Regulatory NRC conference to discuss Waterford 3 nuclear plant violation

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has scheduled a regulatory conference with officials from Entergy Operations to discuss potential violations at Waterford 3 in Louisiana.

The discussion is open to the public. When the formal discussion is complete, there will be an opportunity for attendees to ask the NRC's officials questions.

The NRC uses a color-coded process to classify commercial nuclear plants. The colors -- green, white, yellow and red -- are applied to illustrate the safety significance of a specific plant. The color code that Waterford 3 received indicates a violation.

The inspection at Waterford 3 showed that a vent pipe on the plant’s roof had corroded so much that rainwater was able to pass through and contaminate the plant’s fuel oil emergency diesel generators. These generators are meant to be back-up power if there is a situation in which the plant loses power. This violation impacts the plant’s overall operation.

As of today, there has not been a decision made concerning the final safety importance of the corroded pipe.

The NRC identified the violation within its Jan. 22 inspection report.

The meeting will take place on April 7 at the NRC’s Region IV office, located at 1600 E. Lamar Blvd., Arlington, Texas. Anyone interested is welcome to attend the event.