Special NRC Oversight at Fort Calhoun Station

 

As a result of the continuous performance assessment of Fort Calhoun Station (FCS), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) modified its regulatory oversight of FCS, effective December 13, 2011, to address several performance issues that were identified during an extended shutdown of the plant. FCS initially shut down for a scheduled refueling outage in April 2011, but that outage was subsequently extended to address longstanding technical issues, as well as issues associated with the Missouri River flooding that affected the plant from June through September 2011. Because the identified performance issues will require additional oversight, the NRC will now follow Inspection Manual Chapter 0350 (IMC 0350), "Oversight of Reactor Facilities in a Shutdown Condition Due to Significant Performance and/or Operational Concerns," rather than the usual IMC 0305, "Operating Reactor Assessment Program."

The following table lists the publicly available documents that the NRC has issued in connection with the special oversight of FCS.

Also on this page:

• Electrical Switchgear Fire Event

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Date	Title/Description
02/12/2015	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
12/02/2014	Public Meeting Summary
12/02/2014	Public Meeting with Omaha Public Power District
11/25/2014	NRC Team Inspection Report
11/13/2014	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
09/25/2014	Public Meeting Summary
09/18/2014	NRC Confirmatory Action Letter Follow Up Inspection and Problem Identification and Resolution Inspection Report
09/08/2014	NRC Public Meeting Notice
07/29/2014	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
06/25/2014	NRC Temporary Instruction Inspection Report
06/17/2014	Public Meeting Summary
05/22/2014	Public Meeting Summary
05/20/2014	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
05/14/2014	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
05/13/2014	Public Meeting with Omaha Public Power District Summary
05/13/2014	Closed Meeting Summary with Army Corps of Engineers, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Omaha Public Power District, and Nebraska Public Power District
05/09/2014	Public Meeting Summary
05/09/2014	Closed Meeting Summary with Omaha Public Power District
05/06/2014	NRC Triennial Heat Exchanger Inspection
04/25/2014	NRC Public Meeting Notice
04/25/2014	NRC Special Oversight Inspection Report
04/03/2014	NRC Team Inspection Report
03/19/2014	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
02/27/2014	Public Meeting Summary
02/13/2014	NRC Public Meeting Notice
02/10/2014	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
12/17/2013	Fort Calhoun Station Closure of Confirmatory Action Letter
12/17/2013	Confirmatory Action Letter – Fort Calhoun Station
12/17/2013	NRC Restart Press Release
12/16/2013	Recommendation for NRC to Close Confirmatory Action Letter EA-13-020 Supporting the Restart of Fort Calhoun Station and Recommendation to Issue Post-Restart Confirmatory Action Letter
12/11/2013	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
12/02/2013	Integrated Report to Support Restart of Fort Calhoun Station and Post-Restart Commitments for Sustained Improvement
11/21/2013	Public Meeting Summary
11/15/2013	Current Status of NRC Restart Checklist and Basis Documents
11/13/2013	Public Meeting Notice with Omaha Public Power District Press Release
11/08/2013	Public Meeting Notice with Omaha Public Power District
09/24/2013	Public Meeting with Omaha Public Power District
09/23/2013	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
09/19/2013	Current Status of NRC Restart Checklist and Basis Documents
09/12/2013	Public Meeting Notice with Omaha Public Power District
08/15/2013	Public Meeting Notice with Omaha Public Power District NRC News Public Meeting Notice Fort Calhoun Station Plan for Sustained Improvement Omaha Public Power District Presentation – Public Meeting
08/09/2013	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
08/01/2013	NRC IMC 0350 Security Team Inspection Report
07/16/2013	NRC Team Inspection Report
07/11/2013	NRC IMC 0350 Inspection Report
07/11/2013	Public Meeting Notice
06/13/2013	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
05/24/2013	NRC Special Inspection Report
05/17/2013	Summary of Public Meeting with Omaha Public Power District
05/06/2013	Public Meeting Notice With Omaha Public Power District NRC News Public Meeting Notice
04/24/2013	Security Inspection Report
04/24/2013	Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation Inspection Report
04/22/2013	Meeting with Omaha Public Power District to Discuss Potential Fort Calhoun Licensing Actions (Handouts)
04/17/2013	Public Meeting Notice With Omaha Public Power District NRC News Public Meeting Notice
04/03/2013	Summary of Public Meeting
04/02/2013	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
03/27/2013	Summary of Public Meeting with Omaha Public Power District
03/11/2013	NRC Inspection Report
03/07/2013	Restart Checklist Basis Document (Revised)
03/07/2013	Public Meeting Notice
02/26/2013	Confirmatory Action Letter and Restart Checklist (Revised)
02/14/2013	NRC Integrated Inspection Report
12/21/2012	NRC Integrated Inspection report
12/12/2012	OPPD Slide Presentation Regarding Containment Internal Structures
11/15/2012	Summary of Public Meeting with Omaha Public Power District
11/13/2012	NRC Resident Inspection Report
11/13/2012	Restart Checklist Basis Document
10/25/2012	Public Meeting Notice
10/02/2012	NRC Resident Inspection Report
09/07/2012	Revised Fort Calhoun Station Manual Chapter 0350 Oversight Panel Charter
08/23/2012	Summary of Public Meeting with Omaha Public Power District Meeting Summary
08/13/2012	NRC Resident Inspection Report
07/17/2012	Summary of Public Meeting with Omaha Public Power District
07/09/2012	Fort Calhoun Station Integrated Performance Improvement Plan
06/29/2012	Public Meeting Notice
06/13/2012	Triennial Fire Protection Inspection Report
06/13/2012	Designation of NRC Oversight Panel Chairman
06/11/2012	Fort Calhoun Station Response to NRC Inspection Report 2012002
06/11/2012	Confirmatory Action Letter and Restart Checklist
05/02/2012	Public Meeting Notice
04/04/2012	Summary of Public Meeting with Omaha Public Power District NRC Public Meeting Slide Presentation OPPD Public Meeting Slide Presentation
02/22/2012	Transcript of Public Meeting Held at NRC, Briefing on Fort Calhoun Station:  Presentations
02/12/2012	Manual Chapter 0350 Panel Process Plan for Fort Calhoun Station
01/19/2012	Summary of Public Meeting with Omaha Public Power District
01/12/2012	Fort Calhoun Station Manual Chapter 0350 Oversight Panel Charter
12/13/2011	Notification of Change to Regulatory Oversight of Fort Calhoun Station
09/02/2011	Confirmatory Action Letter

Electrical Switchgear Fire Event

• A fire occurred on June 7, 2011, in electrical switchgear that distributes power to vital systems and components needed for the safe shutdown of the plant. This fire affected two independent trains of the system and resulted in the NRC issuing a preliminary red finding on March 12, 2012, following a special inspection. The special inspection report is found in the below documents.

• The fire started in a replacement electrical breaker that was modified to fit inside the existing electrical switchgear. The replacement breaker was installed and in service for about 18 months before the fire occurred.

• Poor alignment between electrical components and inadequate cleaning of the connections (hardened grease at the interface) increased the electrical resistance at their junction. These conditions created a buildup of heat that caused a fire affecting one train; electrically conductive soot and smoke spread past a barrier and tripped the breaker on the opposing train. This electrical fault resulted in the complete loss of spent fuel pool cooling for approximately 90 minutes, resulting in a 3°F temperature rise in the pool.

• Fort Calhoun Station staff has taken compensatory measures to ensure that high resistance connections were corrected in the other affected load centers, and reactor shutdown cooling systems were not directly affected. The NRC is in the process of reviewing Fort Calhoun Station's actions in response to the fire. The reactor at Fort Calhoun Station is currently shutdown and will not be allowed to restart until the IMC 0350 Panel grants approval.

Date	Description
05/24/2012	OPPD Reply to Red Finding
04/10/2012	Final Significance of Red Finding
03/12/2012	Special Inspection Report
10/27/2011	Licensee Event Report
09/12/2011	NRC Press Release
06/08/2011	ALERT Exited
06/07/2011	ALERT Declared