NRC: Seabrook nuke plant ran safely in 2020, concrete degradation being monitored
SEABROOK — According to federal experts, annual inspections throughout 2020 show NextEra Energy Seabrook’s nuclear power plant again ran safely over the past year.
According to Chris Newport, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s senior on-site resident inspector at the Seabrook plant, in 2020 the facility operated in a manner that preserved public safety and protected the environment. That evaluation came after 6,000 hours of inspections and related activities, encompassing maintenance, surveillance, adverse weather preparedness, operator performance and emergency preparedness, as well as other issues specific to the Seabrook facility.
The report was presented on June 8, at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual safety assessment meeting. Each year the NRC holds a meeting to discuss its findings in relation to the safety of each of the 90-plus nuclear power plants in the nation.
Traditionally, meetings take place in the community where the plant is located. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, for the past two years the meetings have been held remotely.
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At last week’s meeting, NRC staff held the remote meeting, which included reports from a number of specialists who deal with the nuclear plant located in Seabrook. Involved were the two full-time NRC resident inspectors who are onsite at Seabrook Station daily, living in nearby communities for 24/7 availability. They have “unfettered access” to all the plant’s activities for daily evaluations, according to the NRC.
Concrete degradation unique to Seabrook
Evaluation of NextEra’s plant in Seabrook also included inspections by Nuclear Regulatory Commission specialist teams. Periodically throughout the year, specialist teams traveled to the plant to scrutinize issues such as the fitness for duty of the plant’s operators, fire protection, security, as well as alkali-silica reaction, a concrete concern peculiar to Seabrook Station since it was discovered in its walls in 2009. NextEra Energy Seabrook is the only American nuclear power plant so far exhibiting ASR.
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A slow-developing type of degradation found in some concrete when moisture is present, ASR is most commonly found in dams, bridges and highways, but it has been found in nuclear power plants elsewhere in the world. ASR manifests as micro-cracking, staining and deformation of concrete.
NRC: No immediate public safety concerns
So far, the NRC’s has determined ASR in Seabrook Station’s structures poses no immediate public safety concerns because of the significant safety margins built into the plant, such as its steel-reinforced, two-feet thick walls.
When NextEra Energy Seabrook nuclear power plant was re-licensed in March 2019, amendments to the license specific to its maintenance and the monitoring of its ASR-implicated structures were included as conditions to its relicensing. They related to how NextEra must address the ASR phenomenon.
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According to Paul Krohn, deputy director of the NRC’s Region 1, and Mel Gray, engineering branch chief, specialized teams inspected the plant concerning ASR issue over the past year, as they will in coming years. During the 2020 inspections, they confirmed NextEra is in compliance with maintaining and monitoring its ASR issues, as required by the special conditions in its license renewal.
According to Newport, the COVID-19 safety guidelines were supported at the power plant but did not interfere with safety inspections or protocols. Although their daily attendance at the plant was regulated to comply with federal social distancing requirements, Newport said he and Travis Daun, the second resident inspector, took turns being at the plant physically. Further, NextEra granted them camera access to all parts of the plant during all phases of operations, including refueling, he said.