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Exelon Nuclear Reaffirms High Level Of Safety, Protection At Peach Bottom
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Exelon Nuclear has added seven mobile, high-volume diesel-driven pumps at its nuclear energy facilities, among thousands of equipment purchases, upgrades and validations completed at Exelon’s 10 plants, including Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, in the year following the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Exelon technical experts have verified readiness of more than 1,700 other pieces of equipment; inspected more than 1,900 flood barriers and seals; and invested more than 43,000 worker hours checking and testing equipment and procedures that might be needed in an emergency.
Those actions represent just a portion of the inspections, upgrades, and other work undertaken by Exelon Nuclear following the Fukushima-Daiichi disaster. The company operates the largest fleet of commercial nuclear facilities in the U.S., with 17 reactors at 10 sites.
Within a week of the March 11, 2011 events, teams of engineers and technical experts from Exelon Nuclear and others in the industry traveled to Japan to provide expertise and to begin understanding as many lessons as possible from the experience. The primary lesson: expect the unexpected, and prepare for the unimaginable.
Learnings from Fukushima have translated into extensive reviews of equipment, structures and procedures at Peach Bottom; purchases of additional backup emergency equipment; updates of emergency procedures; and additions to emergency training.
“One year after the events in Fukushima, the safety of our plant, its employees and our neighbors continues to be Job #1 at Peach Bottom,” said Site Vice President Tom Dougherty. “We are investing in new and upgraded equipment to make our robust facility even safer and implementing a number of important learnings from Fukushima into policies, training and day to day operations at the station.”
“Since last March, we have taken the learnings from Fukushima, critically assessed our operations and taken immediate actions,” said Mike Pacilio, president and chief nuclear officer of Exelon Nuclear. “We have additional safety measures planned for Exelon and the entire U.S. nuclear industry in the months ahead with additional guidance being issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. We take pride in always being a learning organization dedicated to the safety of our facilities.”
Among other tasks completed over the past 12 months, Exelon Nuclear engineers and experts have revised safety procedures and guidelines; reexamined severe flood assumptions; broadened operator training and inspected equipment and plant components.
In February, Exelon and other U.S. nuclear operating companies unanimously agreed to purchase or order additional safety equipment for their plants by March 31. This includes emergency and portable equipment such as diesel driven pumps, electric generators, hoses, fittings, communications gear and other equipment.
Well before the events at Fukushima, Peach Bottom had multiple physical barriers and layers of backup safety systems to ensure safe operations even in extreme events, including floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Equipment purchases and work over the past year have strengthened those barriers and systems, and enhancements will continue for years.
Peach Bottom is protected from flooding by watertight doors, elevation of equipment above flood levels and specially engineered flood barriers. Peach Bottom can automatically and safely shut down and keep the fuel cooled even without electricity from the grid, using multiple, redundant backup power systems. Peach Bottom undergoes frequent emergency training and exercises involving government emergency response agencies at all levels.
Peach Bottom’s emergency operating procedures are constantly tested, challenged, and simulated to ensure that they will work properly when needed. Such drills are overseen by the NRC with NRC inspectors stationed at all U.S. nuclear facilities on a full–time basis.
Over the last twelve months, the U.S. nuclear industry has pooled resources to ensure the lessons from Japan are systematically gathered, analyzed, and implemented. The process identified short- and long-term actions that further increase the margin of safety at U.S. nuclear facilities.
“Exelon Nuclear is dedicated to full transparency,” said Pacilio. “We know that the more the public knows about the safety of the U.S. nuclear industry, the more confident they feel about nuclear power as a source of safe, abundant, and clean energy.”
For more information, visit the Exelon Nuclear webpage.
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3/12/2012 |
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