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No. 6
NUCLEAR EVENTS
Features
3 5 7 27 13 21 26 28
Volume 6
NUCLEAR EXECUTIVE
ROUNDTABLE
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
CALLAWAY TURBINE TRIP

Failure of Isolated Phase Bus System
NUCLEAR PLANT AUTOMATES CALLS FOR HELP USING LASERS IN DECOMMISSIONING
A look inside an iso bus failure at Callaway Automated callouts reduce wait times Lasers cut decommissioning dangers
Photo courtesy: IAEA , Fukushima Nuclear Plant
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Bechtel is among the most respected engineering, project management, and construction companies in the world. Bechtel operates through _ive global business units that specialize in power generation; civil infrastructure; mining and metals; oil, gas and chemicals; and government services. Since its founding in 1898, Bechtel has worked on more than 22,000 projects in 140 countries on all seven continents. Today, our 53,000 employees team with customers, partners and suppliers on diverse projects in nearly 50 countries. We stand apart for our ability to get the job done rightno matter how big, how complex, or how remote.
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
BY SHARRYN DOTSON, EDITOR
Why Cant We Be Friends?

plants since gas prices are low, while I think part of the reason for that renewable energy costs are brought is youre looking at a 60-year asset down with the help of financial inand youre projecting out not only gas centives such as tax breaks, though prices, but youre projecting out the technology prices performance of have been falling Renewables need nuclear to the nuclear plant, for some time. Re- help support the grid when Fertel said. newables and nu- the wind isnt blowing or This isnt to say clear pay for them- the sun isnt shining, and that natural gas selves in the long nuclear needs renewables and coal are not run through their to help in the reduction of equally as imporreturn on invest- levels of carbon, mercury, tant, but if the foments through fuel SO2 and particulates around cus is to increase cost savings, credits the world. the number of lowand tax incentives. and non-emitting Marvin Fertel, CEO of the Nuclear sources of energy, then we must look Energy Institute, said in the Nuclear at how nuclear and renewable energy Executive Roundtable (pg. 14) that can work together instead of vying critics who turn from nuclear to natfor the top spot. ural gas because of the major upfront Adverse market conditions are costs of a new nuclear power plant causing some nuclear power plants are not looking at the big picture. such as Kewaunee in Wisconsin
he color of your skin dont matter to me, as long as we can live in harmony. WAR, Why Cant We Be Friends? The above verse was written about how differences in people should not matter in the grand scheme of life, but the words can also apply to the relationship between nuclear and renewables in the grand scheme of power generation. Its a well-known fact that the nuclear energy and renewable energy industries have a love-hate relationship. Critics of renewables say they are not reliable sources of energy, cost too much to build and maintain and are environmentally unfriendly, and anti-nuclear folks say just about the same thing. Both industries understand that all power generating sources will be necessary to reliably keep the lights on, but the claws come out when anyone tries to determine if one source is better than the other, or if financial incentives are unfairly given out to one source over the other. President Barack Obama proposed an all-inclusive plan to cut emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 in the U.S. using renewables, natural gas, nuclear and coal (the coal industry obviously disagrees with that point, but I wont get into that in this column). While he did not mention nuclear specifically, it is needed to keep the grid stable and provide much-needed, noemissions baseload power. The disparities in the sources essentially come down to cost. Upfront costs of new nuclear builds tend to push utilities to build natural gas-fired power
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 4
and Vermont Yankee in Vermont to shut down, pushing some grid operators to rely more on natural gas- and coal-fired power plants to pick up the slack. However, increasing dependence on those kinds of plants leads to an increase in emissions and electricity rates, such as what we are seeing in Japan and Germany. Both countries are shutting down nuclear power plants due to the accident in Fukushima, but they are realizing that its not so easy to build enough renewable energy plants to replace all of the lost capacity. Not to say that it cant be done, but its not coming along very smoothly. This is why nuclear and renewables need to work together. Both emit very few, if any, emissions and are a great combo for the bigger power generation picture. To be honest, they need each other: Renewables need nuclear to help support the grid when the wind isnt blowing or the sun isnt shining, and nuclear needs renewables to help
in the reduction of levels of carbon, mercury, SO2 and particulates around the world. Just as some natural gas-fired projects are adding solar, wind or other renewables on the same site (check out Florida Power & Lights Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center as an example), maybe one day the same can be done with nuclear and renewables. Of course, there are many issues that need to be ironed out, such as environmental approvals, transmission and distribution projects to handle loads from both sources and getting landowners on board with the amount of land required to build a new project. Renewables can be installed faster than a nuclear power plant and both can be a hedge against gas prices that are certain to fluctuate in the future like they have in the past. So what do you say we put aside our differences and embrace the fact that the worlds power supplies need all hands on deck? It wont be all puppies and rainbows, but it is a possibility that nuclear and renewables could be good buddies in the long run.
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Innovation Up My Sleeve
BY BRIAN SCHIMMOLLER, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
tress corrosion cracking in nuclear power plants has resulted in significant maintenance expenses for repair and replacement, and continues to challenge materials management programs across the industry. Much can be done through materials selection and water chemistry to avoid such cracking, and proactive physical mitigation with welding is also a viable option. Pressurizer heaters are used in pressurized water reactors to provide the heat required to maintain pressure during transient conditions. These heaters are inserted in pipe penetrations into the vessel called heater sleeves. The sleeves are welded to the vessel during original fabrication, and the heater is welded to the sleeves. The two welds comprise the pressure boundary for the system and are susceptible to stress corrosion cracking. If cracking occurs in the welds, the heater sleeves can leak, potentially leading to unplanned unit downtime. Over the past several years, Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG) has pioneered the development, testing, and application of a proactive welding process to repair heater sleeves. Initial application of the process occurred in 2012 at CENGs Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland. The process reduces welding time by 80 percent and weld volume by 90 percent; it also enhances worker safety through improved radiation protection. CENG received the Nuclear Energy Institutes Best of the Best Top Industry Practice (TIP) Award for this accomplishment earlier this year. In conferring the award, the NEI noted that because the operational efficiencies achieved through the process also yield
cost savings, the innovation has the added potential of saving electric utilitiesand their customershundreds of millions of dollars in future uses. We considered several options for this issue, including vessel replacement and lower hemisphere repair, said Lennie Daniels, senior project manager at CENG. After detailed analysis, our plant configuration made the repair option more viable. CENG devised a first-of-a-kind weld repair. The new tooling and the processes had to be developed and proven to meet ASME requirements. The tooling which included weld heads, machining equipment, and nondestructive evaluations (NDE) equipment had to be built to work inside small-bore piping, with the ability to function reliably 30 feet off the
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floor. NDE consisted of remote visual inspection via cameras mounted directly on the weld head. Process control was extremely important, said Daniels. Each weld head had to be placed in a specific location, and a specific number In all, CENG repaired 119 heater sleeve locations at Calvert Cliffs, and no leakage occurred. The project was completed a day ahead of schedule and at less cost than the other options considered. One of the main benefits, according to Daniels, was that the tooling was designed to be operated remotely, which means that both the welding and NDE could be perfomed from outside the protected area. This minimizes the need for workers to be directly exposed to radiation. In fact, the project came in far below planned dose levels, about 35 percent lower than the project goal. Personnel contamination incidents were 75 percent lower than project goals. The first-of-a-kind weld process is not expected to be a one and done application. Daniels believes the technique could be adapted to other components in a nuclear plant, such as bottom-mounted nozzles.
GLOBAL PROJECT EXPERIENCE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
CENG repaired 119 heater sleeve locations at Calvert Cliffs without leakage.
of weld layers had to be made to ensure compliance with the codes and to meet the required thickness for the repair process. Once the welds were deposited, they had to be machined to meet the surface finish requirements for the NDE inspections. The entire process was controlled to ensure proper alignment of the heater sleeve to the support plates. If alignment was not maintained, the heater could not be inserted into the pressurizer.
Westinghouse provides comprehensive, integrated services and solutions to the decommissioning and dismantling (D&D) and waste management industries. We have extensive experience in the dismantling of nuclear installations from uranium mill plants to nuclear power plants. We provide state-of-the-art solutions for spent fuel services and for the treatment and handling of radioactive waste. Westinghouse offers proven solutions for the interim storage and final disposal of low-, intermediate- and high-level waste. Our dedication to a cleaner environment extends to servicing existing nuclear power plants and managing by-products in an environmentally responsible manner. For more information, visit us at www.westinghousenuclear.com
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Nuclear power plant workers banned from sites after attempted carjacking
Nov. 1 Two former workers at the Dresden nuclear power plant in Illinois are banned from working in nuclear power plants after they were accused of attempting to rob an armored car and carjacked a woman.
NRC staff issued a confirmatory order to Exelon Generating Co. (NYSE: EXC) for an incident involving violations of the Behavioral Observation Program at the plant. NRC says senior reactor operator Michael J. Buhrman planned to rob an armored car in May 2012 and recruited another senior reactor operator, Landon E. Brittain, to assist. Buhrman instead pointed a gun
at a woman in a store parking lot and result of the Alternative Dispute Resostole her vehicle. Buhrman was apprelution process. Exelon agreed to abide hended for aggravated vehicular carjacking and fled the country when he was released on bail. He was tried and sentenced to 40 years in YOU GENERATE absentia this past May, but THE POWER was caught in Texas on Nov. WELL GENERATE THE SOLUTIONS 1, according to the Chicago Tribune. Brittain had fled to Venezuela but was caught and extradited back to the GO BEYOND THE COOKIE CUTTER U.S. to face several criminal Every nuclear plant is unique. You likely need more than a cookie-cutter approach to keep yours running smoothly. Ask us about some of our top customized services. charges pending against him. BWR & PWR Internals CELEBRATING The NRC said that their Run/Repair/Replace Decisions Fatigue Management actions offsite demonstrated Seismic Revaluation Underground Pipe & Tank Integrity that they could not be relied Materials & Corrosion PWSCC/Alloy 600 & IGSCC Vibration upon to follow NRC requireY E A R S Nondestructive Examination 1983-2013 License Renewal Support ments to protect the plant and public safety. In addition, some plant personnel knew of Buhrmans plant to commit the crime and did not report him. The order was issued as a
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by the conditions of the order, including enhancing the behavioral observation program procedure at all Exelon nuclear plants; providing training to staff on the revision and evaluating the effectiveness of the training.
Sweden fines trespassers at nuclear plant

Nov. 1 Seven Swedish and two Norwegian Greenpeace activists, five men and four women, were fined between $775 to $3,875 USD by a district court Thursday for entering a Swedish nuclear plant to expose alleged security flaws, according to an article posted on The Locals website. In October 2012, the group carried out what Greenpeace called a peaceful stress test, aimed at proving that anybody could enter Ringhals power plant, on Swedens west coast, near Gothenburg, according to the article. Several protestors simply walked or
cycled through the entrance and were arrested shortly after. Others used a ladder to scale the fence, two managed to stay inside the grounds of the plant until the next day. Two other activists who carried out the same action at the Forsmark power plant, north of Stockholm, were never found and only left the plant after two days. Sweden has three nuclear plants that produce 35 percent of the countrys energy. In 2010 the Swedish parliament passed a government proposal allowing the replacement of nuclear reactors at the end of their life span, despite a 1980 referendum result in favor of winding down nuclear power.
professional services at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio. NSA will continue performing safety work and supporting Fluor B&W Portsmouth, the contractor that is decontaminating and decommissioning the facility for the Department of Energy. The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant was built in the 1950s and produced enriched uranium for military submarines and weapons and provided fuel for commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. Production ended in 2001. The decontamination and decommissioning process includes 134 buildings with more than 10 million square feet under roof.
Hanbit No. 1 will restart on Nov. 1 or Nov. 2, a source from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power said in the article. The country faces power shortages in the upcoming winter and summer due to shut downs of the 23 reactors. Many of the reactors were shut down due to parts that were supplied with forged documents. Five other reactors remain offline, including three that have been down since May to replace cables supplied with fake documents, one awaiting a license extension, and one down for scheduled maintenance, the article said. A sixth reactor was shut down Oct. 30 to check welding work.
NSA to help with decommissioning of uranium enrichment facility

Nov. 1 Nuclear Safety Associates (NSA) was awarded a five-year contract from Fluor-B&W Portsmouth LLC to provide nuclear and criticality safety engineering
S. Korea nuclear reactor approved to restart

Oct. 31 South Koreas Nuclear Safety & Security Commission approved the restart of a nuclear reactor after a two-month maintenance shutdown, according to Reuters.
Nuclear fuel rod removal at Fukushima to begin in November

Oct. 30 Japans Nuclear Regulation Authority gave final approval for operators at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to remove fuel rods from the Unit 4 fuel

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pool, according to the Associated Press. Removing the fuel rods is the first step in the decommissioning process, the article said. The NRA said Tokyo Electric Power Co. can begin removing the rods in November as planned. Unit 4 was offline when the earthquake and tsunami wrecked the plant in March 2011, but the reactor building was damaged by hydrogen explosions and fire. The Unit 4 cooling pool was suspected to have dried up early on in the crisis, but there was actually enough water to cover the rods and prevent them from melting down, the article said. An unenclosed pool on the units top floor reportedly contains 1,533 fuel rods. About 200 of those rods that are unused are expected to be removed first, the article said. An official warned in the article that removing the fuel rods would be difficult because of the debris that fell into the pool during the explosions. TEPCO plans to empty the Unit 4 pool by the end of 2014.
Swiss nuclear plant to close by 2019

Oct. 30 A nuclear power plant in Switzerland is scheduled to close in 2019, according to Reuters. State-owned power company BKW said it would shut down the Muehleberg nuclear power plant due to high operating costs and scrutiny following the 2011 disaster at Japans Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the article said. BKW said it would spend approximately 200 million Swiss francs ($222.67 million) to maintain and upgrade the plant over the next six years, the article said.
according to Reuters. The Nuclear Safety & Security Commission decided last month to cease operations at the reactor in Yeonggwang County to perform welding quality tests in the steam generator, the article said. Officials did not give a time as to when the reactor is expected to return to service.
The reactor is the seventh in the country to be shut down out of 23 total reactors. Three others were shuttered after forged certificates for reactor parts were discovered. Two were closed for scheduled maintenance and one had reached the end of its life span. The completion of two new nuclear reactors have been delayed due to the fake document
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Seventh nuclear reactor to shut down in S. Korea

Oct. 23 South Koreas nuclear regulator said it is shutting down a 950 MW nuclear reactor in the country, bringing the number of shut down reactors to seven,
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scandal, which led to the arrest of 100 individuals. The closures renew worries of power shortages in the country since nuclear power generates one-third of the countrys electricity, the article said.
infrastructure needed to manufacture SMRs. The project will also assess the education and training needed for a workforce to produce the reactors. The school is working in collaboration with Westinghouse Electric Co. and Ameren Missouri to research the 225 MWe integral pressurized water reactors. The companies are working on a pilot test plant at Ameren Missouris Callaway Energy Center.
EPRs polar crane, which allows heavy components to be moved around within the reactor building. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2016. AREVA is working with more than 300 Finnish suppliers on the unit.
court cases. A second 1,000 MW reactor is scheduled to come online by June 2014, the article said. India is working to increase its nuclear capacity to 63 GW over the next 20 years from 47 MW currently.
India nuclear power plant connects to power grid

Oct. 22 India began operations at a Russianbacked nuclear power plant after several delays, according to the Wall Street Journal. The first of two nuclear reactors at the Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu state was connected to the grid and supplied 170 MW of electricity. Full commercial generation of the entire 1,000 MW VVER unit may happen by the end of the year, the article said. The unit was originally supposed to be online seven years ago but faced numerous delays from anti-nuclear groups and
IAEA: Nuclear remediation work is progressing in Japan

Oct. 21 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a preliminary report saying that the Japanese government made good use of advice from an October 2011 mission trip, but there is still work to be done at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and surrounding areas. The IAEA mission team said good progress had been made in the remediation of farmland, and food safety measures had protected the public and improved consumer confidence in produce. The team also praised the government for handing out dosimeters to
Major milestone reached at Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant

Oct. 23 AREVA announced that the nuclear reactor vessel head was installed at the Olkiluoto 3 power plant in Finland, marking the completion of the installation of heavy equipment for the Finnish European Pressurized Reactor (EPR). The vessel head installation also makes the Olkiluoto unit the first EPR with a fully equipped reactor vessel. The installation was completed using the
Small modular nuclear reactor research gets $1.8mn boost

Oct. 23 The University of Missouri will receive a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help develop small modular reactors (SMRs). According to the Associated Press, the funding will be used for the development of a supply chain, logistics and

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residents so they can measure their radiation dose rates. The mission team said the government must improve its efforts to explain to the public that its long-term goal of achieving an individual radiation dose of 1 millisievert per year (mSv/y) cannot be done in a short time by decontamination work alone. In remediation situations, with appropriate consideration of the prevailing circumstances, any level of individual radiation dose in the range of 1 to 20 mSv/y is acceptable and in line with international standards and the recommendations of the relevant international organizations such as the IAEA, International Commission on Radiological Protection, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation and World Health Organization. The team also encouraged the relevant institutions in Japan to assess the role that the Nuclear Regulation Authority could play in the independent review of the remediation activities, and encouraged the
relevant organizations to conduct safety assessments of the facilities and activities for the long-term management of contaminated materials, and allow for their independent review. To read the full preliminary report from the October 2013 trip, click here.
EDF to build, operate Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant

Oct. 21 Electricite de France SA signed a comprehensive set of agreements with the U.K. government to build and operate two new nuclear reactors at the Hinkley Point C power plant in England, according to Nasdaq.com. Total costs are expected to reach 16 billion pounds ($26 billion). EDF Group will partner with AREVA SA, China General Nuclear Corp. and China National Nuclear Corp. on the project, which is expected to take 10 years to complete, the article said. EDF will own a 45 to 50 percent share of the project and AREVA will own 10 percent.
The Chinese companies will have a 30 to 40 percent share. Suppliers for the project include Bouygues TP/Laing ORourke, Costain, Alstom and AREVA. Hinkley Point C will offer predictable prices through a Contract for Difference, in which consumers will not pay extra if wholesale prices go above an agreed strike price. If it falls below the strike price, the generator will receive a top-up payment, and the customers will not pay anything until the plant is operational, the article said.
S. Korea says two new nuclear reactors to be delayed

Oct. 18 South Korea said it will delay completing construction on two nuclear reactors to replace cables that were supplied with fake documents, according to Reuters. Officials said they are delaying the start of operations by a year to 2015 and 2016 in order to replace the cables at Shin Kori Nos. 3 and 4, the article said. That brings to six the number of
reactors that are currently shut down until control cables are replaced after officials found they were supplied with forged certificates. The forgeries led to the indictment of 100 people, including a former chief executive at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) and a vice president at Korea Electric Power Co (KEPCO). The energy minister said in the article that a U.S. company would likely manufacture the replacement cables and that the country was planning to sue JS Cable of South Korea, the company that made and supplied the questionable cables.
KEPCO applies to license its nuclear reactor design in the U.S.

Oct. 15 Korea Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) and its unit Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for certification of its APR1400 reactor design. The APR-1400 is an evolutionary

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pressurized water reactor with its origins in the CE System 80+ design. The Westinghouse System 80+ was certified by the NRC in 1997. The 1400 MW APR1400 nuclear reactor design is currently under construction at Shin Kori 3&4 and Shin SHIN KORI NUCLEAR PLANT Hanul 1&2 in Korea. Kepco metallic nuclear fuel. is also supplying four APR1400s for its The fuel is designed to provide an first export project to the United Arab increase in power output while exEmirates. Two units are currently untending the operating cycle length der construction there at the Barakah in existing pressurized water reacsite, with the first scheduled to come tors. Under the MOU, B&W NE and online in 2017. Lightbridge agree to perform scoping studies relating to the pilot fabrication facility and explore teaming arrangements. Oct. 15 Both companies will choose a piBabcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy Inc. lot fabrication facility to demonstrate (B&W NE), a subsidiary of The Babcock & Wilcox Co. (NYSE: BWC), signed a the fuel rod fabrication capability. memorandum of understanding with They could sign a definitive agreeLightbridge Corp. to jointly develop a ment early next year if the teaming demonstration project usingLightbridges arrangement proves to be feasible.
B&W, Lightbridge team to develop metallic nuclear fuel project
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Nuclear Executive Roundtable

ow natural gas prices, an increase in the use of renewable energy and the high upfront costs of nuclear have dominated the headlines, but many in the nuclear industry believe these are just temporary setbacks. Power Engineering sat down with several nuclear industry executives about the current state of nuclear and its future. Participants include Bill Johnson, CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority; Mike Rencheck, CEO of AREVA Inc. North America, Marvin Fertel, CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute; Neil Wilmshurst, Vice President of Nuclear with the Electric Power Research Institute; and Joe Zwetolitz, President of Nuclear Energy with Babcock & Wilcox.
PE: Has anyone on here seen Pandoras Promise and, if so, what did you think of it? If you havent seen it, why didnt you? Marvin Fertel: I saw it, and I thought it was pretty well done. I thought it was also very indicative of a whole bunch of former very prominent environmental icons who have recognized the important role that nuclear energy plays, not only in climate change, but in clean air overall. Patrick Moore, who is the founder of Greenpeace, isnt in Pandoras Promise,
but he is prominent, and theres a whole bunch of others that have come out over the last five years. It was very nice to see someone put a film together that collectivelyshowedanumberofprominent environmentalists and what they thought. Mike Rencheck: I have seen it as well. I would echo what Marv said, but I also thought the movie did a very good job of showing a practical dimension around radiation that is difficult subject to capture. I thought the use of the meter guy around different places in
BILL JOHNSON, CEO OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
MIKE RENCHECK, CEO OF AREVA INC. NORTH AMERICA
NEIL WILMSHURST, VICE PRESIDENT OF NUCLEAR, ELECTRIC POWER RESEARCH INSTITUTE
MARVIN FERTEL, CEO OF THE NUCLEAR ENERGY INSTITUTE
JOE ZWETOLITZ, PRESIDENT OF NUCLEAR ENERGY WITH BABCOCK & WILCOX

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the world really gave a good showing of something that you cant see. I thought that brought it forward in a matter that made it easy for a layman to understand, so I was really impressed by how they did that from a technical perspective. Bill Johnson: I would describe it as an exercise in consistency of internal thinking. By that, I mean you have a clear idea of what your objective is - which is climate control - and the recognition that the best path to get there has to include nuclear power. Joe Zwetolitz: I thought what was interesting about it was the debates with Patrick Kennedy and the whole idea that the film is spurring a serious debate about what the facts are. What came of that is the fact that theres still a lot of misperceptions and misunderstandings, and I think the film is doing a great job of trying to dispel the rumors and replace them with facts so that the right decisions can be made about nuclear power. Neil Wilmshurst: Unfortunately, I havent seen it, because every time
I get close to seeing it, I end up going somewhere. But, I can tell you that it was showing at the IAEA General Conference last week on Friday, so its getting tremendous global air time as well. PE: With the price of gas so low and the price of solar panels dropping, and the cost of a new nuclear power plant running in the billions, like what we are seeing at Vogtle and Summer, what is the financial argument for nuclear? Fertel: You mention Vogtle and Summer. Vogtle and Summer are obligated to, on a continuous basis almost, to inform their public utility commission of the economic value of Vogtle and Summer to their ratepayers and customers in Georgia and South Carolina. Up through the last review that they did, they continue to find that, over the life of the plant, its going to save their customers at Vogtle at least $4 billion over the next best alternative, which is natural gas. I think part of the reason
for that is youre looking at a 60-year asset and youre projecting out not only gas prices, but youre projecting out the performance of the nuclear plant. I think part of the challenge is the upfront capital costs, but if you look at customers over the long term, nuclear fares pretty well. We just dont think long-term enough. Zwetolitz: Marvin, youre the right person to respond to this from an overall industry perspective and I agree completely. For us, its about not putting all your eggs in one basket. Gas is cheap today, but weve seen the price go up and down in the past. Bill can probably talk about this, hes probably seen it. As the price is low, its very attractive to build gas, but you have to maintain your options in the future, and if everybody were to go to gas today, theyd probably suffer some of the same problems as in the past. Not just with gas, if you look at renewables, theres obvious technical challenges with renewables. Theyre becoming more cost-effective, but still very expensive and they have
the limitations of intermittency, which creates problems for the quality of service, at least in the United States, that everybodys accustomed to. When you turn the switch on, the power is there whenever you need it. For us, its not just simply an economic consideration, its also a diversity and long-term consideration, as Marv was alluding to. Rencheck: Theres some other aspects when you look at the operation of a grid where nuclear isnt fully compensated for its entire support of the grid. In other words, a lot of voltage control and frequency control comes from these very large machines that you simply cant get from a natural gas plant or a renewables offering right now, and if you would, you would have to add other components into the system making it much more expensive. When you couple that with the ability of uranium as a fuel being only 5 to 15 percent of the cost of operating a unit, you can see that over time, theres relatively very little volatility due to swings in fuel pricing.

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Johnson: I think I am the customer representative in the group, or at least the person who is in charge of running a power system, and I would agree with all those comments. A couple of things we think about with nuclear, obviously, is the fuel diversity. You dont want to put all your eggs in one basket. The environmental benefits over a 60year period of the cleanest technology we have. Mike Rencheck makes an excellent point in the importance of large rotating masses in the frequency control, which is a fine point of physics, that turns out to be really important in making sure the transmission system is stable. So for us, this comes down to power density transmission support and low price when you spread it over 60 to 80 years of the assets. General concept of balance of the portfolio. I think theres still a strong case to be made for nuclear going forward. Zwetolitz: I do want to make one other point. Just looking at gas around the world, were obviously the lowest,
and so nuclear becomes a lot more competitive around the world. I have also read stories recently about the experiment in Germany where they decided to get out of nuclear and replace almost entirely with renewables, and theres a lot of cracks starting to be seen in that strategy. The business community in Germany is really starting to complain about the electricity rates going up. I think itll be interesting to see how Germany does with their experiment. I think if anybody can do it and make it work, they probably can, but theyre going to have some struggles and its going to be a challenge to be able to get there. Fertel: To Joes point, The Journal had an article this weekend where the business community apparently sent a letter to (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel just before the election emphasizing the fact that costs in the business community had doubled from about 12 or 13 cents to 25 cents. For residential customers, it had gone up into
the 46 or 47 cents per kilowatt-hour range and that was unacceptable. They were basically telling her to, I think, junk the experiment and get back to making sure they had a reliable grid at lower prices. PE: In light of the recent court decision ordering the NRC to finish looking into Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste storage site, where do we stand with respect to waste storage? How big of an impact does the waste storage issue have on the nuclear industrys ability to be competitive? Fertel: First of all, we think that theyll be able to finish the safety evaluation report, which we expect will demonstrate that Yucca Mountain, at least from the staff standpoint, is safe. Were not sure theyll get money to do very much more because of Senator (Harry) Reid, so Im not sure how much movement well see on that. From the waste standpoint, part of the blessing and the curse for us is we manage the waste so safely and
securely at our sites that-quote-theres no crises-unquote-and thats why the government can steal $30 billion and not fulfill its obligation. And there wont be any crisis because we will continue to do that. To your question of how does it hurt us competitively, it hurts us a little bit because were paying for it, but thats only part of the issue. The issue is everybody else should be paying for what they should be paying for. So, we would like to see all costs fairly internalized for everybody, and we would like to see our waste program go forward, but, fundamentally, were in it for the long haul. Rencheck: Just to comment on the waste statement. Really, 96 percent of a fuel assembly is reusable. So, the amount of waste produced is very small, in essence, because you can recycle the fuel assemblies. Its done with technologies in use today and if we spend more R&D efforts on it, then Im sure we can continue to improve on those processes, either through new reactors or recycling technologies. Wilmshurst: Obviously, the waste

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confidence discussion going forward is important. Were involved in a number of efforts, including the demonstration of high burn-up, long-term storage and the longterm viability of the existing dry cask storage facilities. So, I think theres a lot of work going on in the background to keep the confidence for the safe storage of the waste. One observation: I was in Vienna last week at the IEA General Conference, and a number of the new entry countries were observing, countries like Vietnam and Turkey, are saying Were being advised by IEA to consider the whole fuel cycle, and actually consider disposal before we build a program. What is the U.S. doing about it? People are looking at us as an example, like Well, you guys havent figured it out yet, why should we figure it out before we start?
PE: What is the status of the mPower small modular reactors and the SMR project at the Clinch River plant site?
Zwetolitz: Weve been in the design phase for the SMR for a number of years.
We are looking for a goal of next year to have our design certification application being submitted to the NRC sometime in the late part of 2014. And then in 2015, working with TVA, we hope to have a construction permit application submitted at that time. So, itll take a number of years going through the NRC process to support that, so design is going on to support the DCA, we have detailed design going to continue after that. All of that converging around 2018 or 2019 to have a design certification document in hand, and all of that in support of a goal of having two SMR mPower units running at Clinch River in the 2021 timeframe. We have the agreement with the Department of Energy in terms of the funding opportunity, which we were awarded, so thats already underway. We had a recent increase in the amount that has been provided under that agreement. We look at this as an excellent opportunity to work with the federal government to develop U.S. technology thats going to be, we think,
a game changer in the nuclear industry. Johnson: Let me talk a little about whats going on at Clinch River. Theres prep work going on at the site, so things like core boring, drilling, geographical assessments, meteorological data, those kinds of things going on. The latest action from us is preparation of a Notice of Intent to submit a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on construction, and then have a public meeting sometime in October, probably in Oak Ridge, to discuss these things. As Joe said, theres a lot of work going on in the design and development of applications to the NRC. This is going to come down to is it a commercially viable technology. I dont think anyone has any doubts about the technology itself. Its application has been longstanding in various forms. The operational construct for SMRs is going to be different than weve been doing with the large reactors for a long time. The NRC is going to have an important role to play here in sorting
through the differences and see how this is going to come to fruition.
PE: Entergy recently said that the power market was partially to blame for the closing of the Vermont Yankee plant. Do you feel that the markets are having a negative impact on U.S. nuclear? What can be done to change that?
Fertel: First I would say yes, its having a negative impact. Its not clear yet what the right solution may be, even though theres a lot of them out there. Ill quote from the Market Monitor in ISO New England, and this was in his 2012 State of the Market Report. He said it is unlikely that significant generation investment will occur until capacity clearing prices increase significantly. Basically, if youre not paying people correctly for the capacity that they have there - and this was true in Wisconsin with Kewaunee youre basically going to lose some units and youre not going to be replacing them very easily. So, for instance, both

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the VY case and the Kewaunee case, if natural gas is up around $4.50, which is certainly not outrageous for where it is today and where people think it will go, both of those plants would have been in the money. Right now, with the way the market treats them for the capacity thats there all the time - and its clean capacity, doesnt emit any greenhouse gases - it makes it hard for single units to survive, so there are dysfunctions in the market. Rencheck: I would also add that the baseload nuclear is also not being paid for all of the ancillary services it provides, like frequency support for the grid. Thats also something that maybe should be looked at with the intermittency of renewables now entering the market and not having to bear those costs. Johnson: I dont have any experience in operating in those markets. An observation from afar is I think there may be an inadequate price signal on the capacity piece here, agreeing with Marv and Mike. When you have an existing asset that is baseload and is providing
ancillary services, it doesnt clear the market because of short-term economic or supply dynamics. I think a little longer view here would probably have been helpful. I dont know the actual internal workings of the plants or the economics of it, but I would say there is a significant problem here if we are going to retire assets in a market that doesnt give a capacity signal to build new ones. Fertel: Just to Bills last statement, for both VY and Kewaunee, VY was just about $50 per megawatt-hour and Kewaunee was, like, $52, which is not outrageous as far as the price of electricity.
PE: A new and vitally important security frontier is cybersecurity. What is your company doing in their own business to protect themselves, and what protections are you offering to your customers?
Rencheck: We build digital control systems. We have taken cybersecurity very seriously, and I think the industry has as well. In March of 2009, the NRC
issued a new cybersecurity rule outlining how the protection of digital computer and communications systems should be done. NEI then followed suit for the industry, working with all the different players in the industry to come up with a document called NEI 08-09, that would be used to assist utilities and folks like us in looking at our stations and figuring out what assets need protecting and how best to go about protecting them. I think that process is being implemented very effectively at the plant sites now, and AREVA has a cybersecurity offering where we have teamed up with Northrup Grumman, who, over the years, has provided a number of different tools for the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and other national assets, to be able to apply a product, but then look at the nuclear power plants assets and then be able to provide monitoring systems and protection systems for those units. We think were being very proactive in cybersecurity space. We recognize it as a challenge that we think were up for the
challenge as an industry, and were able to keep our plants safe and operating well. Wilmshurst: The Department of Energy, who several years ago was fully aware of the need for worker and cybersecurity, worked with us and established an organization called NESCOR, the National Electric System Cybersecurity Organization Resource, which EPRI is providing as part of its partnership with DOE for the entire electric infrastructure, including nuclear. NESCOR works collaboratively with the DOE, and the federal agencies on enhancing cybersecurity, assessing security features, looking at R&D priorities and disseminating those best practices. So, were really deeply engaged and involved in the entire spectrum of the cybersecurity effort. Johnson: From the operating systems side, this obviously is a topic that has gotten a lot of interest from the Congress, from various agencies, from the military. So we are heavily engaged in this every day. We follow the NEI standard, the

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NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection Standards. Theres a whole frame of these standards that require, obviously, information systems protection and physical security. We have a very strong awareness program internally and externally. The problem with this topic is the threat evolves, so its hard to get ahead of the strong thinking of the bad guys here. So, no matter what you do, theyre always trying to get ahead of you and this is one of the harder issues that Ive seen in my long time in the business. Zwetolitz: Yeah, I agree with that. For my company, B&W, we have two Category 1 fuel cycle facilities where we handle strategic nuclear material. And we have a tremendous challenge fortifying those operations against cyber attacks. We had an event recently where we had to respond to a rather aggressive attack. Weve instituted very strong and very fortified IT defenses, and it carries throughout our workforce, because we have such a variety of activities within our company. The presence of those two Cat 1 facilities has created a level
of security that has to necessarily vary across the company, but maintains a minimum threshold for everybody, so its a real challenge in our mobile work environment. We defend the facilities quite well, essentially isolating them from the outside world, but creating significant barriers for individuals when theyre traveling with their accessed information and protection of information on all of their devices, and so on. Its a significant issue, and we have to continue to be on our toes because, as Bill says, the threats are going to continue to evolve and we have to be ready for them. Fertel: As Joe and Bill just said, this is a threat thats very significant for our country, not just for our nuclear plants or our electricity system. I think that everybody has summarized a lot of things that are being done. The only thing I would add is right now, as were talking, our security working group is actually in town today meeting with NRC on issues like cyber and what do we need to do that maybe we havent. We have a number of what we designated as critical
digital assets in our plants. Most of them have no consequence from a safety standpoint, they do have a consequence from a reliability and operations standpoint. We dont have that many that really have safety consequences if you lost it, but those are certainly being protected. EEI (Edison Electric Institute) is now the Secretariat for the Electric Sector Coordinating Council. We actually have a meeting with about 20 CEOs from across the industry and the associations that involves us, American Public Power Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, this Friday with DOE, DHS, FBI and every other acronym you can think of, for quarterly meetings that we have with them to go over cyber issues as well as a briefing that they will be giving. So, theres a tremendous amount of high-level and working-level energy going into protecting our grid and our plants from a cyber standpoint. The challenge, I think Bill articulated it very well, is the bad guys keep thinking of new things they can do, and I think the
good guys are thinking about that, too. Everybodys doing what they need to.
PE: The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been in the news again for several large leaks of radioactive water. Do you think the latest headlines will influence public opinion in the U.S. against nuclear power? How does the industry combat that? Fertel: This is coincidence, but we
do a couple of surveys a year on public opinion. We actually had one in the field Sept. 5th through the 15th, which was right at the height of a lot of the Fukushima information on their water leaks in the tanks and other places. Our folks, I was told, were concerned that would influence the outcome of the opinion survey and, if it did, that would be good input for us. It actually didnt. The favorability towards nuclear was 69 percent, which is basically what it was before the Fukushima accident. It dropped to 46 percent immediately after the accident and recovered up to 65 or 66 percent.

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Its now at 69 percent. All the other key things that we looked at were really good. Eighty-four percent of the public thought that you ought to go forward with license renewal; 70 percent of the public said if you needed more electricity and you wanted to build a new nuclear power plant site where one exists, they supported it, it was acceptable; 77 percent of the public said that they believed plants in the U.S. were safe, thats up from 73 percent in our earlier survey in February. Also, they did ask a question very relevant to yours. They asked have you heard anything about nuclear in the news recently, and 60 percent said yes. So, the Fukushima issues didnt really seem to influence their opinions. Johnson: Just an observation on the public perception in the U.S., Marv is right that public support continues to be strong. I think one reason is that the public generally trusts us, has confidence in us and believes that we will protect them. Thats a good, but sobering, reminder of our responsibility everyday. Fertel: Youre right on. One of the questions that they asked was Do you think
that we learned from what happened to make plants safer? And 83 percent of the public said yes, so Bill is right on with that. Zwetolitz: I think the key to keeping the support in the public is information. The public is generally more informed and its reflected in those survey results. A lot of the schools, because I still have children in schools, the curriculums, especially in science, are including pretty in-depth discussions on nuclear energy. So, the education is out there in the general public and even starting with young folks. So theres some greater familiarity that comes with a level of trust. Rencheck: I think in the U.S., we are fortunate to have a regulator in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that is transparent and open with the public and also, through the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, where the industry is self regulating and uses peer pressure and peer reviews to establish best practices, have gone a long way to ensuring the public confidence has been maintained throughout the events at Fukushima. Wilmshurst: Im just back from Ja-
pan. I was fortunate to be a participant in a trip by all the U.S. CNOs to Fukushima organized by INPO. We got to see up close and personal the Fukushima event. Really, just to echo whats been said about the work of INPO and NEI, NEI has done a great job since the Fukushima event with really communicating whats happened and whats been going on. I think the visit from all the U.S. CNOs to the plant and the communications thats starting to come out from the videos, the websites of various utilities, are going to go a long way to communicate the magnitude of what happened and show the genuine kind of response and the serious reflection within the U.S. industry. PE: Over the course of the next decade well need to bridge a rather large generation gap among workers in the nuclear industry. What is being done to address the vacancies that will be left when as much as 40 percent of the nuclear workforce will reach retirement age by the middle of the decade?
Rencheck: Were doing a lot in the area of STEM outreach in the communities in which were present to be able to go into the various school systems starting in the elementary schools, and working our way through the community colleges and the universities. We think STEM outreach is not only important for the nuclear industry, but its also important for the country. When you look at the number of jobs that the nuclear industry has to offer, these are good paying jobs. Jobs that are truly middle class or higher that you can have a career and raise a family with. I think the opportunities are there whether you want to be a craft worker, a welder, an electrician, a mechanic, or if you want to go into the engineering ranks, taking a STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education is very important. The reason I say that is because when you look at this, in the ninth grade, theres about 4 million students who typically enter the ninth grade. By the time they graduate from college, were at about 167,000 with a STEM degree. When you look at our industry needing

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to replace about 50,000 jobs by 2016, the opportunities will be there for jobs and for well-paying jobs, and I think that will attract people back into the STEM programs at various universities. Zwetolitz: I agree with Mike. We, like many in the industry, have been involved in partnerships with the local schools and community colleges and universities, and its starting to pay off. Mike and Bill and Marv were talking before about how old were getting and were reminded by that when we walk around our organizations and see the many young faces that are out there. What Im amazed about is the fact that these efforts are starting to pay off with the quality. Not only are they young, but theyre coming out with the right skills and the right backgrounds to be able to do this kind of work. And thats, for me, showing significant payoff. Were also doing a lot of work to retrain the existing workforce, so as people have been in this industry and have the background, theyre training for new roles and different roles within the nuclear industry, and thats also
paying off as well, so were having those kinds of programs bearing some fruit. Johnson: I have a little different view, I suppose, given the operational nature of our business. We are doing all the usual things in outreach in the community colleges, the typical things. Im really not as concerned about finding the workforce as I am about the loss of experience in the current workforce. I do agree with Joe that the people we see today are generally better educated, better trained and ready to go to work. But if you think about the history of the industry, in the 80s, our capacity factor was in the mid50s. Today, theyre in the mid-90s, and one of the ways that we got there was we made every mistake possible and figured out how to do it right. In our current workforce, which is aging, there is a tremendous amount of operational engineering and other knowledge that is more experienced-based than education-based. So, I think our biggest challenge here is knowledge transfer, some efficient way of experienced transfer so that when these new
workers show up, we can train them up not just with qualifications but with the experience of the past generation. Zwetolitz: I agree with Bill. I dont think we realize how much we are leaning on those experienced folks. Its going to be an eye opener, perhaps. Wilmshurst: Just following on from Bills comment, the new generation workers, they learn differently. So, were in the process now of working with a number of utilities to deploy electronic work packages. You see maintenance techs out there with iPads with all of their procedures. Delivering knowledge through apps, using videos and gaming technology, developing web-based training packages, which are being shared through INPO, and other things, just to help people maybe learn faster and learn quicker and learn differently. I think thats going to be key as well to bring on the new generation quicker. Fertel: The only thing that I would add is that you should have the impression that we are taking both sides of the issue very seriously. Its attracting the right people and its the
knowledge transfer because of the loss of the people we currently have. And as Neil just said, its the recognition that the new people coming in may actually behave a lot differently in how they learn and how they work. I wish I had as much confidence in the noncommercial part of the nuclear industry, the weapons side, the regulatory side, that they are giving the same amount of attention to these very challenges that our industry has. Not that were there yet, but we at least recognize it. Rencheck: Id like to add one comment. I agree with all of that, but we were talking a little about the 1980s before the call. One thing that was prevalent in the 1980s was that when you were a young engineer starting, you really didnt have anybody to ask questions to because the whole industry was in an infancy state. The younger folks coming in, when they have a question, they can actually stop, ask somebody and get an answer. That will make a difference in these folks getting up to speed a lot quicker then, potentially, the folks of our generation did.
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21
Callaway Turbine Trip - Failure of Isolated Phase Bus System

BY BRUCE HACK, MANAGING MEMBER, CROWN ELECTRIC ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING AND MARK D. HAAG, PRINCIPAL DESIGN ENGINEER, NUCLEAR SERVICES, AMEREN MISSOURI
t 11:19 p.m. on July 26, 2013, Callaway Nuclear Plant operation technicians performed the monthly swap-over of the dual redundant isolated phase bus (iso phase bus, or IPB) cooling fans. This monthly procedure insures that the run time between the redundant systems is equalized. At 11:33 p.m., 14 minutes after the swap over, massive electrical faults caused protective relaying to initiate trip signals to the switchyard main generator output breakers, the unit auxiliary transformer feeder breakers, the 13.8 kV service busses, the main generator field circuit breaker and the main turbine. All four reactor coolant pumps and all three circulating water pumps tripped due to the momentary 13.8 kV busses under-voltages. The reactor tripped from 100 percent power as a result of the turbine/generator trip. Extensive damage to the plants iso phase bus at the iso phase tap point for the unit auxiliary transformer and at the main generator neutral connection box had occurred. At 11:37 p.m., the plant fire brigade was dispatched in reaction to a smoke condition permeating throughout the turbine building coming from a cables burning insulation and a nearby oil collection pan fire. At 11:49 p.m., the shift manager declared an Unusual Event and began the process of making appropriate notifications. Plant operators continued their event response to the reactor trip by employing the prescribed emergency and operating procedures. At 12:56 a.m. on July 27, 2013, a significant water leak was identified at the condensate polishers due to a rupture disk failure creating flooding in the turbine building. Reactor operators isolated all the condensate polishers from the control room. A report from the field identified one to two feet of water in the
condensate pump pit. At 1:01 pm., the control room operators notified the NRC of the closeout of the Unusual Event. Workers at the Callaway Plant assembled a forced outage response team to manage assessment, repair, and establish recovery activities related to the event. The root cause team defined A WORKER INSPECTS THE FAULTED ISOLATED PHASE TAP. BOTH PHOTOS COURTESY AMEREN MISSOURI. an area to sequester all damaged parts for evidence while esdamaged by the event was the main tablishing the scope and parameters generator IPB system, which includes necessary to ensure that obtaining all its spur auxiliary tap bus and the evidence, pictures, assessments and main generator neutral connection box. inspections needed for the root cause Iso phase bus is the super highway that analysis were exhaustive and impletransports the plants high amperage mented. electrical power from the plants main The plants sub-system that was generator to the main step-up (GSU)

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transformer. The IPB system operates at medium voltage levels transporting 33,000 amps of current when operating at full power. Lower amperage iso-phase tap connections to the main iso phase bus provide power to the plants auxiliary transformer and excitation transformer. Iso phase bus systems are normally static, robust, low in maintenance requirements and highly reliable. In cases where power plants generate output currents around or exceeding 20,000 amps, it is common to employ forced cooling for the iso phase conductor. This forced cooling creates a composite system less static than their self-cooled counterparts. Forced cooled iso phase bus duct systems incorporate large heat exchangers (often water cooled, forced air) to remove the heat associated with the I2R losses from the large currents flowing in the IPB system. Fully redundant fans, cooling coils and associated dampers make up the cooling skid assembly, providing 100 percent mechanical backup against failure or during periods of scheduled maintenance.
Chilled forced air from the cooler enters the B phase of the iso phase bus duct and splits so as to bi-directionally flow toward the main generator terminal box and towards the main GSU transformers. Air crossover plenums can be located at each end-of-run point to allow the B phase cool air to split and return the airflow to the coolers suction side through the IPBs A and C phases. The returning air then passes over the water-cooled heat exchanger to remove the absorbed heat and moisture. Then the process starts anew. Callaways cooling skid heat exchanger assemblies employ so-called back-draft dampers located on the fan discharge. One of the back-draft damper blades had broken free and entered the B phase of the iso phase bus duct. As the blade flew through the IPBs B phase, it caused repeated short lived phase-to-ground electrical faults. Ultimately, the condition cascaded into a massive electrical fault of 180,000 amps rms at both the IPB seal off bushing for the auxiliary transformers B phase tap as well as at
the main generator neutral connection box. This final massive short circuit led to a turbine/generator and reactor trip. The damper blade breaking free was problematic enough, but a single fault to ground should not initiate such a response in iso phase bus. What happened? To assist in assessing the damage and then emergency fabricate the iso phase bus and its ancillary components, Callaways forced outage response team reached out to Crown Electric Eng. & Mfg. LLC of Middletown, Ohio, a company rooted in the old Westinghouse iso phase bus plant in Cincinnati. Crown Electric had previously assisted Callaway, and the team knew that Crown Electric possessed a full onsite services division offering direct user support that is tied back to its engineering and IPB manufacturing capabilities. Results of Root Cause Evaluation The root cause evaluation was performed using multiple techniques. A forensic examination of the failed components was made to determine the sequence of failures and the potential
physical causes. Detailed inspections were performed throughout the iso phase bus ducts for additional evidence to support or refute various theories. Photographic evidence was combined with design drawings to allow the team to draw conclusions based on the positions of equipment and the damage that was caused by the event. A fault tree analysis was completed to determine the most likely causes of the mechanical failures of the iso-phase cooler backdraft dampers, the main generator neutral connection box, and the B iso phase bus duct above the unit auxiliary transformer. The extensive damage at each failure location rendered definitive conclusions about the exact failure modes impossible. Therefore, all potential causes were uncovered and corrective actions chosen in such manners as to address them in their entirety. Organizational and programmatic factors that led up to the failure that caused the unit trip were conducted via a review of the history of the operation

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of the iso-phase cooling system and the main generator neutral connection box Since the plants original construction, the air flow rates from the iso-phase cooling fans were higher than the design ratings of the iso-phase cooler backdraft dampers. The elevated flow rates through the backdraft dampers increased the risk of damper failure. Callaway Engineering believes backdraft dampers should have a more robust design for this intended application. One example of the dampers weak link was that plastic retaining clips served as bushings to allow operation of the damper blades. Back in January 2005, flow rates were estimated to be as high as 40,000 cfm. Air flow measurements were taken in May 2007 and found to be 34,000 cfm. More accurate data on the specifics of the systems operation would have likely pointed to the need for corrective actions to be taken in a more timely fashion. Callaway Engineering considers a
number of initial plant parameters could have had larger safety margins designed into sub-systems, including those within the main generator neutral connection box. These include increased air gaps, creep distance on the neutral grounding cable, providing a grounded shield on the neutral grounding cable, ferrous conduit parts, and removal of any sharp corners and exposed bolt ends which could contribute to the generation of corona. Additionally, the de-ionizing* screen filter that was installed between the generator output bushing enclosure and the neutral connection box was painted, eliminating its effectiveness. These collective factors produced conditions that were more likely to create an electrical fault if the neutral connection box was ever challenged by a high voltage potential. (*Forced cooled iso phase bus systems include a sub-assembly known as de-ionizing baffles. Deionizing baffles are large stacks of thin aluminum metal plates spaced about
an inch apart that allow the forced air to flow over their large accumulative surface area. De-ionizing baffles are grounded so that any ionized air molecules in the cooling air stream pass over the baffles giving up their charge to the ground plane. Callaways design placed a smaller version of this functional device between the generator output bushings enclosure and the neutral bushing enclosure. The effectiveness of this de-ionizing screen is considered to have been compromised due to inappropriate painting). The air flow change caused during the monthly swapping of the fans carried the thrown damper blade into a position that caused arcing in the B phase of the IPB. The flying damper blade is suspected of intermittently causing short duration arcing, pitting and damage as it was blown around the iso phase duct during a 14-minute operational period. Arcing, pitting and associated damage was found periodically through a 40-foot section
of the iso phase bus work. An oscillography from the 311/G generator protection relay captured one neutral voltage spike of 13.1 kV. This fault then clears itself as evidenced by the VN voltage dropping back to zero. The last momentary arc was caught in the pre-fault data initiated by the protection relay lockout. Neutral bus currents during these initial faults were limited to 12.8 Amps through the neutral grounding transformer. The dislodged damper blade that flew and arced along the IPB vaporized along its trajectory. Clouds of ionized gas and metal vapor - think comet tails - are winging through the IPB system, completing a round trip every 13.5 seconds. Over time this metal vapor cloud, in part, collects on the cool porcelain surfaces of both the B phase iso-phase seal off bushing for the unitauxiliary transformer and at the main generator neutral connection box. These locations present cooler surfaces and are both points in the air stream system

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which are deadened zones not seeing full forced air flow. It is noted that there are no de-ionizers in the flow path between the arcing location and the unit auxiliary transformer connection location. Further, the neutral connection box under the generator had compromised de-ionizing baffles, which, even when new, were never designed to handle anything more than typical IPB system created ionization loads. They certainly were not designed for the amount of ionization created by electrical arcing of foreign material such as that developed by a dislodged and vaporizing damper blade. Oscillography offers verification of the iso phase bus phase-B intermittently going to ground. This was most likely due to the continued movement of the arcing damper blade resulting in additional gas cloud generation and potentially resulting in blowing an arc down the ductwork. At some point, the damper blade lodged in the T-tap pocket of the seal-off bushing for the B phase IPB connection to the unit auxiliary transformer. The
damper blade is now easily jumping out the bushings line to ground integrity. The compromised main generator neutral (in the neutral connection box) and the unit auxiliary T-tap are both co-faulting directly to ground. This ground loop completely bypasses the generator neutral resistor connection resulting in a solid line to ground fault on the generator 220 kA. These massive electrical fault currents generated a subsequent devastating blowout pressure wave at both fault locations. The post-event inspection of the resultant damage at the generator neutral connection box and unit auxiliary transformers tap bus connection was eye opening. Not surprising, the pressure waves induced catastrophic failure of both sets of backdraft dampers. Multiple blades were dislodged; some well bent inwards towards the fan and some simply fell into the fan after breaking off. Four of the blades in the duct were found with minor arc burns from having gone down the duct towards the generator while it was spinning to rest and still providing
some fault current. Two of these blades required prior to the safe restart of the worked their way across the duct work reactor on August 16, 2013. No one and landed down the outlet of the offwas injured as a result of the electrical line fan. Multiple off-line damper blades faults and subsequent plant event. were found bent in, but none were ejected The Callaway incidence response into the bus ductwork. At this point, the event is effectively over. As the turbine/generator winds down, the fault is no longer fed. The damper blades settled into their as-found locations with no more damage created. The electrical faults that occurred resulted in a turbine/generator trip and a reactor trip. Such an event had the potential to challenge systems important to safety. The reactor trip THE FAILED GENERATOR NEUTRAL ENCLOSURE BUSHING. was classified as uncomplicated and team with Crown Electric inspected the all safety systems performed properly. iso phase bus to determine the extent Repair or replacement of multiple of damage. Together, Crown Electric damaged components associated with and Callaway detailed dimensions for all the secondary side of the plant was failed component parts and/or verified

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NUCLEUS
them from existing drawings. Crown Electric produced a replacement neutral bushing enclosure, the neutral copper, flex braids, replacement aux transformer tap bus and ancillary parts all in a few days, shipping serially as production was complete. Each bus was thoroughly inspected and all identified foreign material was removed. The iso phase bus with all its support insulators was completely cleaned. Filters were replaced; bus insulators, bushings, dampers, and deionizers were provided and replaced as necessary. New backdraft dampers with modified catch screens were installed. Flow testing in the system was performed. The seal-off bushings were cleaned or replaced and tested. The iso phase bus was then Hi-Pot tested. A Flawed Defense The inspections that were intended as a barrier to identify blade degradation prior to failure of the iso phase cooler backdraft dampers were not sufficient to prevent backdraft dampers from being ejected into the B iso phase bus
duct. The inspections were performed with a borescope and could not see enough detail to accurately identify wear of the components that were most likely to fail. For some of the potential backdraft damper failure modes, it would be improbable that there would be visible indications that could be used to predict failures. Iso phase bus is about the most rugged, reliable electrical sub-system to be found in any power station. Iso phase should be inspected regularly enough to insure insulator integrity and proper torque values of any bolted connections from bushings to flex braids. Bus and insulators should be cleaned on an appropriate schedule for that specific location to protect its voltage withstand capabilities. In the case of forced cooled IPB, it should be remembered that even though these coolers are attached to an IPB system, they are and should fall under the same general maintenance schedule and replacement schedule as any large motor, fan or cooler in the power station.
FORWARD THINKING
FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
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DECEMBER 9-11, 2014 | ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER | ORLANDO, FLORIDA
WWW.NUCLEARPOWERINTERNATIONAL.COM
Global demand for energy continues to grow. So do concerns related to reliability, greenhouse gas emissions and the environment. Emission-free, baseload nuclear power can be a viable option to address these concerns and meet growing demand for energy. Nuclear energy remains a viable, clean and safe option for meeting demand around the world. Now in its eighth year, NUCLEAR POWER International 2014 provides the nuclear power industry the perfect venue to gather and exchange information about nuclear powers role in todays changing world. Visit www.nuclearpowerinternational.com for a preview of the 2014 event.
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CASE STUDY
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26
Nuclear Plant Automates Calls for Help

BY BRUCE DUFF, CEO, ARCOS INC.
he first thing we heard was the rumbling and then we felt the shaking, and then heard and felt the shaking continue, said Jason Russell, a control room supervisor on duty at Dominions North Anna Power Station in central Virginia on August 23, 2011, the day a 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck. When it comes to power plant operation, callout and emergency notification are rarely thought of until needed. Its not surprising; plants have well-worn processes in place for handling these situations. But inefficiency and, in some cases, risk is at the core. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers defines a callout as an order to report for emergency or special work at an unusual time or place. Most plant managers would argue
against investing in new technology for callout or emergency notification because, on the surface, the processes work. Some savvy power plant operators have begun improving the efficiency and reliability of callouts, though. By studying whats at the core of callouts and emergency notifications, power plant owners such as Dominion, Duke Energy and Salt River Project are finding a more efficient, reliable way to get workers when and where needed. In the case of Dominions North Anna Power Station, immediately after the August 2011 earthquake, the plants operators quickly declared an alert, the second lowest of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissions emergency categories. They then ensured a safe shutdown. Since September 2010, we had
DOMINIONS NORTH ANNA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT USED ARCOS CALLOUT SYSTEM AFTER THE 2011 EARTHQUAKE. PHOTO COURTESY: DOMINION
had a new, fully automated emergency notification system in place that could alert up to 750 of our people about an emergency at the North Anna site, said Clarence L. Gum, manager of Nuclear Fleet Emergency Preparedness for Dominion Resources Services Inc. According to Dominion, the technology in place since 2010 is a
web-based software system that the North Anna Power Stations security control center can activate by PC, smartphone or tablet. Dominions other nuclear stations in Connecticut, Virginia, and Wisconsin, also use the automated system. With the push of a button, the system activates pagers, phones and describes what type of

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CASE STUDY
emergency is happening and where employees should respond. Before 2010, an operator in Dominions security center would have to call a service to launch an emergency notification via pager to all required employees. When the service representative received the call, the name of Dominions operator had to match a database of approved workers.
Eliminating the Potential for Error
We realized that if we brought a newly hired operator on duty and he wasnt yet in the database, then extra minutes might go by before his identify was verified by the service representative, added Gum. That wasnt acceptable, especially because every minute counts in an emergency. Dominion measures the effectiveness of its automated emergency notification system with Augmentation Capability Assessments (i.e., ACA drills). The plant periodically conducts these drills to determine the effectiveness of the automated notification system, and
the timely response of Dominions Emergency Response Organization. Any plant, regardless of fuel source (i.e., gas, oil or nuclear), can automate callout and emergency notification. But one factor to take into consideration is the number of employees required to operate and maintain the plant. For example, a 30-person combined cycle plant generating 150 MW is going to have different emergent callout demands than Crystal River or NGS, which respectively employ more than 200 people.
Building a Case for Automation
also becomes more predictable. For instance, initiating a callout at the Crystal River Energy Complex now happens in three to five minutes. If your sites callout process averages 30 minutes, automating your process may give your supervisors back as many as 27 minutes per callout to focus on other important work. Although a rarity, a lengthy callout
process could potentially force a unit shutdown and trigger the startup of a more costly unit to meet customer demand. Preventing these types of forced derates are as important as searching for efficiencies. Improving callout and emergency notification processes are critical to ensuring plant operations return to safe, normal operating conditions.
NUCLEAR EVENTS
The best approach to building a business case for callout automation is with data. For example, measure the duration of your existing callout process and determine existing bargaining unit callout requirements to determine the variance if any. Automation makes the callout process quicker, allowing supervisors to meet other plant needs while consistently managing the process. Along with this, the duration of callouts
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2013 ANS Winter Meeting and Nuclear Technology Expo Omni Shoreham Hotel Washington, D.C. http://www.ans.org/meetings/winter/ 2013 New Nuclear International Conference Goodnight Consulting and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. Abu Dhabi, UAE http://www.newnuclearinternational.com/ NEI: BWR Vent Order Implementation Workshop Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Baltimore, MD http://www.nei.org/Conferences/BWR-VentOrder-Implementation-Workshop
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TECHNOLOGY
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28
Using Lasers in Decommissioning

igher-power lasers are predominately used for fabrication, but sometimes we use them for slightly off-the-wall applications, said Dr. Jon Blackburn, Section Manager Laser and Sheet Processes with TWI. One of those off-the-wall applications is the use of lasers in decommissioning nuclear power plants, where TWI has developed and demonstrated a handheld gun, a gun that can be used underwater, and guns which may be mounted on a snake A SNAKE ROBOT SHOOTS THE LASER. robot, all of which shoot laser beamssort of. TWI, a United Kingdom-based independent research organization, was awarded a one-year contract from the UKs Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) in 2009 to develop prototype equipment and demonstrate the processes of laser concrete scabbling and laser cutting for remote use in nuclear decommissioning projects. Because of strong industrial interest, further projects have and are being performed, and an array of technologies that help to demolish radiological sites quickly and safely are being developed. The actual deployment technology will depend upon the geometry, location and radioactivity of the structure. The guns, which are referred to as process heads, dont exactly shoot a laser beam, Blackburn said. The laser is actually located outside of a processing cell up to 100
THE GUN GUIDES THE LASER TO ITS TARGET.
meters away and is fiber-delivered to the gun, which guides the laser to where it needs to shoot. The technology could potentially be used for processes like the cutting of metallic structures, pipework and I-beams either underwater or on dry land. The cutting could be done in situ or in a bespoke size reduction cell. Testing so far has been performed in lab-based
environments, but TWI is working with companies to demonstrate the technology in active environments in the near future. While the lasers are a fun topic of discussion, they are being designed for a serious matter: reducing the cost of decommissioning, whilst meeting the high safety requirements of the nuclear decommissioning industry.
Learn From the Best in the Nuclear Industry!

The nuclear industry has quietly evolved to become one of the safest and most reliable low-cost producers of electricity. Mary Jo Rogerss timely book, Nuclear Energy Leadership: Lessons Learned from U.S. Operators, provides helpful suggestions as well as useful tools drawn from the best of the nuclear industry. Dr. Rogers shows how lessons from leading nuclear operators can be applied to nonnuclear operationsbased organizations to markedly improve production and safety performance.
194 Pages/Hardcover/2012 ISBN 978-1-59370-245-8 Price $79.00 US
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