NRC to bury SONGS 1 vessel without autopsy for embrittlement science to inform license renewal process
SONGS-1 reactor pressure vessel/ NRCOn May 19, 2020, Beyond Nuclear participated in a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) teleconference with the atomic power industry to discuss its program for the material surveillance of aging reactor pressure vessels at power stations requesting a second operating license extension (Subsequent License Renewal) period out to 80 years. The large majority of the nation's nuclear power fleet is already operating in their first 20-year license extension from the original 40 year license out to 60-years. Now the industry is seeking applications to extend operations by an additional 20-years. As a result, the NRC and industry need to track and reliably predict the progression of a time-temperature-radiation phenomenon that continues to embrittle the reactor pressure vessel into the license extension period. The temperature and radiation changes the chemical make up of the carbon steel walls as well as that of the weld materials that fabricate the largest component in a nuclear power reactor which operates at temperature of 600 degrees Fahrenheit at pressure of 2000 pounds per square inch. The chemical change causes the loss of the ductility of the metal and its ablity to expand and contract bith temperature change. The "embrittlement" can cause the metal to crack and shatter under extreme operational temperature and pressure changes following an accident that initiates the reactor cooling system. This can result in a catastrophic nuclear accident.
Beyond Nuclear is intervening in the NRC license extension programs that approve the industry age management programs into the license extension period. This has included watchdogging the NRC staff and national laboratory research that has recommended that as nuclear power stations permanently shutdown for decommissioning that a forensic autopsy be conducted on reactor sytems, structures and components, particularly the reactor pressure vessels, to determine their operational reliability during the extension period and safety-risks as various age-related degradation mechanisms eat away at safety margins.
The need for these autopsies, otherwise known as "strategic harvesting" for laboratory analyses, during decommissioning, has long been sought by the NRC, the national labs and public interest groups since the early 1990s including by emergency enforcement actions focused on the embrittlement of reactor pressure vessels. One such effort that we participated in singled out the permanently closed reactors at Yankee Rowe (MA), Rancho Seco (CA), Trojan (OR) and San Onofre Unit 1 (CA) where public interest groups sought to require the operators and NRC to cut and archive material sampes from embrittled reactor pressure vessels for laboratory study on the initiation and progression of embrittlement. The NRC dismissed the citizens enforcement petition in a Director's Decision issued in June 1996. The NRC decision said that taking archival samples at that time was necessary. In particular, the NRC decision cited the example of San Onofre Unit 1 because Southern California Edison (SCE) can wait to extract the embrittlement vessel samples until after San Onofre (SONGS) units 2 and 3 permanently close. Units 2 and 3 permanently closed in 2013. That time is now.
During the May 19, 2020 meeting, Beyond Nuclear discovered that rather than require the decommissioning of San Onofre Unit 1 to include the harvesting of material samples for scientific analysis and surveillance they now seek to inform the second license renewal process, the NRC and SCE are going to bury it whole in Clive, Utah without an autopsy. So much for the agency's sincerity on legitimately advancing any surveillance project. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to nuclear power.
May 20, 2020