflect more restrictive Safety Limits and more restrictive Limited Safety System Settings for the Reactor Protection System. 

A separate letter from the NRC, also dated July 11, 2007, said AmerGen had requested relief from code requirements of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), asking to use an alternative ultrasonic testing method rather than radiographic examination, as ASME requires.  

The request was withdrawn on March 30, 2007. 

 

June 29, 2007 

Test deferral OK'd

 

The NRC approved a request from Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear station for a one-time test interval extension.  

The deferral allowed a Type-A leak rate test to be performed 15 beyond the original requirements, during a planned refueling outage in November 2009, rather than on code schedule in September 2008. 

The NRC found that the deferral could be granted without endangering public health or safety, according to a statement from the NRC Plant Licensing Branch to AmerGen. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

April 26, 2007

NRC approves limits on hours worked 

 

Security workers and others in critical jobs at the nation's nuclear plants will no longer be allowed to log excessive overtime hours under new rules approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The change in the NRC's "fitness for duty" requirements is meant to reduce fatigue among plant employees and improve safety and security.

Exelon Nuclear, owner of Three Mile Island, Peach Bottom and Limerick nuclear stations in Pennsylvania, and seven other plants nationwide, expects to increase security staffing to reduce overtime.

"Any area where you have 24/7 coverage is most likely to be impacted," said Craig Nesbit, a spokesman for the company.

The regulations, which should go into effect this year, end a policy that allowed plant operators to meet work-hour limits by averaging the hours of dozens of employees. The process allowed some employees to log hundreds of hours of overtime a month. The new rule bases hourly limits on individuals.

The work-hour limits apply to security, maintenance and operations staffers, such as control room operators.

The rule is common sense, said Dave Lochbaum, a nuclear safety expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group.

"Groups don't get tired. People do," he said.

The shortcomings of group averaging were evident at TMI, where some security officers employed by Wackenhut Nuclear Services logged 72-hour weeks for six weeks straight last year.

In 2005, TMI officials cited three security workers for being inattentive or sleeping on the job. Each incident occurred during the night shift. Security officers contacted by The Patriot-News at the time said the incidents were not surprising given the overtime officers were being compelled to work.

The NRC rule, which must undergo review by the federal Office of Management and budget before it goes into effect, also:

 

• Increases the minimum break between shifts from eight hours to 10.

• Establishes training requirements for fatigue management.

• Limits the reasons plant operators may waive the hourly limits.

• Revises drug- and alcohol-testing requirements.

 

-Report by Garry Lenton of the Patriot-News

 

March 22, 2007 

LIcense amendment requested for TMI 

 

AmerGen requested an amendment to its license to operate the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, specifically changes associated with instrument setpoints for the reactor coolant system pressure-temperature safety limit. 

 

March 2, 2007 

Annual inspection notes emergency response training back on track 

 

On Feb. 15, 2007, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed its annual performance review of TMI's Unit 1 for all of 2006. 

A letter from the NRC declared that "Overall, Three Mile Island Unit 1 operated in a manner that preserved public health and safety." Inspector found only minor issues of "very low safety significance," though a "White" level finding (second lowest of four levels) carried over into the first quarter of 2006 from November 2004. At that time, inspectors noted TMI was late to conduct required classroom retraining for some members of the emergency response organization. A follow-up inspection found that matter had been addressed, the NRC reported in a March 2, 2007 letter. 

 

Jan. 18, 2007 

 

An NRC inspection reported one finding of "very low safety significance." According to a letter from the NRC chief to AmerGen, the "deficiency was promptly corrected or compensated for and the plant was in compliance with applicable protection and security requirements within the scope of (the) inspection before the inspection was complete." 

The letter did not specify the nature of the finding, for which AmerGen was not cited. 

-Report by Marlene Lang 

 

Dec. 13, 2006 

Security manager replaced

 

The chief of security at Three Mile Island has been replaced, but plant officials are not saying why they made the change. 

AmerGen Energy, the operator of the nuclear plant, confirmed yesterday that Derwin  Westbrook, manager of security for two years, no longer holds the post. Westbrook left the job Dec. 6. 

Company spokesman Ralph DeSantis said Westbrook remained an employee of AmerGen, but he would not say if the former chief was still working at TMI. DeSantis also declined to identify Westbrook's new responsibilities, or say if he left the job voluntarily or was removed. 

"I can't tell you anything other than that he is still employed by the company," DeSantis said. 

AmerGen is a subsidiary of Chicago-based Exelon Nuclear, which owns 10 nuclear plants in the U.S., including TMI, Peach Bottom and Limerick. 

Dan Deboer, TMI's operations support manager, was named as an interim replacement, DeSantis said. 

Deboer was responsible for working with the security force at TMI to ensure that it worked in concert with the plant's other department, DeSantis said. 

"Dan has a tremendous amount of managerial experience and is more than capable of doing that job," he said. 

Deboer becomes the third person to hold the post since 2004. He will remain in the job until the company can hire a replacement, DeSantis said. 

Exelon's philosophy is to rotate managers through departments in

the belief it gives them broader experience, DeSantis said. 

Westbrook maintained a low public profile during his tenure, but the retired military veteran oversaw extensive security upgrades at the plant during 2005 and 2006. Changes included the addition of concrete truck barriers, vehicle check points, double fencing and the addition of four guard towers. 

-Report by Garry Lenton of the Patriot-News

 

Dec. 13, 2006 

TMI see second automatic shut down in six weeks

 

Three Mile Island's Unit 1 reactor shut down automatically just before 6 p.m. on Dec. 13, after a sensor in the plant detected a fluctuation in voltage coming from an off site power grid that provides the plant's electricity. 

"There was a problem locally in Middletown with a power line and that created an under-voltage on the power coming into the plant," a TMI spokesman told the Patriot-News days after the shut down. A computer that reads power levels coming into the plant predicts whether power, when low, is about to fail, TMI's Ralph DeSantis explained. "The computer was wrong," he said. He also told the Patriot-News, "A plant shut down is not cheap." 

Steam escaping from relief valves produced a loud "whoosh" noise heard by residents within a few miles of the plant. 

It was the second time in a month and a half  that the plant experienced an automatic shut down.  Prior to a Nov. 2 shut down, the plant had not seen such an event in nine years, TMI officials told the press. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

Dec. 7, 2006 

Scientist calls AmerGen report to NRC a " confessed violation" 

 

David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists asked the NRC on Dec. 7, 2006, how it would handle AmerGen's "confessed violation of federal regulations," by using terminology in an incident report that the company said "was not technically accurate." 

Lochbaum referred to a Nov. 2 incident when TMI's Unit 1 reactor was tripped by two safety steam valves, and one of the valves was reportedly "stuck open" for 34 minutes while operators worked to return pressure to a level that would reseat the valve. AmerGen recanted use of the term "stuck open" and subsequently updated its original report, according to a Nov. 29 letter from NRC Division of Reactor Projects director David Lew. 

The Union of Concerned Scientists and Three Mile Island Alert challenged AmerGen's report, saying the original report that said the safety valve was "stuck open" must not have been complete and accurate, if there was a need to change it. If so, stated Lochbaum, the need to make the change constitutes a violation of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), which he quotes in his letter: 

(a) Information provided to the (Nuclear Regulatory) Commission by an applicant for a license or by a licensee or information required by statute or by the Commission's regulations, orders, or license conditions to be maintained by the applicant or the licensee shall be complete and accurate in all material respects.

 

Lochbaum, director of nuclear safety for the UCS, requested a response from the NRC on whether AmerGen violated federal code by telling the NRC the safety valve was "stuck open" on Nov. 2, and then saying it was not stuck open. 

In a Nov. 6 letter, Lochbaum said that the report of the event "strongly suggest(s)  that operator training and/or operating procedures at the Three Mile Island are alarmingly deficient." 

 

Nov. 9 2006 

NRC requests more info on steam generator tube integrity 

 

Three Mile Island on May 15, 2006, proposed deleting reference in its license amendment to sleeving as a repair method in its Unit 1 steam generator. The proposed amendment was to revise the technical specifications to be consistent with Nuclear Regulatory Commission-approved standards. 

A letter from the NRC to TMI's CEO asked for inspection and repair criteria, including technical bases, for the existing sleeved tubes, and for an explanation of how TMI's proposed program ensures integrity of the sleeved tubes. 

The NRC also asked whether TMI planned to add the proposed criteria to its technical specifications and if not, to explain. 

-Report by Marlene Lang 

 

Nov. 4, 2006

Worker injured, TMI remains shut down for days

 

The Patriot-News reported a TMI worker who fell from a scaffold when a sudden release of steam caught him by surprise during the Nov. 2 shutdown was treated for a leg injury. 

 

Nov. 2, 2006 

Reactor shutdown triggered by generator steam valve problem 

NRC, AmerGen recant use of term "stuck open" in incident report

 

Two steam generator valves tripped TMI's Unit 1 reactor in an situation that took  operators more than half an hour to resolve; one of the two Main Steam Safety Valves (MSSVs) remained open while operators brought pressure down to a level that would cause the valve to close. 

Plant officials said monitors sent incorrect information the the reactor control room. One of three sensors measuring steam temperature, pressure and flow at the plant was out of service for maintenance at the time of the incident, the Patriot-News reported on Nov. 4. A TMI spokesman said the sensors sent data that was out of the normal range to a computer that automatically shut down the reactor. 

No radiation was released, TMI told reporters. 

The NRC's Daily Event Report for Nov. 2, 2006 read: "At 1334 on 11-2-06 an Automatic Reactor Trip occurred from 100 percent power. All systems functioned as required. One safety valve stuck open on both OTSG (once-through steam generators). The subsequently re-seated." 

The NRC reported the 'B' safety valve reseated five minutes after the reactor trip, as the valves are designed to do within a range of pressure just below lifting pressure. Generator pressure drops as decay heat is removed and the valves should close, or "reseat" without operator help, a Nov. 29, 2006 letter explained. 

In the letter to the Union of Concerned Scientists and Three Mile Island Alert, the NRC said its original report had used the term "stuck open" to explain what happened with the 'A' MSSV, and why the valve took 34 minutes to reseat. 

The letter said NRC inspectors on site during the incident questioned use of the wording. AmerGen responded by saying the term "stuck open" was "not technically accurate" and should not have been included in the report filed. The NRC agreed, saying AmerGen "could have been more accurate in their terminology." 

AmerGen "subsequently updated" the federal report "to more accurately describe" the condition of the steam safety valves, the NRC letter explained. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

Sept. 30, 2006 

NRC inspection finds one violation

 

In a letter dated Nov. 2, 2006, the NRC reported finding a low level alarm instrument inoperable on July 11, 2006. The report stated that previous corrective actions were untimely and permitted the borated water storage tank's low level alarm to "remain unreliable for extended periods of time." Actions to restore instrument reliability were not implemented, according to the report. 

The NRC categorized the issue as "more than minor, because the unreliable low-level alarm "reduced the likelihood that operators would successfully perform the risk critical manual decay heat removal suction swap-over function," which in turn, "reduced the reliability of the low pressure recirculation, low pressure injection, and reactor building spray safety functions in response to a design basis loss of coolant accident." 

Inspectors also concluded that station personnel had not implemented the station-wide instrument performance trending program over four years. 

The finding was labeled "of very low significance," because there was no actual loss of safety function because of it. 

-Report by Marlene Lang 

 

Sept. 18, 2006

Four rented vehicles catch fire in a TMI parking lot

 

Three pickup trucks and one backhoe caught fire in a parking lot on Three Mile Island at 8:45 on a Monday evening. The vehicles were rented from Hertz by a TMI contractor. The cause of the fire remained undetermined days later. 

Londonderry Township fire officials said there were no signs of arson and that with vehicle fires, causes are hard to determine. The fire took less than half an hour to extinguish. 

TMI officials said there was no threat to the plant during the incident, according to a local newspaper. 

-Press And Journal report

 

August 2006 

Performance review for first half of 2006 OK

 

The NRC's technical staff completed a mid-cycle performance review of Three Mile Island's Unit 1 reactor site for the first half of 2006, and reported "all inspection findings being classified as having very low safety significance (Green)."

A report on an inspection of the plant's physical protection was exempt from public disclosure and a separate letter was sent out, in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

June, 2006 

Tritium concentration double the limit leaks into TMI parking lot

 

A water sample taken on June 1, 2006 from manway T-4 found water contained 45,000 picocuries of tritium per liter (pCi/L). The EPA limit for drinking water is 20,000 pCi/L. 

According to an inspection report released in July 2006, tests of nearby groundwater wells did not show elevated levels of tritium. A probe to find the source of the tritium at manway T-4 traced the underground cableway back to the plant and identified that manway T-5, a telephone cable conduit 500 feet closer to the plant, also contained water. Another sample also showed leakage of tritium into manway access T-6, according to the report. 

The report stated TMI "subsequently controlled the water as a radioactive effluent and subsequently collected and analyzed the water for controlled discharge." 

The next day, June 2, workers identified that water had come from the condensate system and had reached the parking lot via a series of underground telephone cable conduit runs. On June 4, 2006, engineers determined the tritium water was "a leak from an underground, four-inch line from the condensate system to the condensate storage tank," the report stated. 

The pipe was dug up, and patched to stop the leak, according to the report. 

TMI workers continued "enhanced monitoring" of ground water wells and determined that none of the tritium water had left Three Mile Island. State and federal officials were informed of the leak, the report noted. 

AmerGen also found a flaw in its safe shutdown fire mitigation plan, "due to insufficient technical rigor," the NRC reported on July 26, 2006. The plant's "safe shut-down analysis" did not identify that, in a fire involving multiple high impendance faults, "a loss of all four vital inverters could occur in the time until the 'B' and 'D' buses were recovered. An engineering evaluation of a possible fire scenario found the existing procedure would fail, according to the report. 

Corrective action included creation of a "one-hour fire watch" and other procedural changes. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

June 21, 2006 

Group sues feds, state over daycare plans

 

Eric Epstein of Three Mile Island Alert formally notified Harvey Johnson, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Edward G. Rendell, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Samuel Collins, Regional Administrator of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, of their systematic, deliberate, and coordinated failure to enforce and implement federal laws, regulations and guidelines relating to emergency planning requirements for nursery schools and day care centers located within 10 miles of nuclear generating stations.

 

May 15, 2006

NRC reports on identification and resolution of problems at TMI 

 

NRC inspectors determined that problem identification was inconsistent over a two-year period at the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear power plant. 

According to a May 15 report, an inspection concluded at the end of March also found that AmerGen staff were not aligned with current expectations to identify problems and initiate Issue Reports (IRs). In some cases staff did not initiate IRs for known deficiencies and problems, which then were not evaluated and corrected, according to the report. 

One specific problem identified was TMI's failure to establish required procedures for combatting emergencies caused by failed electricity in certain situations. AmerGen acknowledge the problems and provided the teams involved with procedures for abnormal operating. The finding was not considered "more than minor" but AmerGen was not cited, as "the finding does not contribute to both the likelihood of a reactor trip AND and likelihood that mitigation equipment or functions will not be available," the report stated. 

In a similar finding, the NRC noted AmerGen failed to establish values for test findings of safety-related pumps. This failure did not receive a citation, the report explained, because the pump in question remained operable with no loss of safety function. 

A deficient evaluation lead to a failed correction of an system. Inspectors found that following maintenance, "ineffective corrective actions" caused "unknown quantities of air" to be force through a decay hear pump casing and "into the downstream piping." There was no evaluation of the potential consequences to the decay heat and makeup systems, to verify that no air remained in the piping, the report stated. This was part of the corrective action AmerGen is to take. 

The incident was not cited, as it did not result in an actual failure of any safety-reated system, the report explained. 

In a similar finding, deficient surveillance procedures resulted in air getting into the sodium hydroxide piping to several core cooling systems, during testing. 

Again, no citation was issued and the finding was labeled of very low safety significance, as no actual failure of the emergency core cooling systems occurred. 

Also, AmerGen did not comply with inservice test requirements for a binding containment isolation check valve problem that was identified on Nov. 2, 2005, the report noted. The check valve was not identified as inoperable and the cause of its failure was not analyzed and other check valves in the same group were not examined or tested during the same refueling outage. 

The failure's potential affect on containment barrier performance went uncited, as inspectors' evaluation was that the finding was of very low safety significance. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

May 4, 2006

Integrated inspection of TMI Unit 1 finds joints improperly installed 

 

Inspectors identified three control building chiller expansion joints that were incorrectly installed during an NRC integrated inspection that ended March 31, 2006. A report from the NRC stated that station personnel did not properly establish and implement work instructions for replacement of the 'B' control building chiller expansion joints. 

The failure "reduced the reliability and availability of area cooling for the control room and vital alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) electrical power supplies for numerous safety-related mitigating systems."  The finding was called "more than minor" but was not cited and was said to be of "very low significance" because it did not involve and actual failure of an expansion joint or loss of a system safety function. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

April 2006 

River levels rise, algae highest in 20 years 

 

Inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission performed a routine inspection of AmerGen's Three Mile Island plant in April 2006, when heavy rains raised the level of the Susquehanna River, increased debris in the river and produced the largest filamentous algae bloom in the river in two decades. 

The review noted the impact of the algae on various pumps at the TMI plant, which is situated on an  island on the river. 

Impacts included: decay heat river water, reactor river water, nuclear river water, secondary river water and fire protection water, the report stated. 

Operators, on April 23, 2006, noticed river water pump discharge strainer differential pressures rose quickly, the NRC report said. Filamentous algae was collecting on the strainers, causing increased differential pressure and reduced river water flow. 

Also noted in the report of the April-through-June inspection, filed in July 2006, was an excessively worn flexible gear drive, identified during a planned outage of an emergency diesel generator. 

Five "degraded equipment" issues were noted in the report, one noted when leakage was seen from a pump vacuum break check valve, indicating the valve would not fully seat, according to the NRC report. 

TMI engineers also identified a "control logic error" in circuitry which could have represented a fire hazard, if it had allowed a spurious opening of the valves during any fire in the auxiliary building. 

Plant operators also found high differential pressure on a NR (nuclear reactor) strainer, because of the algae bloom in the Susquehanna River after April's rains. 

Also noted was an increase in vibration readings at the auxiliary lubricating oil pump. Inspectors questioned whether late or deferred performance of preventive maintenance tasks challenge reliability or operability of the plant. 

Inspectors also examined whether AmerGen was maintaining occupation radiation exposure of personnel at "as low as is reasonably acheivable" (ALARA) levels. The NRC reviewed AmerGen's 5-year exposure reduction plan along with other initiatives to reduce long-term exposure of workers to radiation. "No findings of significance were identified," the report stated.  

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

April 18, 2006

Audit of TMI's management of regulatory commitments 

 

An audit  of management of the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island was performed at AmerGen's office at Kennett Square, Pa., by Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff on Jan. 11 and 12, 2006. Required every three years for nuclear reactors, the aim of the audit was to verify that TMI was implementing NRC regulatory commitments and managing changes to those commitments. 

The audit report stated that NRC staff was satisfied that this was being done in a timely manner. 

 

April 12, 2006

NRC annual public meeting called 'lovefest' as TMI gets mixed report card 

 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) gave Three Mile Island’s operators a mixed report card on their 2005 performance, saying both that the plant was being managed well and that owners need to pay more attention to several critical areas.

“We concluded the station operated safely and met all cornerstone inspection requirements,” said David M. Kern, NRC senior resident inspector at TMI’s annual assessment meeting April 5.

But TMI-Alert chairman Eric Epstein and vice-chairman William Cologie both said the number of letters, emails and other correspondence from the public and even workers at TMI has increased.

“We’re getting a record number of employees contacting us,” Cologie said.

Epstein said he doesn’t understand how the commission can continue to give TMI a favorable rating. He called the annual meeting a “love-fest” and “absurd.”

Although the NRC gave AmerGen and Exelon good marks for running the nuclear plant safely, there have been some well-documented incidents over the last six months. TMI had problems with equipment, inattentive workers and security guards. In addition, Exelon-owned facilities in Illinois had radioactive water leaks, prompting inspections of TMI and other Exelon facilities around the country. 

In addition, communities around Pennsylvania’s nuclear plants are still lacking comprehensive emergency plans, including evacuation plans for daycare and preschool children.

- From reports by Jim Ryan of the Press And Journal

 

March 4, 2006 

TMI plant shut down as radiation monitors fail 

 

Operators reduced the plant power from 100 percent to 85 percent on March 4, 2006 for the periodic freedom of movement testing of main turbine control valves and control rod drive mechanisms. Full power was restored the next day. 

But on March 10, 2006, both condenser off gas radiation monitors became inoperable. As required by code in such an instance, operators began a plant shutdown, according to a letter dated May 4, 2006 from the NRC to AmerGen Energy Company. Early on March 11, the two radiation monitors were repaired and the plant shutdown halted; operation was stabilized at 70 percent reactor power initially and was at 100 percent by later that day. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

March 2, 2006

Annual Assessment Letter TMI Unit 1

 

The Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear power generating plant operated "in a manner that preserved public health and safety and fully met all cornerstone objectives" during 2005. 

The performance review did not include physical protection/security related information, which was delivered separately, marked for official use only. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

March 1, 2006

Drop-in inspections planned by state 

 

Prompted by reports of sleeping or inattentive employees at Three Mile Island, the state said it will conduct surprise inspections at least twice a month at Pennsylvania's five nuclear power plants. 

The first round of inspections last month found no instances of inattentiveness on the part of control roomoperators or plant security, Gov. Ed Rendell said yesterday. 

 

The state Department of Environmental Protection will continue the inspections through the end of the year. Then the DEP will decide whether to continue the practice, said Ronald Ruman, a department spokesman. 

The inspections came shortly after The Patriot-News reported on five cases of inattentiveness at TMI that occurred since March 2004. 

Report by Garry Lenton of the Patriot-News 

 

Feb. 28, 2006 

NRC examining TMI security

 

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to investigate the management of the security force at Three Mile Island, focusing on fitness-for-duty issues such as fatigue and sleeping on the job. 

The probe, announced in a certified letter delivered to a Patriot-News reporter, was prompted by a story published Jan. 29. 

The story reported on a memo in which John Young, head of the Wackenhut security, scolded security supervisors for failing to note that veteran officers were telling new hires safe places to sleep undetected while on duty. Wackenhut is a private security firm hired by plant owner Exelon Nuclear to guard the nuclear station.  

The memo also said officers were telling new hires ways to short-cut patrol duties. 

Of additional concern to the NRC were reports that security officers were being allowed to work excessive hours. The newspaper documented one person who worked more than 150 hours during a 14-day period, and averaged more than 54 hours a week for more than 10 months. 

Since March 2004, AmerGen Energy, the operator of TMI, investigated and disciplined five workers for "inattentiveness to duty." The phrase is used by the industry and regulators to cover an array of conditions, including sleeping. Three of those workers were security officers. 

Guards, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said fatigue from long hours and boredom were to blame for the inattentiveness. 

Guards work 12-hour shifts at TMI. Federal regulations limit those hours to 16 out of 24; 26 hours out of 48; and 72 out of seven days. 

The agency said it will not announce the findings of the probe. "Due to the nature of the security-related issues ... we are not providing you with further information on this matter," wrote David J. Vito, senior allegation coordinator for the NRC.  

 The secrecy reflects a change in policy since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said Rick Urban, an allegations coordinator with the NRC. 

David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said he was not surprised that the agency planned to keep the results of the probe secret. The agency has been in a security blackout since 9/11, he said. 

Still, he said he is encouraged by the agency's decision to investigate. 

"I think it's a positive step," Lochbaum said. 

AmerGen spokesman Ralph DeSantis said yesterday that he was not aware of the NRC probe, but said the company would cooperate with the agency. 

DeSantis said the company conducted its own investigation of Young's memo and concluded that the concerns were unfounded. The company also brought in an outside investigator to look into two allegations of inattentiveness at the plant last December. 

-Report by Garry Lenton of the Patriot-News

 

Feb. 27, 2006

An incident related to emergency preparedness, of low to moderate safety significance (White level), was noted by NRC inspectors. An assessment letter dated March 2, 2006 noted that a required annual classroom retraining for some members of the emergency response organization was not conducted in a timely manner as required. 

-Report by Marlene Lang

 

Feb. 19, 2006

TMI checks water for contamination 

 

The operators of Three Mile Island, Peach Bottom and Limerick nuclear power plants are checking their systems for leaks of water laced with tritium, a radioactive isotope linked to cancer. 

Chicago-based Exelon Energy Co., which owns the plants, ordered the inspections after water contaminated with tritium was found in the groundwater or in test wells at three of its plants in Illinois. Exelon owns 10 nuclear plants. 

The company ordered each plant to conduct inspections of systems that carry tritium-laced water. The inspections will include pipes, pumps, valves, tanks and other equipment, said Ralph DeSantis, a spokesman for AmerGen Energy, the operator of TMI and a subsidiary of Exelon. 

Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, is a byproduct of the nuclear reaction. In large doses, it has been linked to cancer. 

TMI officials have been monitoring tritium since shortly after the 1979 accident that destroyed the Unit 2 reactor. About a dozen monitoring wells are checked at TMI quarterly. 

Higher-than-usual tritium levels were found in a test well at TMI last fall, said David Allard, the director of the state Department of Environmental Protection's Radiation Control Program. The amounts never exceeded 19,000 picocuries per liter of water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows up to 20,000 picocuries per liter in drinking water. There is no standard for groundwater. 

The leak was traced to a sump pump and corrected, Allard said. 

Tritium-laced water is routinely released into the Susquehanna River by TMI, where it is diluted. 

The DEP monitors the river at Steelton and Columbia. "I'd be very surprised if we ever saw any tritium," Allard said. 

The EPA describes tritium as one of the least dangerous radioactive substances because it emits weak radiation and usually leaves the body within a month. 

-Report by Garry Lenton of the Patriot-News

 

January 30, 2006 

NRC integrated inspection of TMI Unit 1 

Containment barrier violations not cited

 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's integrated inspection  of Three Mile Island's Unit 1 completed Dec. 31, 2005, yielded three violations but no citations. Two were considered very low-level violations, but one was "Severity Level IV," still a "Green" violation. In that event, TMI failed to report  within 30 days, potentially disqualifying medical condition changes for three operators, as required for licensing. 

The violation was considered one of very low safety significance because "at no time did the individual stand watch without the medical condition being satisfied," the NRC's report stated. 

Inspectors also found multiple failures related to "control of materials brought into the reactor building containment while the plant was at power," which the report said "challenged plant safety." Listed as safety challenges were: the potential for hydrogen generation beyond design due to significant amounts of stored scaffolding, aluminum toe plates, unqualified materials (lead insulation blankets, painted scaffolding, plastic bags) with potential for reactor building sump pump clogging, as well as unrestrained stored materials inside containment. 

TMI was not cited for the potential breech of barrier integrity because, stated the NRC, no equipment was rendered inoperable and no actual open pathway in the physical integrity of the reactor containment occurred. 

A "design control" violation was also found by NRC inspectors, who said four "safety-related containment isolation MOV (motor-operated valve) actuators did not have T-drains, as required for environmental qualification. The reported explained the lack of T-drains may allow moisture to enter the motor housing when temperatures and steam pressure are high; conditions associated with a "Loss of Coolant Accident." The moisture and condensation could electrically short out the motor, reducing containment isolation reliability. 

According to the NRC, "AmerGen did not develop appropriate measures to ensure that required MOV T-drains were properly installed, maintained and inspected." 

TMI was not cited for the incident because there was no actual loss of safety function and "the degraded condition did not cause an actual open pathway in the primary containment," stated the report. 

-Report by Marlene Lang 

 

Jan. 16, 2006

TMI disqualifies 'inattentive' workers

 

A top manager and a security guard at Three Mile Island were reported "inattentive" while on duty in two separate incidents, company officials acknowledged. 

"Inattentive," often a euphemism for sleeping, means the employee was not focused on the job. 

At 3:45 a.m. on Dec. 11, 2005, a shift manager with responsibility for all operations of the plant was seen by a control room operator sitting at his desk with his head tilted back. The manager's office is visible from the control room of TMI's Unit 1 reactor through a large glass window. 

"The control operator called the shift manager on the phone, and the shift manager immediately answered and displayed normal, coherent behavior," said Ralph DeSantis, a spokesman for plant operator AmerGen Energy. 

However, the manager was removed from the shift and disqualified from working in a managerial post pending the outcome of an internal investigation, DeSantis said. The employee is being permitted to work in a nonsupervisory role, he said. 

Eight days later, at 3:50 a.m. on Dec. 19, a Wackenhut security guard stationed at the plant's north gate was slow to acknowledge an employee arriving for work. "The officer did not do anything to acknowledge that the car was there," DeSantis said. "Normally ... even if the officer is on the phone, they will turn and acknowledge you. In this case, that didn't happen immediately." 

Though the delay lasted only six seconds, it was considered unusual, he said. 

Sanctions were leveled against the guard, but DeSantis would not specify what they were. Possible disciplinary actions include a letter of reprimand, time off without pay or dismissal, he said. 

AmerGen reported the incidents to federal regulators and the state Bureau of Radiation Protection, DeSantis said. "Our resident inspectors and specialists have been inspecting, and the staff also have had discussions with the company about this," said Diane Screnci, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees commercial nuclear plants. "We are ensuring that the company understands what happened and why it happened." 

 She said the NRC is not investigating because the indicents were not reportable under licensing requirements. 

Sleeping on the job is a touchy issue for the nuclear industry, which is under increasing pressure to produce energy at competitive rates and protect plants from terrorist attacks. 

In 1987, the NRC shut the Peach Bottom nuclear station in southern York County because napping in the control room was common and accepted by senior management at Philadelphia Electric Co., then owner of the plant. 

Sleeping on the job raises concerns about the environment at the plant and the company's dedication to vigilance, especially among security forces, said David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, a watchdog group in Washington, D.C. "It suggests a cavalier attitude toward safety," he said. 

However, he said, the events at TMI did not sound as dire as events at Peach Bottom. "These are human beings, so it's conceivable that you could fall asleep," Lochbaum said. "It's how you respond to it once it's discovered that really determines whether you have a problem or not."

AmerGen has hired an outside investigator to review the event involving the shift manager, DeSantis said. 

AmerGen has a stringent fitness-for-duty policy that trains employees to look for signs of fatigue in themselves and co-workers and report them, he said.

-Report by Garry Lenton of the Patriot-News

 

Jan. 22, 2006 

TMI guards sue over wages

 

Dozens of guards at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant claim in a federal lawsuit that a private security agency made them work unpaid overtime for more than two years.

The lawsuit alleges that Wackenhut Corp. wasn't paying the 79 guards for the time it took them to get armed and check through security from January 2002 until April 2004.

The guards' lawyer, Leslie Deak, said the time in question was typically 10 or 15 minutes before work and a few minutes at the end of their shifts, and that the workers are entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay.

The company has declined to compensate them for the allegedly lost wages, but began paying the guards for that time after they staged a work action, she said.

The guards are armed but do not take their weapons home, and they require some time at the start and end of their shifts to deal with the guns and other equipment, she said. The company had not been paying them for that time until the work action took place.

Ralph DeSantis, a spokesman for Three Mile Island's owner, AmerGen Energy Co., had no comment on the lawsuit but said Wackenhut has provided security there for about the past five years.

"We have a contract with Wackenhut, but they are the ones that pay the officers and determine the work rules with those officers," DeSantis said. AmerGen Energy is headquartered in Warrenville, Ill.

Three Mile Island, located in Middletown, about 10 miles southeast of Harrisburg, was the site of the nation's worst nuclear accident when a partial meltdown occurred in March 1979. Security there has tightened considerably since Sept. 11, 2001.

-Report by Mark Scolforo, Associated Press

 

November 4, 2005

NRC integrated inspection of TMI Unit 1 

Reactor cooling fan inspections were lax, emergency ventilation code ignored

 

Federal inspectors found TMI failed to document or establish criteria or procedures for visual inspections of its nuclear reactor building fan emergency cooling coils. The inspections are to assure the coil are sufficiently maintained to perform their intended safety function, a report of the Nuclear Regulatory Inspection stated. The violations was considered "greater than minor" because, if left uncorrected, according to the report, it could become a more significant safety concern. But the lapse in inspections was not worthy of citation, the report explained, because "the reactor building emergency cooling coils remained capable of performing their safety functions." 

The finding was one of three "Green" level violations revealed in the NRC's 13-week inspection of Three Mille Island's Unit 1 reactor. The plant was also noted for a non-cited violation of federal code for failing to monitor the condition and performance of the Control Building and Machine Shop Heating and Ventilation System, and for failing to establish goals for the shop's functioning. 

As a result of this failure to comply with code, the NRC noted there were "multiple maintenance preventable failures within a three-year period." No citation was issued because "the incorrect functional failure assessment did not, by itself, result in an actual degradation of the radiological barrier function provided for the control room." 

The report pointed out an incident in which maintenance personnel did not properly perform a procedure, to achieve the required filter gasket compression. The problem resolution following that failure was inadequate, as well, the report stated, because the failure review was too narrowly focused and did not address why the bypassed filters' gaskets did not show signs of compression. The resolution also failed to address criteria for post-event inspection of the failed filters. No citation was made for the violation. 

In a third noted failure, TMI identified that it had failed to keep two trains of the control room emergency ventilation system operating, as required. If one system is inoperable for more than seven days, code requires that the unit be shut down within 48 hours. TMI engineers determined that one train of the control room emergency ventilation was inoperable due to a cracked fan hub for over one year; from Aug. 20, 2003 to Sept. 29, 2004. The reactor was not shut down, the NRC report stated. On two occasions during that 13-month period, the second control room emergency ventilation train was inoperable for more than 48 hours and the plant was not shut down as required. 

The violation was considered one of very low significance, as health and public safety were not adversely affected, the NRC concluded. 

-Report by Marlene Lang 

 

Aug. 28, 2005

A Wackenhut guard responsible for checking employee badges at TMI's north gate failed to acknowledge a vehicle for at least 15 seconds, the York Daily Record reported. 

 

July 28, 2005 

NRC inspection report on TMI Unit 1 

Five violations noted, no citations made 

 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission spent 13 weeks inspecting Three Mile Island's Unit 1 plant operations and identified five "Green" violations, including one related to public radiation safety that changed tank recycle code requirements but did not evaluate the effect of the changes on the samples of radioactive waste. None of the violations were considered significant enough for citation. 

One violation was for failure to evaluate the adequacy of a changed procedure for collection of radioactive spent resin samples. The analysis procedure is to support the safe transfer of radioactive to a waste processor for ultimate disposal. In December 1998, TMI owner AmerGen reduced tank recycle requirements prior to the collecting of samples: "from three tank volumes to 15 minutes," according to the NRC's report, dated July 28, 2005. TMI and AmerGen did not evaluate the effect of this change on the representative samples of radioactive resin. Therefore, the report stated, "AmerGen could not validate that the total radionuclide activity was accurately determined and provided to the waste processor prior to the shipment, in accordance with federal regulations code. 

Though the reported noted the violation "was contrary to NRC or Department of Transportation regulations," but determined it was of "very low significance." The NRC stated that although the finding was a radioactive material control issue, it did not involve transportation and no radiation limit was exceeded. 

AmerGen, it was noted, reviewed previous shipments and concluded that "due to the generally low radioactivity of the shipments made, there was no likelihood that a shipment was improperly packaged for shipment or would have been misclassified per 10 CFR 61." The NRC concluded, "No actual safety consequence was identified." 

Another non-cited violation was for deficient maintenance procedures relating to the recommended service of system expansion joints. Plant personnel were "unaware of the age or condition of numerous expansion joints that had exceeded their recommended service life by an unknown period of time," the NRC reported. 

The inspectors said the finding was "more than minor" because it "affected the reliability of two trains of a nuclear river water mitigating safety system." 

Two expansion joints were degraded and "partially collapsed" and other would have continued to degrade if left uncorrected. If the joints were ever to completely fail, the report stated, it would likely result in "an initiating event." 

The NRC called the issue "of very low safety significance" because not equipment was actually rendered inoperable because of the aged joints. 

Another maintenance violation was noted as "staff did not apply lubricant and torque the exhaust manifold bolts to the emergency diesel generator (EDG) turbocharger." The procedural failure an exhaust leak and degrading the EDG during a monthly surveillance run due to "loose and missing bolts" in an exhaust manifold extension, the report noted. 

The NRC stated the finding was of very low safety significance because "the missing bolt did not cause the EDG to become inoperable." 

Another violation noted was the failure to follow procedure for recharging the two-hour emergency air system. On March 29, 2005, a mis-positioned valve caused both of the air system's banks to partially depressurize, reducing the reliability of the supported emergency feedwater (EFW) and main steam (MS) systems to perform their "decay heat removal" functions. 

The NRC noted that, "Operators identified and re-pressurized the air banks, bur did not recognize and correct the cause of the degraded condition until the (NRC) inspectors identified the causes." 

 The finding was "of very low safety significance" the NRC concluded, because bank air pressure did not drop below the value required for operation, and the system functioned safely. 

A final maintenance procedure violation occurred when a B 125/250 Volt battery was replaced; insufficient work instructions resulted workers reassembling the battery cell in steps out of procedural order. The finding was of very low safety significance, the NRC reported, because the battery bank was not inoperable for longer than regulation allowed. 

-Report by Marlene Lang 

 

July 14, 2005 

Supplemental inspection planned for TMI  

 

Three Mile Island's Unit 1 plant was issued a low to moderate safety violation for an issue from 2004 and will face increased federal scrutiny for a violation that involved expired emergency responder qualifications.

Between June and November 2004, about half of the plant's emergency response workers did not receive required radiological response retraining, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspection report.

Responders must periodically submit to retaining and requalification exercises they need to maintain familiarity with specific emergency response duties.

In TMI's case, the commission found that the plant had let lapse the retraining of four of its emergency response organization responder teams.

 

"As a consequence, for an approximate five-month period, those individuals would not have been considered available to respond to a radiological emergency," according to the report.

Following the NRC's November inspection, plant officials immediately set about retraining and requalifying each of the four teams.

AmerGen Energy officials informed the NRC July 8 that it would not contest findings related to the 2004 "white" violation, said Neil Sheehan, commission spokesman. 

A "white" violation — an infraction of low to moderate safety significance — typically results in increased federal oversight. (This is the 47th violation since July 1998.)

The NRC will run a supplemental inspection of the Dauphin County nuclear power plant's emergency response training program, Sheehan said.

An administrative oversight is to blame for TMI's 2004 lapse in emergency responder retraining and requalification, said Ralph DeSantis, spokesman for AmerGen Energy.

The plant's current emergency responder training plan requires that all emergency responders participate in series of requalification classroom training exercises about every 15 months.

Based on that plan, TMI should have conducted its 2004 retraining program no later than June 2004.

Instead, the plant based its retraining schedule on the Exelon Emergency Preparedness Corporate Office Administrative Training Procedure, which called for a less restrictive requalification timetable. Under that plan, the time between required retraining exercises could be as long as 23 months and 30 days.

"We kind of overlooked the fact that we still had the annex," DeSantis said. "This is more of an administration issue. Our people were very qualified to do what they had to do."

DeSantis said the emergency responders had demonstrated their response skills during in-house tabletop exercises and training drills.

While those exercises and drills are designed to reinforce skills, the NRC has not authorized those to substitute for the content of classroom training for emergency responder training, according to the inspection report.

Sheehan said the finding does not suggest that the plant's emergency responders were not able to fulfill their duties.

"This is an annual refresher and just for requalifications," he said.

- Report by Sean Adkins of the York Daily Record/Sunday News 

 

May 30, 2005

Fire danger identified

 

An engineering evaluation of Three Mile Island's Unit 1 plant has determined that certain safety-related power circuits are not protected against multiple high impedance faults, which in combination with a fire in the  

305' elevation of the Control Building, could cause a loss of safe  

shutdown functions from the control room and the remote shutdown panel, according to a report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

An hourly fire-watch has been established in the affected fire zone in the  

305' elevation of the Control Building as an interim compensatory measure."

 

March 1, 2005

TMI tagged with 6 safety violations in late 2004

 NRC says plant has been making improvements

 

Three Mile Island was hit with six safety violations during the last three months of 2004, according to a report released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

After meeting with plant officials in January, federal regulators sent a 53-page report detailing their inspection findings to AmerGen, the company that operates TMI, on Feb. 14, 2005.

Six violations is more than the Dauphin County plant normally receives during a quarter, AmerGen spokesman Ralph DeSantis said.

The violations were:

 

One of the plant's emergency-reactor cooling systems was inoperable during a brief period in 2003. Plant officials discovered the problem in March 2004 and should have reported it promptly to the NRC. The problem wasn't reported until December 2004, however.

 There was a leak of nonirradiated steam in December that required a reduction in power output. NRC inspectors said they discovered the cause: The instrument line that leaked was fitted with a brass cap rather than a stainless-steel cover as required, according to the NRC report. The report notes, "Technicians and operators missed several opportunities to identify the problem prior to the steam leak."

In the aftermath of the steam leak, NRC inspectors discovered a shock absorber known as a "snubber" was out of oil.

In September 2004, NRC inspectors urged plant technicians to check a ventilation fan in the control building that was making rumbling noises. The technicians discovered the fan's hub was cracked.

The technicians admitted the fan had been vibrating oddly as early as 2001. Inspectors said the fan should have been repaired sooner.

On Feb. 6, 2004, the reactor unexpectedly increased power by .9 percent in 17 minutes. The power increased suddenly because of a computer error in the system that controls the reactor's power level, NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said.

Had the power risen to 102 percent, the NRC would have been more concerned, Sheehan said. The report notes safety equipment, such as the protective coating around the nuclear fuel, might not withstand a sudden power surge at that level.

TMI, without full approval from the NRC, added security barriers that block traffic from crossing the south bridge to the island. To access the plant, vehicles must cross Norfolk Southern railroad tracks that run parallel to Route 441. NRC inspectors said that if a train broke down and blocked the main gate, TMI would be inaccessible.

"The question is, how would we get emergency vehicles onto the site?" DeSantis said.

TMI is drafting a legal agreement with the railroad stating that should a train break down in front of the main gate, it must be quickly removed, DeSantis said, even if that means bringing in a new engine and leaving the disabled locomotive behind.

So far, NRC officials said, they are pleased with TMI's responses to correct the six violations, which were classified under the lowest of four severity ratings on the NRC's scale for evaluating problems at the nation's 103 nuclear power plants.

"It's more than we have normally gotten in the past, but they are of the lowest safety significance," DeSantis said. "We are taking corrective actions for all of these items."

AmerGen has until March 14 to formally protest the violations. If the company doesn't, the NRC will then decide whether or not to penalize the plant with fines or additional inspections.

-Report by Rebecca J. Ritzel of the Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster, Pa.

 

 

Feb. 15, 2005 

 

TMI reported to the NRC: "During operator rounds it was discovered that a double door for the control tower habitability envelope was propped open [from painting earlier in the day]. This condition would have resulted in not meeting the design basis requirements of maintaining a positive pressure inside the control tower envelope following a design basis accident. The doors were immediately closed." 

"An issue report was generated and a prompt investigation was commenced in accordance with station policies." 

The NRC resident Inspector was notified.

 

Jan. 28, 2005

TMI training on probabtion

 

A policing agency of the nuclear industry has concluded that the training program for control room workers at Three Mile Island needs improvement. 

The Exelon Nuclear training program was placed on probation last

month by the National Nuclear Accrediting Board, which reviews training programs every four years at commercial nuclear plants. 

The action could prevent the board from reaccrediting Three Mile

Island's program. The exact result is unclear, however, because no nuclear station has lost its accreditation since the program started 20 years ago. 

 The National Nuclear Accrediting Board reports its findings to the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, an industry policing organization established after the 1979 accident at the plant's other reactor. Institute spokesman Terry Young would not discuss the case. 

A union official said staffing cuts were to blame. The number of employees has been cut more than 30 percent since 1999, when Chicago-based Exelon bought Three Mile Island's Unit 1 from GPU Nuclear. Unit 2 hasn't been used since the nation's worst commercial nuclear accident, when a portion of the reactor's core melted. 

 Exelon spokesman Ralph DeSantis said staffing was not an issue.

He said the plant was faulted for "not using a systematic approach to training as vigorously as we should be."  The accrediting organization will re-evaluate the training program next summer, DeSantis said. 

-Report by Associated Press

 

January 4, 2005 

TMI changes site vice-presidents for the third in four years

 

Three Mile Island Site Vice President Bruce Williams announced his retirement from AmerGen. Mr. Russell West, the current Exelon Vice President of Nuclear Oversight (NOS), will replace Mr. Bruce Williams effective immediately, according to an NRC release.

However, Mr. Williams will remain at Three Mile Island through the month of January to ensure a smooth turnover. The new NOS Vice President will be named in the near future. 

Mr. Russell "Rusty" West joined Exelon Nuclear in April 2002 and held the position of Site Vice President at Peach Bottom prior to assuming his current position in NOS. Before coming to Exelon, Mr. West held several management positions with Florida Power & Light at the St. Lucie and Turkey Point Nuclear Power Stations.

 

Dec. 10, 2004 

Steam leak at TMI reduces power

The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant was forced to reduce power because of a steam leak, but there was no danger to employees or the public, a company spokesman said.

 An alarm sounded shortly after noon Thursday about a problem within Unit 1's intermediate building, said Ralph DeSantis, a spokesman for plant operator AmerGen Energy. Two workers entered the building and found the steam leak on an instrument line fitting, DeSantis said.

Plant operators reduced power by 22 percent, and neither DeSantis nor Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan knew how long it would be before full power was restored.

"They will need to troubleshoot this and make repairs," Sheehan said."Our resident inspectors are following up on this."

-Report by Associate Press

 

Sept. 12, 2004

Preschools, hospitals and nursing homes are unprepared, 

2 residents say 

 

State and federal authorities are investigating allegations that Pennsylvania is unprepared to evacuate preschool children and nursing home and hospital patients during a nuclear accident. 

The federal government requires that the state have a plan for moving people who cannot care for themselves and live within 10 miles of a nuclear plant. Two Harrisburg area residents allege that the state has been out of compliance with federal safety requirements for nearly two decades. 

Gov. Ed Rendell's office and the Federal Emergency Management Agency took on the review of the state's plan after receiving a letter last week from Larry Christian and Eric Epstein, chairman of the watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert, detailing these issues. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also received the letter. 

If the accusations are deemed true, it would call into question the validity of the operating licenses for the five nuclear power stations in Pennsylvania. Federal law requires the NRC to determine that the public will be protected in a radiological emergency before it grants a license to open a nuclear plant. 

-Report by Garry Lenton of the Patriot-News

 

July 14, 2004:

Workers in area take scare in stride

 

For most visitors, employees and those working near the Federal Building and Courthouse in downtown Harrisburg, the initial fears faded quickly. 

Workers and others in the area said their worries dissipated after they learned that a suspicious package discovered outside the courthouse yesterday morning no longer posed a threat. 

 Michael Rentschler, a local attorney, was in U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Andrew Smyser's courtroom on the building's 11th floor when the intercom broadcast news of the discovery of the device. He said that any early concern was quickly replaced by annoyance. 

 

After the evacuation, Rentschler resumed his daily routine and attended a different hearing in another courtroom before returning to the federal courthouse. 

"It's the first time it's happened to me, but I didn't feel any panic or anything," he said of the bomb scare. 

An FBI spokeswoman said yesterday that authorities do not believe the object was an explosive device. 

-Report by Reggie Sheffield of the Patriot-News

 

July 2, 2004:

Pa. governor announces enhanced plant security

National Guard, State Police to Provide a 24-hour Presence and 

Random, Unannounced Patrols During Independence Day Holiday

  

Gov. Edward G. Rendell today said the Pennsylvania National Guard and the Pennsylvania State Police will provide both a 24-hour presence and random, unannounced security patrols at the Commonwealth’s five nuclear power plants.  The enhanced security measures will be provided in a coordinated fashion with the plant operators and their security teams, and will remain in force at least through the conclusion of the Independence Day holiday.

 “Although there currently exists no credible threat against any Pennsylvania nuclear power facility, in an abundance of caution I have asked the National Guard and State Police to immediately commence enhanced security measures at our nuclear power stations. At a minimum, we will maintain this deployment status through the holiday weekend.” 

The state’s nuclear power plants are Beaver Valley in Shippingport Borough, Beaver County; Susquehanna in Salem Township, Luzerne County; Limerick in Limerick Township, Montgomery County; Peach Bottom in Delta Borough, York County; and Three Mile Island in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County.

 

May 17, 2004:

TMI's record for '03 comes under scrutiny

               

 Three Mile Island safely produced electricity in 2003, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says plant operators can do a better job maintaining their equipment.

NRC representatives will discuss equipment problems, among other issues, at their 2003 annual review meeting for TMI.

-Report from the Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster, Pa.

 

May 11, 2004

One-fourth of operators fail exam 

 

The NRC issued an inspection report about operator training problems at TMI. Among the litany of problems, two of the plant's eight crews of operators failed their simulator examinations. 

The simulator examinations place the crews in a mock control room where they are tested on their ability to respond to simulated accidents, like steam generator tube ruptures, pipe breaks, and power outages. Two of the eight crews failed.

The NRC called it a Green-level finding. The NRC stated: "The finding is of very low safety significance because the failures occurred during annual testing of the operatos on the simulator, because there were no actual consequences to the failures, and because the crews were removed from watch-standing duties...".

The annual simulator testing is done to gauge whether the operators could perform as needed during actual event.

David Lochbaum, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, remarked on the finding, "To downgrade the significance of their failure because they were removed from watch-standing until they eventually pass a test is troubling. I suppose if they had failed during an actual emergency, they also would have not been able to operate another, non-melted reactor until they past a test." 

He also stated, "Twenty-five percent of the operating crews demonstrated their inability to protect the public in event of an actual emergency. In other words, if another TMI had happened, there was a 1 in 4 chance that the operators would once again be unable to prevent core damage."

Lochbaum called the NRC rating system "lunacy." He stated, "The NRC is reducing its reactor oversight process to two colors: Green if it happens during a test, Red if it happens during a real event."

 

April 30, 2004

Annual assessment spots inconsistency

 

The NRC announced that the agency did not know how many people worked at Three Mile Island-1. At the NRC’s  Annual Assessment Meeting, held in Middletown, at the borough hall, federal officials also said, “Personnel  didn’t consistently recognize degraded conditions. And therefore did not identify degraded conditions in a timely manner."

The NRC issued eight violations and “in the area of problem identification and resolution (PI&R) at TMI” (A. Randolph Blough, NRC Director of Division Projects, Region I, March 3, 2004).

 

Jan. 17, 2004:  

Authorities: Pilot who buzzed area was drunk

A pilot who terrorized the airways with his erratic flying for four hours on a Thursday night - circling the Limerick nuclear plant and buzzing Philadelphia International Airport - was drunk, authorities said yesterday.

When he emerged from his single-engine plane, he was staggering, his eyeswere bloodshot, and his pants were unbuttoned and unzipped, authorities said.

Tests showed that the pilot, John Salamone, owner of a Pottstown concrete company, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13, over the legal limit of .08. Until tests are complete, however, he has not been charged with DUI, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. Salamone, 44, owner of J. Vincent Concrete Contractors , was released into the custody of his brother-in-law. The single-engine plane he was flying is registered to his firm, records show.

Jim Peters, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman, said his agency had opened an investigation into Salamone but have not yanked his license.

"At the end we will make a recommendation about what to do," he said. That could mean anything from no action to a civil penalty, or suspension or revocation of his license. Salamone did not return phone calls requesting comment.

Salamone took off from Pottstown-Limerick Airport between 6:15 and 6:30 p.m., Peters said. He first flew over Center City, then headed toward Philadelphia International Airport, prompting controllers to order six aircraft that were on final descent to clear out of the way, Peters said.

Salamone then headed to South Jersey and attempted tried to land at an airport outside Glassboro before returning to Philadelphia airspace.

He declined to land in Philadelphia, and then headed to Limerick, where he landed briefly there, before taking off toward the nuclear plant. He finally landed again at Limerick airport and was arrested, authorities said.

Report By Nicole Weisenseegan