NRC initiates Millstone Unit 2 inspection

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced on Tuesday that it has begun an investigation at the Millstone Unit 2 nuclear power plant after a coolant system was found to be leaking.

The incident was declared on Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m. The reactor coolant system was discovered to be leaking from a relief valve at an amount over 25 gallons per minute. The purpose of this system is to provide cooling to the reactor when it is out of service. The plant was about to undergo refueling and maintenance when the incident occurred.

Preliminary assessment by the NRC determined that the incident was worthy of a special investigation into operator and equipment performance and response.

“Our initial review of the event has raised questions regarding operator performance,” NRC Region I Administrator Dan Dorman said. “We have determined that the use of a Special Inspection is appropriate in this case to help the NRC better understand Dominion’s response to the event.”

The leak was eliminated as of 11 a.m. on the same day. Repairs were able to be made and the system was able to return to operational status.

A report of this investigation will be made available within 45 days of the inspection’s conclusion.