The commission has reviewed updated earthquake hazard information filed by 60 nuclear reactor sites in the US as part of the its implementation of lessons learned from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.
The submissions showed the plants, which have substantial safety margin above their designs’ anticipated hazards, are safe for continued operation while more work is done.
With limited technical expertise available to the industry, the NRC has set two priority lists for the completion of follow-on work to carry out detailed risk analysis based on the re-evaluations.
First list of NRC requires the following nuclear sites to submit their detailed risk analysis by 30 June 2017: Callaway – Fulton, Missouri; Cook – Bridgman, Michigan; Indian Point – Buchanan, New York; North Anna – Louisa, Virginai; Oconee – Seneca, South Carolina; Peach Bottom – Delta, Pennsylvania; Pilgrim – Plymouth, Massachusetts; Robinson – Hartsville; Vogtle – Georgia;Watts Bar – Spring City, Tennessee.
Meanwhile, the second list of 11 sites due to be submitted by 31 December 2019 include: Beaver Valley in Pennsylvania; Browns Ferry site in Alabama; Catawba in South Carolina; Dresden site in Illinois; Fermi nuclear site in Michigan; Hatch – Baxley, Georgia; LaSalle site in Illinois; Oyster Creek in New Jersey; Palisades nuclear site; Summer nuclear site in Jenkinsville; and Sequoyah in Tennessee.
NRC Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation director Eric Leeds said, "We’ve examined this information to see how a plant’s new quake hazard compares to the ground movement that the plant’s original design process considered.
"We’re closely following the industry’s response and we’re confident the plants are safe to continue operating. If a plant’s new hazard exceeds the original design, the plant has to do a detailed analysis to determine any changes in accident risk from a quake. Plants must also do shorter-term work to see if they should enhance key safety equipment."
