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Entergy Provides Information on Indian Point and Fuel Pool Initiatives in Public Meeting
March 30, 2006
The NRC announced in a public meeting held in Peekskill, N.Y. on Tuesday to discuss Entergy's performance during 2005 that Entergy operated both Indian Point nuclear power plants safely, giving the plants a green rating.
Entergy improved overall performance of the plants from past years by operating at high efficiency levels, including operating Indian Point 2 through 2005 until Dec. 23 when it shut down briefly, enjoying one of its best continuous operational runs lasting 382 days and operating at 99 percent capacity factor (the percentage of time operating).
Entergy also last year completed the shortest ever refueling outage for Indian Point 3, which enjoyed a capacity factor of over 90 percent, despite the planned 27-day outage.
During the public meeting, Entergy also discussed with the NRC its plans to make additional improvements to its human performance programs, the plants' material condition, the off-site emergency notification system, and several other initiatives.
In a second public session with the NRC, Entergy discussed its efforts to identify the source of contaminated groundwater beneath the Indian Point 2 plant. Based on what has been learned to date, plant managers said that small amounts of radioactivity are presumed reaching the Hudson River, though State and federal health and safety agencies have said there is no threat to drinking water supplies or public health.
Entergy emphatically stated in the meeting that it is not pleased and finds unacceptable that any contamination would reach the river, no matter that there is no evidence of a safety risk.
Plant managers also said they will do all they can to pinpoint the source of the leak and stop it. Entergy's investigation and efforts will continue through the summer to determine the best method and appropriate time to do mitigation. Premature mitigation, Entergy said, could affect or distort developing information and findings, and unnecessarily complicate identifying the source of the leak and remediation efforts—a lesson learned from other industrial sites dealing with similar issues.
Entergy vowed to continue improving the plants' operational and safety performance in 2006 beyond the good marks received from the NRC for 2005. Plant managers also committed to resolving the long-standing issues associated with the Indian Point 1 spent-fuel pool that may be the source of the underground contamination seen near the river. (Indian Point 1 stopped producing electricity in the mid 1970's. Afterward, a curtain drain was installed by the plant owner at that time to capture the leakage from the pool, but no plans were made to deal with the fuel. Entergy began a project two years ago to remove the fuel and has completed inspection and cleaning the fuel elements.) Entergy purchased the Indian Point 1 and 2 plants in September 2001. Indian Point 3 was purchased from a separate owner the year before.
Entergy also discussed their plans to continue investigation and resolution this year of the issues associated with the IP2 spent-fuel pool which may be the source of the groundwater contamination. Plant managers learned last summer that water was leaking through a settlement crack in the four-to-six feet outer wall. Though the leak has stopped, Entergy is continuing its investigation of the inner liner of the pool to be sure that there is not an active leak.
There is no threat to the structural integrity of the two pools or keeping the pools filled with water. Indian Point 3, which has a leak detection system that the other two plants do not have, is not leaking water.
Entergy will be performing a refueling outage next month at Indian Point 2 that should last about one month. Both plants are expected to be available for the summer months when demand for electricity puts a strain on New York State's and the northeast region's electricity grid.
For more information on the spent fuel pools, go to www.safesecurevital.org.
Contact:
Jim Steets
(914) 272-3545 - office
(914) 671-0457 - cell
jsteets@entergy.com
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