The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has announced that it launched a series of inspections at the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant in the Nebraska state.
A team of the NRC is examining the 476MW power plant’s restart checklist and evaluating a recent cooling water pump issue.
Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) operates the nuclear generating station, which is located 19 miles north of Omaha and has been closed since the Missouri River floods in April 2011.
The nuclear regulator will examine the issue, involving four main water pumps incorrectly anchored using shorter bolts than required.
In addition, the NRC inspectors are reviewing various items from the restart checklist that include fire, flooding, and an ongoing safety culture evaluation.
Under the NRC restart basis document, nearly 450 items have to be inspected for adequacy before any restart authorization decision.
NRC Region IV administrator Elmo E Collins stated, "As we continue our work to oversee OPPD’s corrective actions to address the restart checklist, additional NRC inspectors are on site to ensure that the plant operator has taken the appropriate steps to replace the pump bolts."