The Nuclear Regulatory Commission denied late last week a petition to look at the internal reactor pressure vessels at the Vermont Yankee and Kewaunee Power Stations for signs of possible cracking over time in the system, according to a posting in the Federal Register. The petition had requested that the NRC “conduct exigent and immediate full-scale ultrasonic inspections on the VY and the KPS reactor pressure vessels (RPVs), with similar or better technology” and to “take large borehole samples out of both the Vermont Yankee and Kewaunee RPVs and transport them to a respected metallurgic laboratory for comprehensive offsite testing.” The petition came following a foreign incident in which cracks that had been discovered during testing on the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 back in 2012.
According to the NRC, since the Kewaunee and Vermont Yankee reactors have been shut down, there would be no consequence should cracking exist. “The NRC has denied the petitioner’s request to conduct immediate ultrasonic inspections at VY and KPS because of the following reasons,” the notice said. “Both the identified facilities have ceased operations and would not be subject to an enforcement-related action (i.e., to modify, suspend, or revoke the license). In addition, the NRC issued Information Notice (IN) 2013-19. The purpose of this IN was to inform industry of the quasi-laminar indications that were identified in 2012, at two European commercial nuclear power plants. These indications were identified during the ultrasonic inspections that were performed on the RPV forgings.”
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