Oyster Creek Now Under Normal NRC Oversight

LACEY TOWNSHIP, NJ - The Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant is once again under normal federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight, an NRC spokesman said recently.

The plant was under additional NRC scrutiny from April to October of 2017, due to a problem with one of Oyster Creek's five electromagnetic valves and was moved to the NRC's Column 2 "Action Matrix." It is now back in Column 1.

The valves are used to depressurize the reactor during a pipe break to allow coolant to be injected into the reactor core, said NRC spokesman Neil R. Sheehan.

"This is necessary to keep the nuclear fuel in the reactor covered and cooled as the plant shutdown progresses, he said.

The NRC performed a team inspection at the plant in September to evaluate Exelon's analyis of why the valve problem occurred, what steps were taken to ensure it didn't happen again, and whether the problem could have implications for other plant operations, Sheehan said.

"Based on the results of the inspection, we concluded that, overall, the company had appropriately addressed the concerns the areas of concern related to the issue," Sheehan said.

Control room operators at the plant declared an "unusual event" in early January when water levels in the plant's water intakes dipped too low. Recent weather conditions are thought to have caused the low water intake levels, Exelon spokesperson Suzanne D'Ambrosio has said.

Control room operators reduced reactor power to about 70 percent in response to the lower-than-normal water intake levels and monitored conditions throughout the day, Sheehan has said.

An "unusual event" is the lowest of the NRC's four levels of emergency classification, he said.

Water from the intake canal is used for cooling purposes, doesn't flow through radioactive materials and is discharged at higher temperatures to the outfall portion of the canal, Sheehan said.

The NRC and Lacey officials were taken by surprise when Exelon, the plant's owner, said the plant would close in October 2018, more than a year ahead of schedule.The plant was slated to cease operations by December 2019, as part of an agreement with the state.

Oyster Creek is the oldest nuclear plant in the United States. It went online in December of 1969.

Photo: Patricia A. Miller