PG&E cited over cooling system failure at Diablo Canyon
December 30, 2016
An emergency cooling system at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant may have been inoperable for a period of a year and half, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission finding. The NRC slapped PG&E with a citation over the matter.
On Thursday, the NRC announced it issued a “white finding” for PG&E’s low to moderate safety violation. NRC inspection findings are categorized as green, white, yellow or red, with green being the least severe and red being the most flagrant safety violation.
During a test conducted in May, workers discovered a maintenance problem that rendered one of Diablo Canyon’s Unit 2 cooling systems inoperable. The cooling system had been inoperable for an extended prior of time, possibly dating back to Oct. 2014, an NRC press release states.
Both reactors at the nuclear plant are equipped with two emergency core cooling systems. Unit 2’s second cooling system was available, if needed, while the one was not functioning.
PG&E has corrected the problem with the cooling system, NRC officials said. Yet, the NRC has yet to conduct an inspection to verify that the cooling system is operating properly.
An inspection is planned at an undisclosed date.
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