North Anna Nuke Plant: Quake May Have Exceeded Nuclear Plant's Safety Specs

But don't worry, says NRC, the plant is "less safe", not more dangerous.

From NBC News Washington (8/29/2011):

Despite being built to sustain more than the maximum expected shaking, last week’s earthquake may have exceeded the design parameters of the two nuclear reactors knocked offline.

That conclusion by Dominion Virginia Power and an independent government analysis prompted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to send inspectors to the nuclear plant in Virginia.

The Dominion-operated North Anna Power Station 12 miles from the epicenter of the 5.8-magnitude quake in Louisa County temporarily lost power, but there was no significant damage to safety systems, according to the NRC. A low-level emergency was declared temporarily Tuesday after the incident.

The additional inspection should not be interpreted to mean the plant is less safe, the commission said Monday.

Nuclear power plants are built with margins of safety beyond the maximum expected shaking, and the damage detected so far at North Anna has been minimal.

(The article continues.)

In the meantime, Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency now says there are 14 newly identified active faults near the nuclear facilities in Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures: 5 of them around TEPCO's Fukushima I and II Nuclear Power Plants, and 9 around the Tokai II Nuclear Power Plant operated by Japan Atomic Power Company and Tokai Fuel Reprocessing Facility operated by Japan Atomic Energy Agency. (From Kyodo News Japanese, 8/30/2011)

Don't worry, says NISA, they are all minor faults incapable of producing major earthquakes.

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#Japan #Earthquake: Tokai II Power Plant Basics

The Japan Atomic Power Company, which runs Tokai Power Plants (I and II), doesn't have anything on their website regarding the latest news of the cooling system failure at the Plant II.

But it has this basic information about the Tokai II Power Plant:

• Operational since: 1978 (Japan's first large-scale nuclear power plant) [Fukushima I's Unit 1 started commercial operation in 1971, with 460,000 kilowatt]

• Reactor type: Boiling water reactor (BWR) [the same as Fukushima I and II plants]

• Fuel: low enriched uranium [Fukushima uses MOX - uranium/plutonium mix]

• Output: 1.1 million kilowatt [Fukushima I Plant total (6 reactors)=4.696 million kilowatt]

• Power supplied to: Tohoku Electric Power Co., Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)

TEPCO is implementing the rolling blackout, with anticipated 10 million kilowatt shortage.

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#Japan #Earthquake: Trouble at Tokai Nuclear Power Plant

This is the plant where the workers carried uranium in a bucket while smoking a cigarette in 1999.

More as I look for more info in the Japanese news sources...

From Reuters (3/13/2011):

TOKYO | Sun Mar 13, 2011 12:14pm EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - The cooling system pump has stopped at the Tokai No.2 nuclear power plant in Japan's Ibaraki prefecture, Kyodo news reported, in the wake of the massive earthquake that has crippled other reactors in the country.

The plant, located about 120 km (75 miles) north of Tokyo, had suffered a nuclear accident in 1999.

(h/t maryetta)

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