Nuclear regulators send inspectors to Calvert Cliffs
Reactors at nuclear power plant in southern Maryland shut down last week after an electrical malfunction
The
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
announced Monday that it is conducting a special inspection at the
Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland after an
electrical malfunction caused the two reactors there to shut down.
The
plant, which restarted both reactors over the weekend, suffered the
shutdown after snow and ice during a storm Jan. 21 apparently affected a
ventilation louver filter and caused a short circuit. After the
electrical supply system shut down, so did several plant systems and
components that rely on electricity, the nuclear regulatory agency said
Monday.
Those components included motors for moving control rods
and water circulating pumps for the Unit 2 reactor, the agency said. The
main turbine control circuit for the Unit 1 reactor also malfunctioned
after the electricity loss.
Both units shut down as a result, with "no impacts on public health and safety," the agency said.
The three-person inspection team began working at the plant Monday, the commission said.
"We
want to gain a better understanding of the chain of events that caused
both of the reactors to simultaneously shut down and equipment anomalies
subsequent to the plant trips," said Bill Dean, the commission's
administrator for the region that includes Maryland, in a statement.
"This inspection is designed to shed additional light on not only why
the outages happened but how the plant operators handled them."
A
Constellation
Energy Nuclear Group spokesman said in an email that federal reviews
after shutdowns are common, adding that the company welcomed the
inspection at its plant.
"Operators followed their training and
performed well during the shutdowns," said Kory Raftery, the spokesman.
"The site's multiple safety systems responded as designed."
But Neil Sheehan, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman, said such inspections are not common.
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