An unspecified security violation recorded last year at Entergy’s River Bend nuclear plant in St. Francisville has prompted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to hold a town hall meeting later this month about the plant’s 2014 performance and the agency’s oversight and planned inspections.
“Overall, the River Bend plant operated safely during 2014, but will receive additional oversight as a result of a security violation,” reads a news release issued today by the NRC. “The NRC will also conduct an additional inspection because the plant had two unplanned shutdowns during the fourth quarter of 2014, exceeding a performance threshold.”
The town hall meeting is set for Tuesday, April 14, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the St. Francisville Town Hall, 11936 Ferdinand St. An assessment letter sent by the NRC to River Bend officials regarding the plant’s performance in 2014 will serve as the basis for the meeting, the NRC says.
The assessment letter does not detail specifics of the security violation. However, it does mention the incident prompted a “greater-than-green inspection finding,” referring to the NRC’s color-coded inspection process, by which colors start at green and increase to white, yellow and red, based on the severity of the issue. More details on the incident may be available at the town hall meeting later this month.
“Meetings like this provide members of the public with an opportunity to speak directly with the NRC staff who help ensure the plant’s safety on a day-to-day basis,” says NRC Region IV Administrator Marc Dapas in the release.
The NRC announced Monday it had begun a special inspection at River Bend nuclear to review circumstances surrounding the failure during testing of equipment needed to provide ventilation and cooling to plant areas with safety-related equipment. During periodic testing on March 9, equipment that provides ventilation and cooling to plant areas with safety-related equipment failed to start, NRC says. A similar failure occurred during testing on Feb. 23.
—Steve Sanoski
