Nuclear Plant Faces NRC Fine in Vermont
May 08, 2011
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed fining the owners of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant $50,000 for failing to notice for 22 years that its safety procedures in the event of an accident were inadequate. The NRC said an engineering analysis by the plant's operator, Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp., didn't consider circumstances in which four pumps designed to reduce the heat within the reactor's containment structure during an accident might not be able to overcome pressures within the structure. Plant engineers discovered the problem in April and changed the emergency procedures. The company said that it doesn't plan to contest the penalty and that operations at the 550-megawatt plant, near Brattleboro, Vt., won't be affected. The NRC fined the plant $50,000 in 2010 for another flaw in its cooling system, and fined it $187,500 in 2009 after a fuel assembly fell eight feet during a refueling operation. Vermont Yankee is owned by a group of utilities, including Central Vermont Public Service Corp., Rutland, Vt., with a 35% stake; Green Mountain Power Corp., Burlington, Vt., which owns 20%, and Northeast Utilities, Berlin, Conn., with 15%.
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