NRC Continues to Respond to Irma

Update (Sept. 12, 2017 4:15 p.m. EST):

Late Monday afternoon, Hurricane Irma had diminished to the point that the NRC exited monitoring mode and stopped staffing the Region II Incident Response Center in Atlanta. (The Operations Center at NRC headquarters in Maryland remains staffed 24/7 as usual.) Neither the Turkey Point nuclear plant nor the St. Lucie nuclear plant, both in Florida, lost offsite power during the storm, and both units at each plant are expected to be operating again this week. St. Lucie Unit 2 remained at full power throughout the storm, and Florida Power & Light tells the NRC it expects to restart St. Lucie Unit 1 today after local emergency management officials confirm they could implement their emergency plans for the plant. FPL has also indicated that it plans to restart both units at Turkey Point after emergency officials in South Florida provide the same assurances for the site. The NRC has returned to its normal inspection and oversight of Turkey Point, St. Lucie, and the other plants in the Southeast and will begin to evaluate lessons learned from Hurricane Irma in preparation for future storms that may affect nuclear plants.

Roger Hannah
Senior Public Affairs Officer, Region II

(Sept. 11, 2017): As Irma (now a tropical storm) continues to track through the southeast, the NRC continues to monitor its path and the nuclear power plants potentially along that route.

Turkey Point Unit 3, in south Florida, remains safely shut down, as it has been since Saturday. Operators at the Turkey Point plant shut down Unit 4 just before 7 p.m. Sunday evening due to a valve issue. The shutdown was uncomplicated, the plant is in a safe condition, and winds and rain have diminished at the site such that the plant staff exited their declaration of an unusual event at 4 a.m. Three NRC resident inspectors remain at the site, but the agency is now assessing steps to return to its normal inspection staffing within the next day or two.

At St. Lucie, also in Florida, operators are reducing power on Unit 1 due to salt buildup on insulators in the switchyard that supplies offsite power and plant employees are working to resolve this situation. St. Lucie Unit 2 remains at full power. Two NRC resident inspectors remain at the site, but it is expected that NRC will return to normal inspection staffing at this site, also within a day or two.

As of Monday morning, the Region II Incident Response Center staff is monitoring potential effects from the storm on the Hatch nuclear plant in south Georgia and the Farley nuclear plant in south Alabama. The two units at Hatch and the two units at Farley are currently at full power. Even though the staffs at both sites have completed storm preparations, it appears that projected winds will not be strong enough to affect plant operations at these two locations.

The NRC’s Region II continues to be in monitoring mode and the Incident Response Center in Atlanta is staffed. However, predicted wind and rain from the storm has prompted the closure of the Region II office as well as other federal agencies in the area.

Update: The NRC Readies for Hurricane Irma

UPDATE (9/10/2017 – 10 a.m. EST): The NRC activated the Region II Incident Response Center in Atlanta and entered the agency’s monitoring mode just after 6 p.m.yesterday. One unit at the Turkey Point plant is shutdown, but the other unit continues to operate because winds on site have been projected to not exceed hurricane strength. Florida Power & Light has told the NRC it currently has no plans to shut down the two units at the St. Lucie plant because projected wind speeds there are also expected to be below the hurricane level.

Latest Press Release: NRC Preparing for Hurricane Irma – Sept. 8, 2017

Roger Hannah
Senior Public Affairs Officer, Region II

At least two nuclear power plants, Turkey Point and St. Lucie, are in the predicted path of Hurricane Irma. Both are preparing for the strong and potentially damaging storm – just as they have for past dangerous hurricanes.

Twenty-five years ago, Turkey Point was directly in the path of Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 storm, and although many of the plant’s structures were damaged and offsite power lines were lost, important safety equipment was safely maintained.

Florida Power & Light, the company that operates Turkey Point and St. Lucie, is working through a very detailed storm preparation procedure. That work includes checking equipment and supplies such as diesel generator fuel, securing or moving other equipment or items that might be blown around, and implementing a staffing plan to ensure enough operators and support staff are on site around the clock if roads become inaccessible.

Meanwhile, the NRC’s resident inspectors at the two sites are watching and ensuring company employees are following their procedures. The NRC’s Region II office in Atlanta has already dispatched two additional inspectors to Turkey Point and two others to St. Lucie so the resident inspectors assigned to those sites can take care of their homes and families.

As Hurricane Irma moves closer, the NRC will activate its Incident Response Center in Atlanta for around the clock staffing and begin ongoing communications with the plants and the NRC inspectors on site.

Procedures require both plants to be shut down prior to the onset of hurricane-force winds on site, and remain shut down until equipment has been checked and reliable offsite power lines are restored. The plants have diesel generators that can provide power to keep the plants in a safe condition for many days if offsite power is not available.

In addition, regional inspectors have been in contact with NRC license holders in Puerto Rico, Florida and other potentially affected states, which have responsibility for securing radioactive materials during the storm.

Hurricane Andrew and other natural events that have affected nuclear plants in past decades have provided the NRC with a wealth of experience in responding to conditions that can be expected during Hurricane Irma.