Nuclear panel ignored reactor-risk warning

Press, 2 April 1979, Page 8

Nuclear panel ignored reactor-risk warning

NZPA-Reuter Washington The United States nuclear regulatory commission rejected recommendations of one of its investigators last January concerning possible probierhs at the radiationleaking Three Mile Island atomic power plant in Pennsylvania and at others built by the same company, a spokesman has confirmed. “The decision was made here that it was not necessary to notify the Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards or. the basis of the informa-

tion we had,” Mr Frank In-i gram, the commission! spokesman, said. A January 8 N.R.C. in-i vestigator’s report obtained! by the Associated Press said:! “There are some indications) that other B and W (Babcock and Wilcox) plants may have problems maintaining pressuriser-level indicators during transients. “In addition, under certain conditions such as the loss of feed water at 100 per cent power . . . the pressuriser may void completely,”! the report said.

■I An N.R.C. spokeswoman? ■ Ms Sue Gagnon, said; “Iff j there’s a common factor be-i .'tween the report and the iproblems at Three Mile Island it may be the feed-' ((water system, but we really 1 . won’t know until we finish i our investigation in Harrisburg.” The pressuriser system faulted in the investigator’s report is a unit designed to maintain a specific level of 1 pressure within the reactor’s _ cooling system. J Safety requirements deImand that the pressure stay I constant during any tran-

J.sients, or changes in the :i system. ■i “The reactor inspector, Mr > J. S. Creswell, believed the boards should be notified of ■jthe problems, but. other r ;people didn’t see it that i way, Ms Gagnon said. “The decision not to turn the matter over to the i boards is being reconsidered, ; and I expect the boards will i now be notified.” ’ The licensing board is an ; N.R.C. body charged with the responsibility for deter- ■ mining whether plants ’ should be allowed to operate.