New Energy - Digital Versions - Nuclear Plant Journal
Nuclear
Plant
Journal
Outage Management &
Health Physics
Monticello, USA
May-June 2010
Volume 28 No. 3
ISSN: 0892-2055
NUCLEAR FUEL SUPPLIES
REACTORS
& SERVICES
RECYCLING
RENEWABLE ENERGIES
TRANSMISSION
& DISTRIBUTION
Nobody Does It Better
Nuclear plant operators have a lot to cheer
about these days thanks to a wide range
of achievements that define AREVA’s
commitment to operational excellence.
In only its second U.S. deployment, a new Deposit Minimization
Treatment removed 2550 pounds of magnetite from three steam
generators. Plus, since 1989, a process used at 42 plants worldwide
has successfully repaired reactor-cavity liner leakage. One recent
outage set a world record for In-Service Inspection. And operators
welcomed the full application of a safety-related digital I&C protection
and integrated control system – the first and only one approved
by the NRC. Customers also enjoyed the central location of a
vast U.S. Pump and Motor Service Center.
Energy is our future, don’t waste it! - © 2010 AREVA Inc. All rights reserved. - Photography: Warren Wright
At AREVA, we listen, we learn, we innovate. So we also deliver
unsurpassed Operating Flexibility and Margin for your Power Uprate
Projects. And we focus R&D investment to solve specific challenges,
based on your feedback. The result? You can expect safety, quality,
delivery and performance. Count on AREVA.
www.us.areva-np.com
www.areva.com
NDE
FROM A TO
The World-leader in
nondestructive (NDE)
inspection solutions.
www.zetec.com
©2010 EDF Group
Installation of feedwater tank at EDF’s Flamanville construction site of AREVA’s EPR facility (May 2010).
Your Partner for New Nuclear Energy. Today.
For those companies looking at new nuclear, UniStar Nuclear Energy provides economies of
scale and scope through coordinated and systematic development of a standardized fleet of
AREVA EPR TM new nuclear energy facilities.
To find out more about UniStar, call 410.470.4400 or visit www.unistarnuclear.com.
For information on AREVA’s U.S. EPR TM technology, visit www.us.areva.com.
For monthly photo updates of construction progress, send your e-mail address to info@unistarnuclear.com.
Nuclear Plant Journal
May-June 2010, Volume 28 No. 3
®
Outage Management &
Health Physics Issue
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Prerequisites for New Plants 22
By Luis Echávarri, OECD Nuclear Energy Agency
Shutdown Safety, a Cornerstone at Exelon 26
By Glen Earl Chick, Exelon Nuclear
A Strong Safety Culture at Ameren 30
By Pat McKenna, AmerenUE
We Reach Out Beyond our Walls 32
By Margie Jepson, Entergy Nuclear
STAR Human Performance Process 38
By Ron McCall and Anita Church, The Shaw Group, Inc.
Industry Innovations
Exelon's Vision & Leadership 40
By Amir Shahkarami, Exelon Nuclear
New Generation Shielding 42
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Ultrasonic Cleaning of Jet Pump Fouling 46
By Robert Geier, Exelon Nuclear
Plant Profile
Safety of the Public is our Top Priority 48
By John Grubb, Xcel Energy
Departments
New Energy News 8
Utility, Industry & Corporation 13
New Products, Services & Contracts 17
New Documents 20
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List of Advertisers 6
Advertiser Web Directory 44
On The Cover
In 2006, the NRC renewed Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant's operating
license for 20 years. See page 48 for a profi le.
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Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com 5
List of Advertisers & NPJ Rapid Response
Page Advertiser Contact Fax/Email/Website
11 Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. George Bothwell bothwellg@aecl.ca
2 AREVA NP, Inc. Donna Gaddy-Bowen (434) 832-3840
15 The Babcock & Wilcox Company Lisa Tomlin lctomlin@babcock.com
16 Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Company Arlene Corkhill (714) 528-0128
21 Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Company
Nuclear Group Arlene Corkhill (714) 528-0128
19 Day & Zimmermann Power Services David Bronczyk (215) 656-2624
12 Divesco, Inc. Susan Kay Fisher (601) 932-5698
41 E. H. Wachs Co. Sherry Gilmore ehwachs.com/pipe_tube/index.htm
52 Enertech, a business unit of
Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Company Tom Schell tschell@curtisswright.com
33 EXCEL Services Corporation Donald Hoffman (301) 984-7600
35 Fairbanks Morse Engine Kevin Lidbury kevin.lidbury@fairbanksmorse.com
23 GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Karen Ellison (910) 362-5017
17 HSB Global Standards Catherine Coseno (860) 722-5705
7 Kinectrics Inc. Cheryl Tasker (416) 207-6532
41 MHF Services Lisa Sabol lisa_sabol@mhfservices.com
25 Nuclear Logistics Inc. Craig Irish (978) 250-0245
37 ORTEC Susie Brockman info@ortec-online.com
9 Petersen Inc. Susan Chrisman (801) 732-2098
39 Reef Industries, Inc. Chris Attaway (713) 507-4242
27 Remote Ocean Systems Sandy Kennedy sandyk@rosys.com
45 Thermo Fisher Scientific, Scientific Instruments
Division CIDTEC Cameras & Imagers Tony Chapman (315) 451-9421
4 UniStar Nuclear Energy Mary Klett (410) 470-5606
31 UniTech Services Group Steve Hofstatter (413) 543-2975
43 Urenco Enrichment Company Ltd. Please e-mail enquiries@urenco.com
47 URS Art Lembo Arthur_lembo@urscorp.com
29 Westerman Nuclear Jim Christian (740) 569-4111
51 Westinghouse Electric Company LLC Karen Fischetti (412) 374-3244
10 Zachry Nuclear Engineering, Inc. Lisa Apicelli (860) 446-8292
3 Zetec, Inc. Ki Choi (418) 263-3742
Advertisers’ fax numbers may be used with the form at the bottom of the page. Advertisers’ web sites are listed in
the Web Directory Listings on page 44.
Nuclear Plant Journal Rapid Response Fax Form
May-June 2010 Nuclear Plant Journal
To: _________________________ Company: __________________ Fax: ___________________
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6 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
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New Energy
Agreements
At the French-Italian bilateral summit
chaired by French President Nicolas
Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi, Anne Lauvergeon, CEO of
AREVA, signed three nuclear energy
cooperation agreements with its industrial
and academic partners.
The first agreement, signed with
Giuseppe Zampini, CEO of Ansaldo
Energia, will allow AREVA and Ansaldo
to work together in Italy on the ENEL-
EDF project to build at least four EPR
reactors, and also on other projects
around the world. This AREVA-Ansaldo
partnership will notably cover cooperation
in engineering, the supply of certain
components, erection and commissioning
tests.
The second agreement, signed with
Enrico Bonatti, CEO of Techint, paves the
way for the two companies to cooperate
on future turnkey nuclear projects worldwide,
thanks to Techint’s experience and
know-how in the design and construction
of large industrial facilities.
Lastly, a training agreement
was signed with Giuseppe Forasassi,
President of CIRTEN, the inter-university
consortium for nuclear research
and technology which includes the
universities of Rome La Sapienza, Pisa,
Padua, Palermo, Polytechnic Milan and
Polytechnic Turin. Under the terms of
the agreement, AREVA will contribute
to the development of new industrial
competencies in Italy by providing
information material and conference
speakers, and allowing students to
visit its sites. The group will also offer
internships, develop research projects
and deliver professional training.
Contact: Laurence Pernot, telephone:
(301) 841-1694, email: Laurence.
pernot@areva.com.
Concrete Pour
First concrete of the second Taishan
EPR reactor to be constructed in
Guang-dong province in southern China,
has been poured by the Chinese utility
CGNPC.
Around 9000 cubic meters of
concrete, poured continuously by seven
pumps, were necessary to make the
pre-reinforced Reactor Building slab,
measuring 55 meters in diameter.
On November 26, 2007, AREVA and
CGNPC signed a series of agreements
worth an overall 8 billion to construct two
third-generation EPR reactors, as well
as supply all necessary equipment and
services, and create an engineering jointventure.
The two reactors are expected to
be commissioned in late 2013 and 2014,
respectively.
Contact: Julien Duperray, telephone:
33 1 34 96 12 15, fax: 33 1 34 96 16 54,
email: press@areva.com.
Russia
On the occasion of the meeting
between Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin and Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi in Lesmo (Milan), Fulvio
Conti, CEO and General Manager of Enel
and Boris Y. Kovalchuk, Acting Chairman
of the Management Committee of INTER
RAO UES, signed a Memorandum of
Understanding for cooperation in the
nuclear power sector, construction of
new plants and technological innovation,
energy efficiency and distribution in
Russia and the countries of Eastern
Europe.
Particularly relevant is the intention
to analyze the project of the development
of the new nuclear plant at Kaliningrad
which is the first nuclear public-private
partnership in Russia. The plant will
consist of two units of 1,170 MW each
and will employ the third-generation
VVER 1200 technology, and it is expected
to enter into operation between 2016
and 2018, with a significant proportion
of the electricity to be exported to the
nearby European markets. INTER RAO
UES will provide terms and conditions’
development for foreign investors
involvement to the Baltic NPP project and
development of technical proposals for
distribution of the NPP’s electric power
as well. Enel will study the technical,
economic and regulatory aspects of the
project in order to evaluate the conditions
and forms of its possible participation
into the initiative.
Contact: telephone: 7 495 967 05
27, fax: 7 495 967 05 26, email: press@
interrao.ru.
Italy
Ansaldo Energia and Ansaldo
Nucleare, Finmeccanica companies,
Enel and EDF signed an important
Memorandum of Understanding at the
Fifth Forum of Italian-French dialogue,
chaired by Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi and French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, in Paris. The agreement was
reached thanks to the commitment of Pier
Francesco Guarguaglini, Chairman and
CEO of Finmeccanica, Fulvio Conti,
CEO and General Manager of Enel and
Henri Proglio, Chairman and CEO of
EDF.
The aim of the agreement is to define
areas of co-operation between Enel-EDF
and Ansaldo Energia, which holds 100%
of Ansaldo Nucleare, in developing and
building at least four of the nuclear plants
planned by Enel and EDF for Italy, using
Evolutionary Pressurised Reactor (EPR)
technology. Enel and EDF will play the
role of investors and architect engineers,
which means they will have overall
responsibility for the project and for
managing the building of the plants. In
this regard, they will draw on the wealth
of experience of Ansaldo Energia in
designing, planning and commissioning
the nuclear systems and in providing
support to licensing operations.
In addition, Ansaldo Energia will
participate in the qualification and tender
process carried out by Enel and EDF for
the supply of equipment, installation and
engineering systems.
Contact: telephone: 39 06
32473313, fax: 39 06 32657170, email:
uffi ciostampa@fi nmeccanica.com.
Poland
On March 30, 2010 while attending
the 12th International Energy Forum
(IEF) in Cancun, Mexico, Polish Deputy
(Continued on page 10)
8 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
Bet you
didn’t
know
Petersen Inc. has
been in business
for 48 years and has
booked over $750,000,000
in sales. We have aimed for
the moon and reached it! To put it
in perspective, if every one of our project
dollars equated to one mile, we would have
made over 150 round trips to the moon in the past 30
years. Not too bad for a company with over 5,800 years of
combined manufacturing experience. We must admit though,
most of our work takes place right here on Earth.
Oh yeah, with that many years of experience, it’s no wonder that
founder, Denis Petersen, welded on the Lunar excursion module.
Current projects include producing the LAW and HLW Melters
for the River Protection Project in Hanford, WA, as well as large
and small projects for D.O.E. companies like Battelle, Bechtel.
LANL, TRU Solutions and Shaw AREVA. Companies rely heavily
on our expertise to help clean up and protect the environment.
Petersen Inc. prides itself in offering solutions that some may
say are out of this world. What are you waiting for?
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Manufacturing • Fabrication • Large Precision Machining • Small Precision Machining • Field Services • Warehousing & Distribution
New Energy...
Continued from page 8
Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak and
Minister Masayuki Naoshima of the
Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry (METI) signed a memorandum
of cooperation on the peaceful uses of
nuclear energy.
According to the memorandum,
Japan will assist Poland with its nuclear
power development plans, aiming at
operating the first nuclear power plant
(NPP) in that country around 2020.
From the viewpoints of maintaining a
stable supply of energy and implementing
measures against global warming, Poland
recently resumed its consideration of
starting up a new reactor by 2020. The
country has already decided to adopt a
nuclear energy program this year, in order
to identify the NPP’s construction site.
Contact: Japan Atomic Industrial
Forum, Inc., email: information@jaif.
or.jp.
Vietnam
During his recent stay in Washington,
D.C., to attend the Nuclear Security
Summit, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
met Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen
Tan Dung, conveying the Japanese
government’s strong support for Vietnam’s
plan to introduce nuclear power for the
first time. He also expressed Japan’s hope
to begin negotiations with Vietnam on a
nuclear cooperation agreement between
the two countries in the near future.
Contact: Japan Atomic Industrial
Forum, Inc., email: information@jaif.
or.jp.
South Texas Project
Nuclear Innovation North America
LLC (NINA), the nuclear development
company jointly owned by NRG Energy,
Inc. and Toshiba Corporation announced
an agreement for the Building and Construction
Trades Department (BCTD) of
the AFL-CIO to provide skilled union labor
to construct the two new nuclear units
at the South Texas Project (STP).
Approximately 6,000 people will
work up to 25 million hours to build the
new units, STP 3&4, which are located
about 100 miles southwest of Houston in
Matagorda County, Texas. Construction
of the new units is expected to begin in
2012, once NINA receives its Combined
Operating License from the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, and should last
five years with unit 3 coming online in
2016 and unit 4 in 2017.
Contact: David Knox, telephone:
(713) 795-6106.
Turkey
Russia and Turkey signed an international
agreement concerning the cooperation
in construction and operation of a
four-reactor nuclear power plant planned
for Akkuyu site in Mersin Province.
The draft agreement was approved by
a resolution by the Russian government of
May 9, 2010. According to the document,
the Russian party within three months
commencing the agreement entering into
force will start procedures to set up an
engineering company to implement the
project, including the Akkuyu N-plant
operation.
Contact: Rosatom, telephone: 7 499
949 46 50, fax: 7 499 949 27 22, email:
press@rosatom.ru.
(Continued on page 12)
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industry advances, we are a visionary force for the nuclear future.
www.zhi.com
10 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
The power of a leader
Operating successfully on four
continents, the CANDU reactor design
has been a world leader in producing
clean and reliable nuclear energy. The
global fleet of CANDU reactors is one
of the world’s best performing designs
with a track record of on-time, on-budget
delivery over the past seven projects.
Performance – another powerful reason
to consider CANDU technology.
For more information, visit
www.aecl.ca/Reactors.htm
Partnerships that Power the World
New Energy...
Continued from page 10
Ukraine
The Ukrainian Government approved
a draft agreement with Russia concerning
the cooperation in construction of two
power units at Khmelnitsky nuclear
power plant (NPP).
The approved agreement is a
framework deal and sets terms and
conditions of the joint work of the parties
on the project. In particular, it envisages
a Russian loan for the work, however, the
document does not define the loan amount
and allocation dates. This issue should be
subject to a separate contract, according
to Makukha.
A year ago, the Ukrainian
Government invited Russia to participate
in the construction completion of two
new reactors at Khmelnitsky NPP site.
The construction should start in 2010 and
finish before 2016 yearend. Moscow may
give Kiev a US$5-6bn loan to build the
new reactors.
Contact: Rosatom, telephone: 7 499
949 46 50, fax: 7 499 949 27 22, email:
press@rosatom.ru.
Finland
Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) is
pleased to learn about the Government’s
favorable political decision towards the
Company’s application to construct its
fourth nuclear power plant, Olkiluoto
unit 4. A favorable decision at the first
stage of the political process is extremely
significant to TVO and its shareholders.
With the favorable decision-in-principle
granted, the application can proceed to
the next stage, i.e. to deliberation in the
Parliament.
Jarmo Tanhua, President & CEO of
TVO, emphasizes the significance of the
experience gained from the Olkiluoto
3 project and says that the company
will take full advantage of the globally
acknowledged Finnish nuclear power
expertise accumulated at TVO as a result
of the construction of the new-generation
nuclear power plant unit and the operation
of the OL1 and OL2 units.
Contact: Jarmo Tanhua, telephone:
358 9 6180 2500.
AP1000
Westinghouse Electric Company
LLC announced that it has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with
leading Polish energy provider Polska
Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) to collaborate
on delivering the AP1000 nuclear
power plant in response to Poland’s
initiatives for nuclear capacity.
Under the agreement, Westinghouse
and PGE will jointly study the feasibility
of building new nuclear reactors in Poland
based on the AP1000, the world’s
most advanced and mature Generation
III+ design, which includes innovative
features such as modular construction,
advanced passive safety systems, and a
solid portfolio of construction projects
that are currently on time and within
budget.
Contact: Scott Shaw, telephone: (412)
374-6737, email: shawsa@westinghouse.
com.
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12 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
Utility, Industry & Corporation
Utility
Engineering
Collaboration
On the occasion of the visit to China
by the President of the French Republic,
EDF’s Chairman and CEO Henri Proglio
signed two agreements with Sun Qin, the
CEO of CNNC (China National Nuclear
Corporation) and He Yu, President of
CGNPC (China Guangdong Nuclear
Power Holding Company), thereby
marking a new step in the acknowledgment
of EDF as a partner in China’s nuclear
programme.
Contact: Carole Trivi, telephone: 33
(1) 40 42 44 19.
Community Outreach
Entergy Nuclear and Entergy
Mississippi, Inc. have been named
recipients of a national award recognizing
their economic and community
development efforts in Port Gibson and
Claiborne County, Mississippi.
The 2010 Communitas Award
for Leadership in Community Service
recognizes recent targeted efforts by
Entergy to improve relations and boost
the community near Grand Gulf Nuclear
Station.
Company activities included financial
and employee support of area arts and
service organizations, launch of the
Power Path to Nuclear Energy program
in Port Gibson schools, community
meetings, the establishment of a Salvation
Army office, holiday food and toy drives,
scholarships, United Way contributions,
and the organization of an economic
engine for the county called Claiborne
Works!, among many others.
Contact: Ann Becker, email:
abecker@entergy.com.
Nuke 101
Exelon’s Braidwood Generating
Station in Illinois held its first Nuke 101
class on April 10, 2010. The course was
for teachers to learn about nuclear energy
and nuclear technology so that they can
educate their students. During the six
hours, teachers learned about the history
of nuclear power plants, did in class lab
activities and toured the nuclear power
plant. The class was ran by members of
the North American-Young Generation
Nuclear.
Contact: Neal Miller, telephone:
(815) 417-3184, email: neal.miller@
exeloncorp.com.
Industry
Uranium
A new IAEA service for promotion
of best practices and safety in the uranium
production cycle, Uranium Production
Site Appraisal Team (UPSAT) has
been introduced as the uranium production
industry continues to expand worldwide.
This service is available on request
and on a cost recovery basis to any Member
State at any facility that is operating
a uranium production cycle (UPC). UPC
covers prospecting, exploration, development,
feasibility studies, mining, processing,
remediation and decommissioning
and stewardship in relation to uranium
mineral resources.
Contact: Peter Waggitt, email:
P.Waggitt@iaea.org.
Agreement
On April 9, 2010 the Chubu Electric
Power Co., Japan concluded a cooperation
agreement with the Japan Atomic Energy
Agency (JAEA) regarding exchanges of
information on decommissioning technology.
Such cooperation will contribute
to ensuring safety in the decommissioning
of the Hamaoka-1 and -2 nuclear power
plants (NPPs), which the utility has been
working on since last fall, 2009.
JAEA has been engaged in decommissioning
its advanced thermal reactor
(ATR) Fugen since 2008. The concluded
agreement is aimed at facilitating mutual
utilization of the lessons learned through
the experiences of both parties.
Contact: Japan Atomic Industrial
Forum, Inc., email: information@jaif.
or.jp.
Corporation
Clean Energy Park
AREVA and Fresno Nuclear Energy
Group (FNEG) announced that they have
signed a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) to develop a Clean Energy Park
near Fresno, California, including nuclear
and renewable generation.
According to the MOU, AREVA
and FNEG will work together on the
site selection and initial development of
a nominal 1,600 Megawatt U.S. EPR
reactor.
Contact: Julien Duperray, telephone:
33 1 34 96 12 15, fax: 33 1 34 96 16 54,
email: press@areva.com.
I&C
A consortium comprising AREVA
and Siemens Energy will supply digital
supervision, protection and control (I&C)
systems for units 3 & 4 of the Mochovce
nuclear power plant in Slovakia. Slovenské
Elektrárne, a subsidiary of the Enel
Group, is completing the construction of
two reactors based on VVER (Pressurized
Water Cooled and Water Moderated)
technology.
The new power plant units will be
equipped with TELEPERM XS safety
I&C supplied by AREVA and SPPA-
T2000 operational I&C from Siemens.
Unit 3 is scheduled to be operational by
the end of 2012, whereas unit 4 will be
online in 2013.
Contact: Julien Duperray, telephone:
33 1 34 96 12 15, fax: 33 1 34 96 16 54,
email: press@areva.com.
Consolidation
The Babcock & Wilcox Company
(B&W) announced that it is combining
two of its business units into a single
organization to accelerate its growth in
the commercial nuclear power sector.
Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy, Inc.
will be formed through the combination
of B&W Nuclear Power Generation
Group, Inc. and B&W Modular Nuclear
Energy, LLC. Christofer M. Mowry,
(Continued on page 14)
Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com 13
Corporation...
Continued from page 13
currently the President and CEO of B&W
Modular Nuclear Energy, has been named
President of the new organization. The
consolidation is expected to be effective
in April 2010.
Contact: Jud Simmons, telephone:
(434) 522-6462, email: hjsimmons@
babcock.com.
N-Stamp Certification
The Babcock & Wilcox Company’s
(B&W) commercial nuclear operations
have received additional American Society
of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
N-Stamp certifications. The certifications
are considered the industry standard for
quality assurance of materials, design,
construction, operation, inspection and
continuing maintenance of nuclear facilities.
B&W staff at the company’s locations
in Barberton, Ohio, and Lynchburg,
Virginia, completed the audit necessary
to earn the certifications from ASME
and the National Board of Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Inspectors in December
2009. The ASME N, NA, NPT, NS and
MO Certificates of Authorization, along
with the National Board’s NR Certificate
of Authorization, were formally received
in March 2010.
Contact: Jud Simmons, telephone:
(434) 522-6462, email: hjsimmons@
babcock.com.
New Technology
With energy companies worldwide
seeking new technologies to improve the
operational reliability of their nuclear
power plants, GE Hitachi Nuclear
Energy (GEH) announced the first U.S.
deployment of its new Marathon Ultra
control rod blade (CRB) technology.
Exelon Nuclear installed GEH’s
Marathon Ultra CRBs at its Peach Bottom
Atomic Power Plant in Pennsylvania. The
power station generates more than 2,200
megawatts of safe, low-carbon electricity,
enough to power more than 2 million
homes.
Contact: Catherine Stengel, telephone:
(678) 844-7556, email: Catherine.stengel@
ge.com.
Spent Fuel Racks
The People’s Republic of China has
ordered spent fuel racks for six of the
country’s new (domestically developed)
CPR-1000 reactor units, namely, the
Ningde NPP Units 3 & 4, Yangjiang NPP
Units 3 & 4, and Fangchenggang NPP
Units 1&2. This award brings the total
number of Chinese reactors that have
adopted Holtec’s wet storage technology
to 18.
Contact: Joy Russell, telephone: (856)
797-0900, ext 655, email: J.Russell@
holtec.com.
Technology Alliance
ROS (Remote Ocean Systems) and
Westinghouse’s BWR Services Group
announced the formation of a strategic
alliance for developing new technology
with the ultimate goal to reduce costs
and outage duration during the BWR
refueling process.
Contact: website: rosys.com.
MoU
Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T),
India and Rolls-Royce have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
for cooperation to effectively address the
projected need for light water reactors
(LWR) in India and internationally. LWR
technology is in use in over sixty per
cent of nuclear power plants operating
worldwide.
The two companies have agreed to
collaborate on areas including nuclear
instrumentation and controls, engineered
products and systems, reactor components,
engineering services, in-service reactor
support and waste management.
The cooperation with L&T for
instrumentation and controls will form the
first operational phase of this relationship
to bridge the gap in the existing supply
chain in support of India’s ambitious new
build program.
Contact: Ashmita Sethi, telephone:
91 11 23357118, email: Ashmita.Sethi@
Rolls-RoyceIndia.com.
Joint Venture
Toshiba Corporation and Westinghouse
Electric Company, LLC announced
the formation of a new joint venture, Advance
Uranium Asset Management Ltd.
(AUAM) that will strengthen Toshiba
Group’s capabilities in the nuclear front
end business segments and enhance the
extensive range of support services extended
to utilities around the world.
United Kingdom based AUAM will
undertake uranium related transactions in
the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The
company is 60 percent owned by Toshiba
and 40 percent by Westinghouse.
Contact: website: www.toshiba.
co.jp.
Turbine Parts
Toshiba Corporation and IHI
Corporation announced that they have
signed a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) on the formation of a joint venture
to manufacture steam turbine parts for
nuclear power plants for the domestic
and overseas markets. This move reflects
expanding global demand for new
nuclear power plants and maintenance
services for installed equipment, and
will allow the companies to promote
best use of management resources in a
collaborative framework that enhances
competitiveness.
Contact: website: www.toshiba.
co.jp.
R&T Unit
In response to the unprecedented,
growing demand for clean, secure energy
worldwide, Westinghouse Electric
Company announced a restructuring of
its Research and Technology Unit (RTU)
into three major segments: R&T Strategy,
Nuclear Energy Innovation Leadership
(NEIL) hub and R&T Operations.
Contact: Vaughn Gilbert, telephone:
(412) 374-4896, email: gilberhv@
westinghouse.com.
Transfer of Ownership
Westinghouse Electric Company
confirmed that it will commence
innovative new commercial arrangements
with the Nuclear Decommissioning
Authority (NDA) involving the longterm
lease of the Springfields nuclear
fuel manufacturing site, near Preston in
Lancashire.
The deal includes the permanent
transfer of ownership to Westinghouse of
Springfields Fuels Limited (SFL). SFL, is
the company currently operating the site
under the management of Westinghouse
Electric UK Holdings Limited.
Contact: Vaughn Gilbert, telephone:
(412) 374-4896, email: gilberhv@
westinghouse.com.
14 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
Corporation...
Continued from page 13
currently the President and CEO of B&W
Modular Nuclear Energy, has been named
President of the new organization. The
consolidation is expected to be effective
in April 2010.
Contact: Jud Simmons, telephone:
(434) 522-6462, email: hjsimmons@
babcock.com.
N-Stamp Certification
The Babcock & Wilcox Company’s
(B&W) commercial nuclear operations
have received additional American Society
of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
N-Stamp certifications. The certifications
are considered the industry standard for
quality assurance of materials, design,
construction, operation, inspection and
continuing maintenance of nuclear facilities.
B&W staff at the company’s locations
in Barberton, Ohio, and Lynchburg,
Virginia, completed the audit necessary
to earn the certifications from ASME
and the National Board of Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Inspectors in December
2009. The ASME N, NA, NPT, NS and
MO Certificates of Authorization, along
with the National Board’s NR Certificate
of Authorization, were formally received
in March 2010.
Contact: Jud Simmons, telephone:
(434) 522-6462, email: hjsimmons@
babcock.com.
New Technology
With energy companies worldwide
seeking new technologies to improve the
operational reliability of their nuclear
power plants, GE Hitachi Nuclear
Energy (GEH) announced the first U.S.
deployment of its new Marathon Ultra
control rod blade (CRB) technology.
Exelon Nuclear installed GEH’s
Marathon Ultra CRBs at its Peach Bottom
Atomic Power Plant in Pennsylvania. The
power station generates more than 2,200
megawatts of safe, low-carbon electricity,
enough to power more than 2 million
homes.
Contact: Catherine Stengel, telephone:
(678) 844-7556, email: Catherine.stengel@
ge.com.
Spent Fuel Racks
The People’s Republic of China has
ordered spent fuel racks for six of the
country’s new (domestically developed)
CPR-1000 reactor units, namely, the
Ningde NPP Units 3 & 4, Yangjiang NPP
Units 3 & 4, and Fangchenggang NPP
Units 1&2. This award brings the total
number of Chinese reactors that have
adopted Holtec’s wet storage technology
to 18.
Contact: Joy Russell, telephone: (856)
797-0900, ext 655, email: J.Russell@
holtec.com.
Technology Alliance
ROS (Remote Ocean Systems) and
Westinghouse’s BWR Services Group
announced the formation of a strategic
alliance for developing new technology
with the ultimate goal to reduce costs
and outage duration during the BWR
refueling process.
Contact: website: rosys.com.
MoU
Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T),
India and Rolls-Royce have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
for cooperation to effectively address the
projected need for light water reactors
(LWR) in India and internationally. LWR
technology is in use in over sixty per
cent of nuclear power plants operating
worldwide.
The two companies have agreed to
collaborate on areas including nuclear
instrumentation and controls, engineered
products and systems, reactor components,
engineering services, in-service reactor
support and waste management.
The cooperation with L&T for
instrumentation and controls will form the
first operational phase of this relationship
to bridge the gap in the existing supply
chain in support of India’s ambitious new
build program.
Contact: Ashmita Sethi, telephone:
91 11 23357118, email: Ashmita.Sethi@
Rolls-RoyceIndia.com.
Joint Venture
Toshiba Corporation and Westinghouse
Electric Company, LLC announced
the formation of a new joint venture, Advance
Uranium Asset Management Ltd.
(AUAM) that will strengthen Toshiba
Group’s capabilities in the nuclear front
end business segments and enhance the
extensive range of support services extended
to utilities around the world.
United Kingdom based AUAM will
undertake uranium related transactions in
the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The
company is 60 percent owned by Toshiba
and 40 percent by Westinghouse.
Contact: website: www.toshiba.
co.jp.
Turbine Parts
Toshiba Corporation and IHI
Corporation announced that they have
signed a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) on the formation of a joint venture
to manufacture steam turbine parts for
nuclear power plants for the domestic
and overseas markets. This move reflects
expanding global demand for new
nuclear power plants and maintenance
services for installed equipment, and
will allow the companies to promote
best use of management resources in a
collaborative framework that enhances
competitiveness.
Contact: website: www.toshiba.
co.jp.
R&T Unit
In response to the unprecedented,
growing demand for clean, secure energy
worldwide, Westinghouse Electric
Company announced a restructuring of
its Research and Technology Unit (RTU)
into three major segments: R&T Strategy,
Nuclear Energy Innovation Leadership
(NEIL) hub and R&T Operations.
Contact: Vaughn Gilbert, telephone:
(412) 374-4896, email: gilberhv@
westinghouse.com.
Transfer of Ownership
Westinghouse Electric Company
confirmed that it will commence
innovative new commercial arrangements
with the Nuclear Decommissioning
Authority (NDA) involving the longterm
lease of the Springfields nuclear
fuel manufacturing site, near Preston in
Lancashire.
The deal includes the permanent
transfer of ownership to Westinghouse of
Springfields Fuels Limited (SFL). SFL, is
the company currently operating the site
under the management of Westinghouse
Electric UK Holdings Limited.
Contact: Vaughn Gilbert, telephone:
(412) 374-4896, email: gilberhv@
westinghouse.com.
14 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
New Products, Services & Contracts
New Products
Valve Database
Dresser Consolidated ® and Dresser
Masoneilan ® announced that ValvKeep ® ,
the premier, customizable valve maintenance
and management tool for aftermarket
service, is now available in Mandarin.
ValvKeep enables customers to keep
a database of the service and repair histories
of control valves, pressure relief
valves and other equipment, regardless
of manufacturer. The ValvKeep database
includes complete valve operation and
maintenance history, valve photos illustrating
required parts and recommended
maintenance schedules. The proprietary
software is available through Dresser
Consolidated Green Tag ® Centers and
Masoneilan Authorized Repair Centers
(MARC ® ).
Contact: Piotr Pojedynek, telephone:
(281) 671-1640, email: Piotr.pojedynek@
dresser.com.
Prep Machine
Introducing the new E.H. Wachs EP
424, offering the patent-pending Speed
Prep autofeed system that allows you to
dial in your exact weld prep profile. The
EP 424 is a precision I.D. mount end prep
machine tool designed to bevel, compound
bevel, J prep, face and counterbore
pipe, fittings and valves without templates,
incline tool slides or work stoppages.
Autofeeding simultaneously in
the axial and radial planes, it’s the most
productive machine of its kind. The EP
424 with Speed Prep is available in hydraulic
or pneumatic models, and is powerful
enough to form tool from 4 to 16"
(ND100-400) up to Schedule 160, and
single point from 4 to 24" (ND100-600)
up to a 6.5" (165mm) wall thickness.
Contact: telephone: (800) 323-8185,
email: sales@ehwachs.com.
Felt Filter
Swift Filters, Inc. has announced a
new series of metal felt filter elements.
The elements employ filter media made
of thin filaments of nonwoven stainless
steel, which is ideal for high pressure,
highly corrosive, highly viscous or radioactive
applications. The metal felt
employed is highly porous (up to 85%)
providing very high flow rates of up to 20
times those of other media types as well
as exceptionally long life.
Random fiber filtration (metal felt)
can provide absolute particle retention,
longer on-stream time and high dirtholding
capacity for under 60 micron
filter elements. Its high temperature,
high pressure and corrosion resistance
combined with almost unending
(Continued on page 18)
As the world turns to nuclear energy,
turn to the world leader in nuclear certification.
The world is once again turning to nuclear
power to meet its future energy needs.You can
rely on the leadership and experience of HSB
Global Standards for all RCC-M and ASME code
inspection and certification requirements.
• The world leader in nuclear plant &
equipment inspections
• More than 500 engineers, inspectors and
auditors worldwide
• Our extensive nuclear capabilities support
your global growth
• We provide certification assistance &
training in ASME and RCC-M code
compliance
Go to www.hsbgsnuclear.com for more
information, local contacts or to request a
nuclear code training program.
NUCLEAR CERTIFICATION
Worldwide: +1 860-722-5041
Toll-free: 800-417-3437 x25041
(USA and Canada only)
Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com 17
New Products...
Continued from page 17
cleanability, make it highly economical
for hostile environments.
Contact: telephone: (877) 887-
9438, fax: (440) 735-0996, email: info@
Swiftfi lters.com.
LogR Meters
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
unveiled the new Thermo Scientific Orion
Star LogR Meters. The exclusive LogR
technology uses the resistance across
the bulb to provide a new method for
electrode analysis and determine sample
temperature. The resistance information
can be used to detect errors in the electrode,
saving analysis time and offering quick
troubleshooting of electrode issues.
Additionally, these meters allow for
temperature-compensated pH readings
without the use of a separate temperature
input.
Contact: Cindy Neely, telephone:
(978) 232-6102, email: cindy.neely@
thermofi sher.com.
Radiation Instruments
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced
that its Radiation Measurement
& Security Instruments business has been
awarded two U.S. patents for radiation instruments
that can help protect the public
against the risk of nuclear terrorism.
U.S. patent 7,456,405 B1 was granted
for the radiation-measuring Thermo
Scientific RadEye PRD, a small, portable,
high-sensitivity, pager-like device.
Unlike conventional radiation pagers, the
patented method incorporated in the Rad-
Eye PRD allows the setting of alarm levels
well below the typical range of natural
background radiation.
U.S. patent 7,544,927 B1 was granted
for the innovative Thermo Scientific
Lutetium-Oxide test adapter for beta
and gamma sensitive radiation detectors.
Based on specially shaped packaging of
high-density Lutetium-Oxide ceramics,
the patented test adapter overcomes the
many disadvantages of conventional
radiation check sources.
Contact: Nicole Kelly, telephone:
(440) 703-1511, email: Nicole.kelly@
thermofi sher.com.
Services
Transportation
MHF Services provides transportation
and logistics solutions for nuclear
utilities by utilizing their portfolio of
private railcars and intermodal container
equipment. MHF can handle container
and bulk material transfers for our North
American clients at permanent transload
facilities and through a network of other
short-term or temporary transload sites.
MHF also provides specialized
transport and waste-related technical
services and consulting, through a
dedicated business unit.
Contact: telephone: (724) 772-9800.
Contracts
Fuel Assemblies
AREVA has signed a contract to
supply MOX fuel assemblies for unit 3 of
the Tomari nuclear power plant (Japan),
owned and operated by Hokkaido Electric
Power Company.
Under the terms of the contract,
the fuel will be fabricated at AREVA’s
MELOX plant in southern France, using
plutonium recovered from the treatment
operations performed at the group’s La
Hague plant, thereby recycling it to be
used in Japan as MOX fuel.
Contact: Julien Duperray, telephone:
33 1 34 96 12 15, fax: 33 1 34 96 16 54,
email: press@areva.com.
Maintenance
Day & Zimmermann, a plant maintenance
and modifications contractor, has
been awarded a new five-year contract
valued at $700 million by the Tennessee
Valley Authority (TVA). Under this new
strategic alliance, Day & Zimmermann
will perform modification, outage, technical
support, and supplemental maintenance
services at TVA nuclear and fossil
generating plants and other sites located
within the Tennessee Valley region.
The scope of work will be executed
by the company’s Day & Zimmermann
NPS unit, which will focus its efforts at
the Browns Ferry, Sequoyah, and Watts
Bar Nuclear Plants operating units, as
well as the Allen, Gallatin, Johnsonville,
and Shawnee Fossil Plants. The contractor
will manage the successful execution
of plant modifications, outage and supplemental
maintenance work to include construction,
rehabilitation, repair, removal,
asbestos abatement, insulation and lagging,
protective coatings, and construction
testing of plant components.
Contact: Brian Hartz, telephone:
(717) 391-3138, email: brian.hartz@
dayzim.com.
Diesel Generators
Fairbanks Morse Engine, an EnPro
Industries company, has been awarded
a contract to supply six safety related
Fairbanks Morse Colt-Pielstick PC2.6B
Emergency Diesel Generator sets (EDGs)
to Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Corp.
(TANE) for installation at Units 3 & 4 of
the STP Nuclear Operating Company in
Matagorda County, Texas.
The EDGs will be manufactured
and tested at the Fairbanks Morse
Engine facility in Beloit, Wisconsin, in
accordance with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) requirements for
1E safety related equipment, including
10CFR50 Appendix B, NQA-1, and IEEE
323, 344 and 387. This milestone contract
represents the first manufacture of 1Equalified
EDGs for new U.S. nuclear
construction in nearly three decades.
Each unit will have a continuous power
output of 8130 kWe.
Contact: Luke Fredrickson,
telephone: (608) 364-8054, email Luke.
Fredrickson@FairbanksMorse.com.
Fuel Supply
JSC TVEL (a part of the SC Rosatom)
and Slovenske Elektrarne, Slovenia, have
signed a long term contract concerning
supply of the Russian nuclear fuel to the
3-rd and 4-th power units of Mohovce
NPP, which is under construction.
According to the terms of the contract
concluded for the period from 2012 till
2017, two initial core charges and five
realoads for each unit will be supplied.
The upgraded fuel with uranium
of higher enrichment will be supplied
to the Slovak nuclear power units. This
enrichment gives an added value owing
to higher burnup and less make-up fuel
assemblies. The possibility of supplying
the up-to-date fuel is conditioned by an
investment resource which would be
formed due to long-term fuel supplies.
Contact: Rosatom, telephone: 7 499
949 46 50, fax: 7 499 949 27 22, email:
press@rosatom.ru.
18 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
We look at power plant maintenance
from a different angle.
We build customer-centered
solutions from the ground up
In the power value chain, the breadth of
services, experience, industry knowledge,
strategic vision, and project execution
delivered by Day & Zimmermann is
unmatched.
Our innovative solutions for nuclear,
fossil and hydroelectric power generation
facilities include plant maintenance
and modifications, major construction,
fabrication and machining, professional
staffing, as well as valve, condenser, and
radiological services.
This offering enables our suite of
Managed Maintenance Solutions SM to
truly be a one-stop shop for all of your
power generation needs.
Safety, Integrity, Diversity, Success
www.dayzim.com
New Documents
Book
Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis
in Historical Perspective, by J. Samuel
Walker. This book is a scholarly history
of the Three Mile Island accident. Walker
is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s
historian and his book is the first detailed
historical analysis since the accident.
The 1979 accident at Three Mile
Island Nuclear Generating Station in
Pennsylvania was “the single most
important event in the fifty-year history
of nuclear power regulation in the United
States”, according to Walker. Many
commentators have seen the event as
a turning point for the nuclear power
industry in the United States. ISBN:
0-520-24683-7. Price: $18.95.
Contact: Berkeley University of
California Press, website: http://www.
ucpress.edu/.
EPRI
1. Used Fuel and High-Level Radioactive
Waste Extended Storage Collaboration
Program: November 2009 Workshop
Proceedings. Product ID: 1020780.
Published March 2010.
The Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI) convened a workshop of over 40
representatives of the nuclear industry,
federal government, national laboratories,
and suppliers of used-fuel dry-storage
systems to discuss the potential issues
associated with extended dry storage of
used fuel, that is, storage considerably
beyond the term of current and recently
proposed U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) regulations.
2. BWRVIP-237: BWR Vessel and
Internals Project, Report and NRC
Correspondence DVD-ROM Version
12.2009. Product ID: 1020803. Published
March, 2010.
In order to be competitive in today’s
market, it has become extremely important
to proactively manage the degradation
of power plant assets in a cost-effective
manner. Some of the more costly assets
are the components internal to the reactor
pressure vessel in a Boiling Water Reactor
(BWR). The documents contained on this
DVD provide guidelines for managing
the degradation of these components.
3. Plant Support Engineering Guideline
for System Monitoring by System
Engineers Update to TR-107668. Product
ID: 1020645. Published March, 2010.
This report has been created as a
tool to be used by system engineers for
the preparing, or updating of their system
monitoring plans based changes within the
industry since TR-107668 was developed
in 1997. It expands the guidance to include
the concept of equipment reliability
as it pertains to the scope of systems,
structures, and components that should
be monitored.
4. Steam Generator Management
Program: PWR Steam Generator Tube
Wear--Alloy 690/SS316, Alloy 690/Alloy
690. Product ID: 1020642. Published
March, 2010.
This report provides wear coefficients
for the material combination of Alloy 690
tube against stainless steel 316, and for
the material combination of Alloy 690
steam generator tubes against Alloy 690
material. Scanning electron microscope
(SEM) images of the worn surface of the
Alloy 690 tube materials and stainless
steel showed that the wear pattern is
consistent with that expected for impact
fretting wear.
5. Nuclear Fuel Cycle Cost Comparison
Between Once-Through and Plutonium
Multi-Recycling in Fast Reactors. Product
ID: 1020660. Published March, 2010.
This report presents results from
a parametric study of equilibrium fuel
cycle costs for a closed fuel cycle with
multi-recycling of plutonium in fast
reactors (FRs) compared to an open,
once-through fuel cycle using PWRs. The
study examines the impact on fuel cycle
costs from changes in the unit costs of
uranium, advanced PUREX reprocessing
of discharged uranium dioxide (UO 2
) fuel
and fast-reactor mixed-oxide (FR-MOX)
fuel, and FR-MOX fuel fabrication.
6. Plant Support Engineering: Guidance
for the Replacement of Large Electric
Motors at Nuclear Power Plants. Product
ID: 1020625. Published March, 2010.
The purpose of this report is to prepare
a primary source of guidance for a project
manager who is coordinating a team of
plant personnel tasked with replacing a
large electric motor. The report provides
a generic process that describes interfaces
and key steps necessary to ensure that the
motor is evaluated and replaced in the
most cost-effective and efficient means
possible.
The above documents may be obtained
from EPRI Order and Conference Center,
1200 West WT Harris Blvd., Charlotte,
NC 28262; telephone: (800) 313-3774,
email: orders@epri.com.
IAEA
Publications on sale may be ordered at
www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/
publications.asp.
1. Deterministic Safety Analysis for
Nuclear Power Plants, IAEA Safety
Standards Series No. SSG-2. Price: $23,
84 pages.
NEA
1. Partnering for Long-term Management
of Radioactive Waste, ISBN: 78-92-64-
08369-1. Price: $63, 132 pages.
The above publication may be
ordered at the OECD bookshop: www.
oecd.org/scripts/publications/ bookshop/
redirect.asp.
Cost-free Documents
1. Nuclear Fuel Behaviour under
Reactivity-initiated Accident (RIA)
Conditions, ISBN: 978-92-64-99113-2.
208 pages.
2. Public Attitudes to Nuclear Power,
ISBN: 978-92-64-99111-8-8. 56 pages.
3. More than Just Concrete Realities:
THE Symbolic Dimension of Radioactive
Waste Management, ISBN: 978-92-64-
99105-7. 36 pages.
The above free publications are
available at www.nea.fr/html/pub/webpubs/.
Paper copies may be requested by sending
and email to neapub@nea.fr.
20 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
Obsolescence
is one of the
biggest headaches
facing nuclear
power plants.
PKMJ and Curtiss-Wright
Flow Control have
developed the cure:
EOS* and OBSOLUTIONS
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outages, loss of revenue and greater operating costs. EOS* combines the
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substitution, reverse engineering, design change – to reduce obsolescence headaches.
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Prerequisites for New Plants
By Luis Echávarri, OECD Nuclear
Energy Agency.
1. What are the different fi nancing
models applicable to the nuclear power
plant construction in different countries
of the world?
Even though nuclear looks good economically,
I think it is clear that financially
it is problematic and difficult to resolve
for some countries, particularly developing
countries because of the high amount
of financing required. For developing
countries it is fundamental, as president
Sarkozy recommended at the Paris Conference
on access to civil nuclear energy
held on 8-9 March, that the World Bank
and some other regional development
banks finance nuclear power plant projects.
They have not done that until now
but I think it will be easier given the increasing
concerns with climate change, to
get the boards of those banks to agree that
the nuclear projects could be financed by
these institutions. So I think this is one
element.
The second element is that when a
country exports technology, the export
credit banks of that country could finance
these nuclear power projects. The third
element is that internalizing the price of
carbon credits into the cost of electricity
produced by fossil fuels would greatly
improve the competitiveness of nuclear
power. I think these could be three sources
of external financing. In addition to that
it is very important to have guarantees in
the specific country. A state could give a
final support or guarantee that the loans
are going to be honored. This is another
element that is very important.
Of course there are differences between
a small country and a large country.
For small countries, it’s even much more
difficult than for medium or big countries.
We have seen that in developing
countries like China or India, they don’t
have financing concerns so they have no
problem to do it. But in small countries, it
Responses to questions by Newal
Agnihotri, Editor; Nuclear Plant
Journal.
Luis Echávarri
Luis Echávarri was appointed Director-
General of the Nuclear Energy Agency
(NEA) of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD)
in 1997, a position he holds at the
present time.
Echávarri obtained Masters Degrees
from the Superior Technical School
of Industrial Engineering of Bilbao
University and from the Faculty
of Information Sciences of the
Complutensis University of Madrid.
He obtained a post-graduate degree
in Management from the Industrial
is fundamental to agree on a whole package
of measures to ensure the funding of
nuclear projects.
The European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) is what
we call a regional bank for development.
The export credit banks or national bank
belongs to the states. Conceptually they
are different. The World Bank is for developing
countries. The EXIM Bank
from the United States finances exports
from the United States. In countries like
Indonesia, they have to put pressure on
the World Bank indicating that they need
the financing for these projects if they believe
they are good for their development.
On the other hand, countries exporting
technology, can put pressure on national
banks to open the possibility of using the
financing for nuclear projects.
Organisation School of Madrid, and
is a Fellow of the College of Industrial
Engineers of Madrid.
Echávarri began his career as an
engineer in Bilbao and in 1975 joined
Westinghouse Electric in Madrid. He
went on to become Project Manager
of the Lemoniz, Sayago and Almaraz
nuclear power plants, for Westinghouse,
in Spain. In 1985, Mr. Echávarri became
Technical Director of the Spanish
Nuclear Safety Council (CSN). He
was named Commissioner of the CSN
in 1987, a position which requires the
approval of the Spanish Parliament.
In July, 1995, Mr. Echávarri became
Director-General of the Spanish Nuclear
Industry Forum, a post held until July
1997.
Echávarri represents the OECD/NEA at
the Governing Board of the International
Energy Agency (IEA) since 1997 and he
became a member of the International
Nuclear Safety Group (INSAG) of the
International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) in 2003. He is also a member
of the International Nuclear Energy
Academy (INEA).
2. What is the difference between loan
guarantee and sovereign guarantee?
I think that in the case of a country
like the United States, it is very logical to
have loan guarantees because investors are
private enterprises. The loan guarantees
are not supplementary financing, it is just
to cover some risks which are not in the
hands of the investors. This is why there
are guarantees, in the case of delays. In
the case of other countries there could
be sovereign guarantees, if the state is to
cover the case where the loan could not be
paid. All of them depend on the specific
situation of the specific country.
3. How does the fi nancing of nuclear
power plants in a regulated industry differ
from those in a non-regulated industry?
(Continued on page 24)
22 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
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The situation is totally different in
one case than in the other because for
non-regulated utilities, if you don’t have
the money to construct the plant, you
can’t do it. In a regulated market, you
have limitations with the profits you get
with the plant. So these are two different
philosophies, I think both are valid but it
is more difficult nowadays to construct
units in non-regulated markets because
of the risks associated to an investment
over many years. In a regulated market,
you can charge construction costs to the
consumer with certainty and visibility on
tariffs in the long run.
4. Which country has the best model of
fuel reprocessing and fi nal disposal?
Can this model be adopted by other
countries?
I don’t like to use the word model,
but the word reference. I think for spent
fuel, the world reference is Finland.
Finland has advanced significantly in
developing in its underground repository
in Olkiluoto for spent fuel and I think the
Finnish are the most advanced country.
I think this is a very clear reference.
Regarding fuel reprocessing, I think
France is the reference. They have very
good reprocessing capacities and they
are doing that for France and for other
countries. They are reducing significantly
waste volume and toxicity because they
use the spent fuel to create more fuel.
Finally they have a high-level waste
research centre (laboratory) which is
going to be in an underground repository
in France. They are very advanced trying
to select a final site and develop the
project.
5. What is the current direction
undertaken by the global nuclear power
industry to replace or to supplement
the International Uranium Enrichment
Center (IUEC) initiative or the Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP)
programs which will help the enrichment
services’ recipient countries? How will
this program discourage “new nuclear
power countries” to enrich the fuel thus
alleviating proliferation concerns?
NEA welcomes any initiative which
gives the guarantee of fuel supply to any
country that wants to use nuclear power
and the extension of this guarantee to
enrichment or recycling is welcome. I
think these guarantees are important so
that countries can always have access to
enough fuel. What is important is to make
sure this is done in a reliable manner.
There are several initiatives. I think that
all those initiatives are very welcome but
they have to be realistic and to respond to
specific needs of each country. And I think
the idea of having a fuel bank in Vienna is
going in the right direction. This will take
some time and this is well articulated.
You mentioned GNEP in the United
States, but GNEP is now being reviewed
or revised by the Obama administration.
Logically GNEP is going to be affected by
the domestic developments in the United
States. But the concept of fuel banks, fuel
guarantees, and the international center is
on the table and I think it’s going in the
right direction.
A fuel bank is a bank where fuel
is held in reserves and it’s controlled.
An international center is more a center
where you develop the fuel, which
implies possessing the technology. The
center won’t be only for storing fuel, it
will be more for fabricating the fuel,
enrichment and fuel fabrication. An
international center is developing all the
steps necessary to manage fuel. For the
fuel bank, the IAEA gives the guarantees.
Regarding international centers, there are
proposals for several locations including,
Russia, United States, and France.
6. Nuclear Energy Agency deals with
Nuclear Safety and Regulation. How does
Nuclear Energy Agency interact with
World Association of Nuclear Operators
and with individual country’s Regulatory
Agency to ensure that there is no overlap
and to ensure that the utility, which is the
fi nal benefi ciary of the efforts has access
to good shared technical information and
guidance which it can rely on?
We are a tool of governments so our
objective is to work in the areas where
governments are responsible for. We
have good relations with WANO. They
respond to the needs of the industry, we
respond to the needs of our governments.
Regarding the IAEA, the NEA is a tool
of industrialized countries and we try
to be always in the front line of new
development which requires high level
specialists working in small groups.
We provide state-of-the-art reports
and analyses. This is according to our
agreement with the IAEA so that they
can utilize that with all their member
countries and incorporate many of our
findings in their standards. So let’s say we
are the vanguard of the IAEA in the areas
of nuclear economics, technology and
regulation. But we transfer the outcomes
of our work to IAEA to be introduced
universally.
7. Which organizations in the United
States interact with Nuclear Energy
Agency?
For the United States, the
department that we are responsible to
is the Department of State. There are
two additional institutions in the US
government we are working with: the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, they
are possibly the agency in the world the
most engaged in our work regarding
the effective regulation of the industry.
The other is the Department of Energy
regarding anything related to technology
development, fuel cycle and economics.
So both NRC and DOE are strong pillars
and support the NEA activities.
8. Concluding remark.
Nuclear is going to be much more
important in the future because of
energy security concerns and the fight
against climate change. But two things
are paramount. One is to develop the
manufacturing capacity, which has
disappeared in some countries. We
have to revive this capacity to make
nuclear possible. And second, we have
to develop the human resources. We
need engineers, scientists and technical
people in many fields. Nuclear power
needs to attract the young generation, and
to make them available to the different
markets and projects. The human factor
is essential. Nuclear power is not about
burning uranium, it’s about science and
technology.
Contact: Serge Gas, OECD Nuclear
Energy Agency, telephone: 33 1 45 24
1010, fax: 33 1 45 24 11 10, email: serge.
gas@oecd.org.
24 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
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Shutdown Safety, a Cornerstone at
Exelon
By Glen Earl Chick, Exelon Nuclear.
1. What is Exelon’s Corporate and Plant
Management strategy to organize and
supervise plant shutdown safety during a
refueling outage?
In addition to industrial safety and
radiological safety, shutdown safety is
a cornerstone at Exelon for planning
and executing a successful refueling
outage. The key strategies are to maintain
sufficient defense-in-depth of systems
important to maintain a plant’s shutdown
safety.
Planning for a refueling outage begins
a minimum of 18 months in advance and
includes a plan and schedule for which
shutdown safety systems, power supplies
and support systems will remain operable
throughout the outage. The main controls
used to ensure shutdown safety is detailed
preparation and review of the outage
schedule by Operations, Maintenance and
key stakeholders to make sure work is not
performed on systems needed to maintain
shutdown safety. An independent team,
called the Shutdown Safety Review
Board reviews the outage schedule,
contingencies and protected equipment
plans prior to the outage. This certifies
the outage schedule readiness to maintain
shutdown safety.
The Operations department maintains
overall responsibility to verify adequate
system availability is maintained through
configuration control and system statuses.
This includes approval prior to removing
systems from service for maintenance
or testing by on-shift Operation’s
supervision. The approval must include
a review of the shutdown risk profile with
the system removed from service and
validate the assumptions in the schedule
still maintain adequate shutdown
safety. Systems that can be worked per
the schedule are taken out of service,
maintenance and testing performed and
returned to service.
Responses to questions by Newal
Agnihotri, Editor; Nuclear Plant
Journal.
Glen Earl Chick
Glen Earl is the Vice President of
Outage Planning and Services at Exelon
Nuclear. He leads a service organization
that provides turnkey operation of all
fuel fl oor and under-vessel activities,
turbine and generator fl oor activities
INPO issued Significant Operating
Experience Report (SOER) 09-1 in the
fall of 2009. This document provided
guidance of industry best practices on
shutdown safety during a refueling outage.
Exelon reviewed these recommendations
and have enhanced our processes with the
following improvements:
• Exelon has implemented an
Operation’s procedure at all sites on
best practices to protect equipment
needed for shutdown safety. This
includes signage, physical barriers
and control processes to make sure
systems counted on to maintain
shutdown safety are not affected.
The status of protected equipment is
briefed at every outage meeting with
Operations, Outage Control Center
(OCC) and Work Group briefings.
This is important since there is a
significant amount of work being
performed by site personnel and
contractors.
• One of the leading industry issues
on shutdown safety performance is
loss of power caused by issues with
configuration control and switchyard
work activities. Control of utility
for station online and outage execution,
NDE support for station on-line and
outage needs and supports the Dry Cask
Fuel Storage needs for the stations. He
also oversees outage preparedness and
execution across the Exelon nuclear
fl eet of 17 reactors at 10 stations and
provides Alliance Partner Oversight
and Contract Management for Exelon’s
major Alliance Partners.
Glen Earl has over 30 years of
experience in the nuclear industry. He
joined Exelon in 2002. Prior to assuming
his current position, as Vice President,
Outage Planning and Services in April
2007, he was the Vice President, Project
Management.
Glen Earl has a Senior Reactor
Operator Certifi cation.
and contractor work in and around
the switchyard is controlled to make
sure the proper oversight is provided
on this work. This is accomplished
through interface agreements
between the site and the transmission
provider where roles, responsibilities
and controls are specified. Controls
similar to protected equipment
processes above now extend into the
switchyard boundary.
• Consistency in site and outside
contractor training. Shutdown
safety is now incorporated into
Operations training in preparation
for the refueling outages, through
crew simulation and detailed
schedule reviews. In addition, all
site and outside contractors are
given training to be able to identify
protected equipment signage and
understand the importance of why
this equipment is protected and
needed for the outage.
2. Probabilistic Risk Assessment has
sometimes shown that the possibility of
core melt is higher during the refueling
26 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
outage than during the plant normal
operation. How Exelon reduces this
vulnerability?
In order to manage site shutdown
safety during a refueling outage, all
Exelon sites use a computer program
titled, PARAGON. The function of
PARAGON is to determine overall
site shutdown safety risk using a tiered
approach. PARAGON is a software tool
that is used to assess the Risk Levels
associated with plant configurations and
outage activities during both the planning
and execution phases of the outage. The
software uses imported information from
the outage schedule or manual user input
to determine the safety status. Specific
schedule activities or hammocks are
scheduled by the Outage Schedulers to
show when systems will be unavailable
for operation and therefore, not counted
on for defense-in-depth. . PARAGON
is designed to take a download from the
scheduling software and look for these
system hammocks and determine which
systems are available or not available
to maintain site shutdown safety.
PARAGON is run and the shutdown risk
profile is validated by not only the Outage
Scheduler, but by Operation’s supervision
prior to release of work. Values for systems
important to shutdown safety, along with
amount of decay heat and time to boil
are inputs to PARAGON. A risk profile
for key safety functions (electrical power,
decay heat removal, etc.) is generated and
an overall site risk color is assigned.
The status of the overall station risk
is communicated to all site work groups,
OCCs and outside contractors on a shiftly
basis. Any changes to the outage schedule
and emergent equipment issues are run
through PARAGON first by Operations
to validate the plant shutdown safety risk
profile has not degraded. Once confirmed,
then work is allowed and schedules are
updated to maintain the overall station
shutdown safety profile.
3. What is Exelon’s Corporate and
Plant Management strategy to direct the
collection and interpretation of outage
experience into the plant improvement
plan after the refueling outage?
Exelon has utilized an effective
tiered approach to capture lessons learned
during a refueling outage. These learnings
are captured in the site’s corrective action
process and utilized as follows:
• During a refueling outage, many of the
site’s lessons learned are documented
live time in the site’s corrective action
process. This is highly encouraged,
since documenting the issue when it
arises provides the best information
and allows for taking proper action
after the outage. Also, sites perform
formal post outage critiques with all
of the site work groups, OCCs and
contractor work groups. Strengths
that need to continue and lessons
learned are captured and documented
in the corrective action process. The
Outage Management organization
will review all of these lessons
learned and make sure actions are
assigned to address resolution before
the next outage. Actions taken
can include updates to the outage
schedule, procedure revisions and
creation of site High Impact Teams
(HIT) to address complex issues.
These actions are tracked, reviewed
(Continued on page 28)
Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com 27
Shutdown Safety...
Continued from page 27
and challenged at the Outage
Readiness Meeting.
• The second approach is that all sites
are required to prepare and present
their post outage critique results at a
T+30 Post Outage Review Meeting.
This meeting is lead by the site
Outage Manager and includes all site
work groups and major contractors.
The meeting is normally scheduled
for 3 hours and is attended by senior
level corporate executives and
Corporate Functional Area Managers
(CFAM). The site will report out on
it’s outage performance compared
to pre-established outage goals and
objectives. They will also report out
on overall industrial safety, human
performance, radiological safety
and shutdown safety performance.
Finally, all of the work groups will
report out on any changes made in
the outage that were effective and
any major lessons learned.
• The final approach is that Exelon
holds an annual Fleet Outage Lessons
Learned (FOLL) meeting following
the completion of each spring outage
season. This is a review of Exelon
refueling outage performance in
industrial safety, human performance,
radiological safety, shutdown safety,
outage duration and work group
effectiveness. Fleet actions are taken
on any negative trends identified,
tracked and implemented prior to the
next outage season.
outage. Specific codes are used to
identify what outage work is to be
performed, systems that are affected and
prioritization of the work. Once coded for
an outage, work packages are planned,
clearance out-of-service boundaries are
written, radiation work permits assigned,
materials ordered and labor assigned.
Completion and readiness of the all of
these tasks are tracked for all of the work
assigned through performance indicators
and reviewed at the Outage Readiness
Meetings.
The second major piece of software
used is a scheduling system. A different
system is used at the Mid Atlantic sites
(Primevera) than is used at the Midwest
sites (Project View). However, the
function of each is the same. The
scheduling software will download all
of the assigned outage tasks from the
work management system. The Outage
Management organization will take these
tasks (work order activities, clearances,
etc.) and schedule these activities in a
logical sequence taking into account
shutdown safety defense in depth, resource
availability and work logic strings. The
first downloads of work is performed at
approximately 10 months before the start
statused or removed from the schedule,
when completed.
The third major piece of software
used is the shutdown safety software,
PARAGON. This system is utilized
across all 10 Exelon sites. PARAGON
is designed to take a download from
the scheduling software above and
determine which systems are available or
not available to maintain site shutdown
safety. The function of PARAGON is to
determine overall site shutdown safety
risk using a tiered approach. Values for
systems important to shutdown safety,
along with amount of decay heat and time
to boil are inputs to PARAGON. A risk
profile for key safety functions (electrical
power, decay heat removal, etc.) is
generated and an overall site risk color
is assigned. If PARAGON determines
unsatisfactory shutdown safety, then the
schedule is revised to make sure shutdown
safety is maintained before systems are
removed from service.
5. What are the lessons learned from the
last major equipment (Turbine, Reactor
Pressure Vessel Head, Steam Generators,
or any other equipment) work done
during refueling outage?
4. What major software (describe the
functionality) is utilized to assist in
refueling outage?
Exelon uses 3 major pieces of
software to manage outage work and
schedule coordination.
The first major piece of software
used is a work management system.
A different system is used at the Mid
Atlantic sites (PIMS) than is used at the
Midwest sites (Passport). However, the
function of each is the same. The work
management system is used to identify
corrective and preventative maintenance
tasks to be performed during a refueling
A new turbine rotor that was recently installed at Quad Cities
of the outage and performed daily to
upload all new added work. This schedule
is refined until a workable product is
established at 3 months before the start
of the outage. During outage execution,
as work is performed, work activities are
Lessons learned from the major
equipment across Exelon is controlled
and managed by the following processes:
Exelon has an Outage Services
organization that is responsible for
maintenance on the reactor, steam
28 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
generators, turbines and main electrical
generators. This organization will prepare
for and perform work on these major
components during refueling outages.
For Reactor Services, this includes
all aspects of reactor disassembly,
fuel handling, invessel activities and
reactor reassembly. For PWRs, this also
includes all steam generator maintenance
and inspections. This organization will
perform similar work at all of the Exelon
sites. Common procedures are utilized
across the fleet to implement lessons
learned and capture best practices.
Operational experience is shared and
implemented at all of the outage sites.
Reactor Services has implemented a
common fuel handling verification
process to eliminate human performance
events.
For Turbine Services, this includes
all aspects of main turbine and
generator disassembly, maintenance and
reassembly. Similar to Reactor Services,
the same organization will perform
similar work at all of the Exelon sites.
Common procedures are utilized across
the fleet to implement lessons learned
and capture best practices. Operational
experience is shared and implemented at
all of the outage sites. Turbine Services
has implemented common maintenance
practices for main generator hydrogen
seals and eliminated issues with excessive
hydrogen leakage and unit down time.
Exelon has recently implemented
major equipment upgrades as part of
the fleet long term asset management
plan. Actions include main generator
rewind projects, upgrades to digital
EHC, upgrades to digital recirc systems
and replacement of main turbine rotors
and casings. Lessons learned from these
projects are shared across the fleet through
the implementation organization. The
same organization has performed and will
plan on performing the main generator
rewinds and turbine replacements.
Templates have been established to gap
site outage schedules for these projects
and lessons learned are carried from site
to site by this implementation team.
Defense-In-Depth: For the purpose of
managing risk during shutdown, Defensein-Depth
is the concept of providing
systems, structures, and components to
ensure backup of Key Safety Functions
using redundant, alternate, or diverse
methods. INPO 06-008, Guidelines for
the Conduct of Outages at Nuclear Power
Plants, provides additional guidance and
philosophy.
Probabilistic Risk Assessment: Is the
model used to validate impact of system
unavailability on shutdown risk and
ultimately core damage. This is the basis
for which a site’s PARAGON software
model is written and validated to match.
The PRA uses the defense-in-depth model
above to make sure there is adequate
safety system back-up to maintain a site’s
overall shutdown safety risk profi le and
maximize the margin for core damage
frequency.
Contact: Glen Earl Chick, Exelon
Nuclear, 4300 Winfi eld Road, Warrenville,
IL 60555; telephone: (630) 657-4600 and
David E. Waldman, Exelon Nuclear, 200
Exelon Way, Kennett Square, PA 19348;
telephone: (610) 765-5317, email: david.
waldman@exeloncorp.com.
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ASME SECTION III & VIII
Nuclear Subassemblies Radwaste Containers Material Certifications
Reactor Components Pressure Vessels Heat Exchangers
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Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com 29
A Strong Safety Culture at Ameren
By Pat McKenna, AmerenUE.
1. What is AmerenUE’s Corporate and
Plant Management strategy to organize
and supervise plant shutdown safety
during a refueling outage?
Procedures provide the requirements
to ensure plant shutdown safety during a
refueling outage. Numerous reviews of
the outage schedule during development
are one strategy implemented by those
scheduling activities. A multi-discipline
dedicated team provides an hour by hour
review of the schedule upon completion of
scheduling and review by site personnel. A
written report is developed and approved
by the Operations Department which
identifies and optimizes safety margins
and system availability throughout the
outage. This includes an independent
review by a Senior Reactor Operator
who was not part of the outage schedule
development. Another independent
safety review of the outage schedule
is performed by the Nuclear Oversight
Group (Quality Assurance). Outage
Control Center personnel are trained on
shutdown safety to ensure proper review
and supervision of activities affecting
shutdown safety in a refueling outage.
Additional oversight is provided when
the activity is an Infrequently Performed
Task or Evolution, High Risk Evolution
or results in a decrease in Defense in
Depth. The entire site is made aware of
risk level by a color-coded indication
system. Green, yellow, orange, and red
are the colors for lowest to highest level
of increased risk to shutdown safety.
2. What is AmerenUE’s Corporate and
Plant Management strategy to direct the
collection and interpretation of outage
experience into the plant improvement
plan after the refueling outage?
A corrective action document is
assigned to all supervisory personnel
to document and critique items during
Responses to questions by Newal
Agnihotri, Editor; Nuclear Plant
Journal.
performance of work in the refueling
outage. A critique is performed by all
site departments at the end of the outage
to capture additional critique items.
These critique items are evaluated for
implementation prior to the next refueling
outage. The items selected are tracked
in a corrective action document with
appropriate due dates.
3. Maintenance may not be directed
independently by the resources but by
the needs, this policy may pay largely in
generation revenue if correctly optimized.
How does AmerenUE approach this
philosophy and what are their priorities?
When additional work is essential,
it is necessary to evaluate the available
maintenance resources and budget. If
possible, work equivalent in resources
and budget should be removed in order
to maintain resources and budget the
same. If we are unable to accomplish
that, then additional resources will have
to be identified and used to perform the
work. The resulting budget overrun may
be covered by the daily on-line budget.
If that is not possible, then it will be
necessary to approach our corporate
office for additional funding.
4. Probabilistic Risk Assessment has
sometimes shown that the possibility of
core melt is higher during the refueling
outage than during the plant normal
operation. How AmerenUE reduces this
vulnerability?
As mentioned previously, strict
adherence to procedures and schedule,
Pat McKenna
Pat McKenna brings more than three
decades of nuclear experience in his
role as Outage Manager at AmerenUE’s
Callaway Nuclear Plant. Pat began
his career in the U.S. Navy on a
nuclear submarine, before moving on
to Callaway where he’s worked as an
Equipment Operator, Senior Reactor
Operator, Training Instructor, Control
Room Supervisor, Shift Manager and
Assistant Manager of Operations.
and multiple independent safety reviews
of that schedule, work to reduce
vulnerability. AmerenUE also uses the
Defense in Depth concept. Defense in
Depth is taking the minimum amount
of equipment, systems, or trains that
must work to ensure a safety function
is maintained and ensuring at least one
additional piece of equipment, system, or
During Refuel 14 (Fall 2005) Ameren
replaced all four steam generators and
all four turbine rotors
train is available to provide an equivalent
function. Even though you only need
one way to fulfill an important function,
having two or three ways is always better.
There are a lot of different functions that
need to be maintained during outages,
30 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
so we group them into six critical
categories: Reactivity Control; Core
Heat Removal; Containment Integrity;
Coolant Inventory; Power Availability;
and Spent Fuel Pool Heat Removal. In
the assessment of outage risk, we review
the schedule and perform the work so that
we always have multiple ways to ensure
these critical functions are met. We also
make sure that the entire site is aware of
the status of each function. We score each
function based on the level of redundancy
it has and then use the score to determine
the colors mentioned previously. Keeping
a close eye on Defense in Depth and
communicating our level of risk keeps
us out of high risk situations and helps to
raise awareness and focus during times
when our risk is slightly elevated.
5. How does AmerenUE ensure safety
of its plant during refueling outage
considering Three Mile Island and
Chernobyl experience?
AmerenUE requires all personnel
to receive training on the causes of these
events. Additionally, as stated above, we
continually underscore the observance of
all procedures, following the schedule and
maintaining Defense in Depth to ensure
safety. In addition, we train our personnel
on human performance tools and use the
Principles for a Strong Nuclear Safety
Culture published by the Institute of
Nuclear Power Operations.
6. What planning is done to ensure that
there are no equipment interferences,
which may delay the work progress?
When developing the schedule for
the refueling outage, shutdown safety
and Defense in Depth, are considered as
part of the requirements for the schedule.
Prior to issuing the scheduled shutdown
safety is reviewed to ensure there is no
unnecessary risk due to outage equipment
configurations that could challenge
Defense in Depth. This continues for all
schedule revisions developed prior to the
refueling outage, as well as, during the
outage with additional personnel assigned
around the clock to perform the reviews.
7. What major software is utilized to
assist in refueling outage?
Primavera, P3, is used for both
daily and outage scheduling. Primavera
interfaces with our work management
and clearance software ensuring that the
latest status of activities are accurate in
the schedule.
8. What are the lessons learned from the
last major equipment (Turbine, Reactor
Pressure Vessel Head, or any other
equipment) work done during refueling
outage?
Project management is the key
to success. The use of a good project
management process resulted in
successful completion of major projects,
which has been carried into smaller
equipment projects leading to successful
implementation. Project Managers
are part of the organization making
preparations for refueling outages,
having been assigned specific projects
for the refueling outage. Personnel
involved in refueling outage development
have been PMI (Project Management
Institute) certified. The benefits from
this are numerous with these individuals
driving improvement in areas such as
work planning, risk assessment, and
contingency planning. This improvement
is realized because they are demanding
project management processes be used to
provide them with better information and
input into the schedule.
9. How does AmerenUE handle the
challenge of organizing a refueling outage
without lost time or work confl ict?
At AmerenUE, we emphasize that all
personnel have an outage job. We have
a philosophy of splitting the work into
manageable pieces and that preparation
of just four hours a week for one year is
equivalent to five weeks of continuous
work time. We have proceduralized
milestones that are due two years prior
to a refueling outage. Spreading the
preparation time over a long period
allows a significant amount of time to
be put into refueling outage preparation
without incurring a huge impact of lost
time and work conflict.
Contact: John Bassford, AmerenUE,
Callaway Plant, PO Box 620, CA-460,
Fulton, MO 65251; telephone: (314) 974-
8945, email: jbassford@ameren.com.
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Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com 31
We Reach Out Beyond our Walls
By Margie Jepson, Entergy Nuclear.
Maintenance Initiatives
There is an obvious dichotomy to
maintenance: There is a push to have
more wrench-time in the field; and,
simultaneously, there is the “no margin for
error” responsibility of safety, regulation
and process completion that slow getting
the work done. Managing that balance is
a challenge that Entergy is taking on.
Entergy has a strategic cost initiative
that focuses on the maintenance areas.
Entergy is systematically assessing
practices which contribute to low
productivity and identifies ways to
improve overall maintenance performance
site-by-site.
Piloted at the Entergy site of River
Bend in Louisiana, this assessment effort
has been to nearly all of the Entergy fleet
sites to date. The areas of concentration
are:
• Work management process improvements
• Behavioral and accountability issues
• Productivity improvements in overall,
including long-term resource needs
The C-suite is directly engaged in
looking at the barriers to productivity as
Entergy managers and supervisors work
on the identified improvements from
a fleet perspective. When completed,
Entergy management notes that it will
have a compelling case for significant
advances in maintenance performance.
Other initiatives impacting maintenance
and outage performance at Entergy
is the outage execution plan and supplemental
work force performance plan. The
safe, reliable operation of plants is supported
by consistently strong refuel outage
performance across the Entergy fleet.
Therefore, the stated goals of these specific
Entergy plans are to have safe and
efficient outage performance; to improve
indicators that comprise INPO indexes;
and to routinely meet budget commitments.
Across the industry, supplemental
worker errors adversely impact
operations, plant capability and overall
reliability due to increased re-work.
Performance gaps cause cost overruns;
supplemental supervisor oversight can be
inconsistent; and key suppliers are asked
to close performance gaps.
An ongoing supplemental work force
improvement team is chartered at Entergy
to identify specific gaps in supplemental
worker performance and initiate specific
actions with owners and due dates to
close the gaps. Actions include points
such as use of best practices, process
and procedure improvements, critique
feedback sessions, advisory boards,
accountability meetings and others
totaling over 100 items.
Equipment Reliability
In a perfect world, millions of
components at a plant would be fixed
or replaced immediately for flawless
operation. In the complex nuclear power
industry, Entergy and its peers have
embraced Preventative Maintenance
Optimization (PMO) with vigor in
recent years. In fact, Entergy has refined
its approach to focus on high-critical
components.
Entergy systematically took a hard
look at plant components and classified
~15,000 components per plant as highcritical
components. This effort, taking
place over the last two years, has sharpened
Entergy’s PMO process overall.
“Focusing on high-critical components
has been very productive for our
fleet,” says Tim Trask, director of plant
reliability and chief engineer for Entergy
Nuclear. “In the past we have seen every
component maintenance issue as “critical”
and the reality is that you can’t prioritize
everything at the same level. Our
recent improvement in force-loss rate can
be attributed to proactively looking at prioritization
with an emphasis on nuclear
safety and operational excellence.”
Entergy has used Electric Power
Research Institute templates for
preventative maintenance as a basis for
Entergy templates. In looking at industry
best practices, Entergy also turned
internally to take lessons-learned and
feed that experience back to templates to
be used in the future.
Entergy has identified three tactics
that are important to their PM approach.
One that is nearly used daily is the
Entergy fleet challenge calls. Through a
posted message on the internal Web site,
a request can be made for a call to address
any issue. With employees from across
the fleet on the call, compiled data and
issues are reviewed; expertise is tapped
into; and ideas are shared and validated.
Last year approximately 200 calls took
place.
“It is a part of our culture as a fleet.
We reach out beyond our walls and trust
in the experience to get issues resolved
and questions answered. Whether about
a valve or an electrical issue, the fleet
challenge calls are a valuable tool for our
equipment reliability,” states Trask.
Another effective approach has been
an equipment reliability clock re-set.
Similar to occupational safety clocks
that measure days of safe operation,
Entergy initiated an equipment reliability
clock re-set to squarely put more focus
on understanding root causes of critical
components, corrective actions and
setting goals for reliability optimization.
A third tool has made a positive
impact on planning and budgeting
at Entergy. Normally a plant health
committee looks at technical replacement
projects, big purchases and other large
engineering projects and schedules them
for the year and beyond. Following this
(Continued on page 34)
32 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
We Reach...
Continued from page 32
technical review, management has looked
at the elements from a cost or budget
perspective. Often budget availability will
change the timing and purchases so then
the projects and schedules get returned
and re-worked.
Entergy now uses the site integrated
planning database (SIPD). This database
combines the technical project with the
budget. As the project moves, the budget
moves with it. The finance department
uses the same database as the engineering
managers. It has changed the planning
process into an integrated, reality-based
schedule.
The SIPD tool has been used for
several years at local sites and became
Web-based for fleet access in 2010. It
also enables the organization to better
look ahead so that, in the future, Entergy
would use SIPD for long-range planning
to gain economies of scales for purchases
happening across the fleet.
“Our goal is to really focus on the
most important component and reliability
issues. Tools like SIPD help me get
more intelligence to the C-suite. And, of
course, our ultimate goal is to have wellrun
plants everyday,” Trask concluded.
Obsolescence & Inventory
Entergy has an internal proactive
obsolescence process that is looking
ahead to anticipate and identify obsolete
items in its fleet. Glenn Griffin, manager
of materials control for Entergy Nuclear
states, “Instead of being in a reactive
mode, we are forward-looking using this
process to identify obsolete items before
they are in demand.”
Information and inventory sharing
across the industry is central to the solution
for finding obsolete and hard-to-find
parts. Being able to see existing inventory
in the RAPID system, an automated
online product connecting supply chain
managers with available inventory across
the country, is a service of Curtiss Wright.
It is one solution Entergy uses with
success. Entergy Nuclear also relies on
the support of third-party suppliers that
have expertise in locating and qualifying
hard to find and obsolete parts.
Another service is the Proactive
Obsolescence Management System.
Obsolete parts, the newly produced
replacement part and suppliers are
connected in this system. The advantage
is that the replacement part has been
technically reviewed or previously
approved and, in some cases, already
used as a replacement. The technical
legwork has been done upfront for these
current parts making evaluation of the
proposed substitution for obsolete items
more expedient.
Entergy supply chain managers
concur that inventories are continuing
to creep up in size at Entergy as well as
in peer organizations across the country
for two primary reasons. Squeezing
as much maintenance work into every
possible window of time means having
all the “pieces and parts” available for
maintenance projects. The focus is on
saving time and dose and avoiding the
inefficiencies that ordering lead-times
bring to maintenance projects. Secondly,
with the aging of our 104 nuclear power
facilities, more and more replacement
parts are in need.
Materials, purchasing and contracts
management at Entergy is looking to
minimize risk and gain efficiencies with
inventory sharing across the Entergy fleet,
all within the regulatory requirements
overseeing regulated and unregulated
plants. Lastly, inventory growth can be
effectively managed with better integration
of the work management process and
materials planning processes, through
full utilization of the supplier network,
and through effective implementation of
supply chain management fundamentals.
Entergy is always working to improve in
this area.
Maintenance and PRA
As Entergy performs maintenance
and improves plant design, probabilistic
risk assessment is a key input to decisions
and used to validate how changes impact
risk.
“Daily, in five minutes or less, our
PRA monitoring tool can quantify a fullplant
risk model for a particular plant
evolution. This tool is used to manage risk
while scheduling and working on multiple
systems,” says engineering supervisor
Deepak Rao. “Helping the plants manage
their risk profile is what we do.”
While Entergy has not adopted
risk-informed technical specifications
at present, risk-informed in-service
inspection is applied to systems and
components that may impact plant safety.
PRA models have been used recently to
substantially reduce the number of such
inspections, reducing radiation exposure
and outage costs without impacting
safety.
(Continued on page 36)
34 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
WE’LL KEEP THE LIGHTS ON FOR YOU
DIESEL GENERATOR SETS
The Proven Leader
www.fairbanksmorsenuclear.com
We Reach...
Continued from page 34
Regulatory Guide 1.200, “An Approach
for Determining the Technical Adequacy
of Probabilistic Risk Assessment
Results for Risk-Informed Activities,”
revision one was issued in 2004 and revision
two in March 2009. These revisions
have raised the bar substantially for PRA
applications. Entergy has been working
in implementation phases on meeting this
regulatory guideline. Rao notes that as his
team works on compliance with the regulation
guidelines as they roll out, Entergy
is bringing additional rigor to the overall
PRA function.
Transferring Knowledge
Knowledge management at Entergy
is the process and set of actions that
helps ensure that years of accumulated
wisdom do not leave the organization
once an employee retires or moves on.
Entergy Nuclear began implementing
its Knowledge Management Process in
March 2010.
“The process consists of identifying,
evaluating, storing and transferring
knowledge created by people in locations
across the fleet,” explains Bishop
Blackwell, lead of work force planning.
The steps begin with a knowledge audit
that determines what knowledge exists,
where it resides and assesses knowledge
critical to the continued success of
Entergy. This is followed by the collection
and documentation of knowledge
for future use. Finally, knowledge is
transferred in training and mentoring or
in other strategies implemented across
the Entergy fleet.
“Entergy understands the critical
importance of knowledge management,”
continues Blackwell. “Resources at
Entergy are committed to quality training
at all levels and successful knowledge
transfer. Our industry is facing large
turnovers of talent and experience.
Now is the time to capture and record
institutional knowledge as we recruit toptalent
from across the country to backfill
an aging work force.”
Professionalism and
Commitment
Under President and CEO John
Herron, Entergy Nuclear is revitalizing
its commitment to excellence and
professionalism through several training
programs. One such program, the
Developing Leaders Workshop, is built
around foundational behavioral platforms
focusing on a greater sense of personal
responsibility that ultimately leads to the
top-industry performance.
A distinction of this initiative is that
employees are taught by senior executives
using material the executives themselves
developed. Yes, Herron himself, the
executive vice presidents and other top
managers teach and emphasize behaviors
geared towards building trust within the
organization, having the highest personal
integrity and demonstrating individual
commitment.
Similar concepts are built into
a second training effort called the
Supervisory Interactive Skills course
that gives the new supervisor skills to
build trust within the organization by
communicating effectively, coaching
and managing teams skillfully and
learning Entergy tools for continuous
improvement.
“At Entergy, continuous improvement
is not another corporate program. It is
the way we do business and has become
the heart and soul of our daily culture,”
states the CEO. The Entergy Continuous
Improvement focus is on fleet performance
being at the highest levels in the industry.
And, CEO Herron laid out that fleet
challenge in 2010 employee meetings –
“to be the very best.”
Entergy is working toward that
goal with 2010 fleet-wide initiatives
on equipment reliability; outages with
a special focus on shutdown safety
risks; collective radiation exposure; and
industrial safety and human performance
targeting a goal of zero recordable
accidents and events.
“Being professional in character,
spirit and methods is the hallmark of
a well-performing organization,” says
Herron. Entergy works hard to live up to
its collective expectations of excellence
in all phases of operation.
Contact: Margie Jepson, Entergy
Nuclear; 1340 Echelon Parkway, Jackson,
MS 39213; telephone 601-368-5460;
email: mjepson@entergy.com.
36 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
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STAR Human Performance Process
By Ron McCall and Anita Church, The
Shaw Group, Inc.
1. What is Shaw’s Corporate and Plant
Management strategy to organize and
supervise plant shutdown safety during a
refueling outage?
McCall: Shaw provides a continuum
of support and planning between refueling
outages, rather than acting as a labor
broker to only provide outage staffing.
We maintain an experienced, mobile
core team of professionals who join
site teams during refueling outages to
provide consistent project execution and
subject matter expertise. Our consistent
site presence improves safety and
work performance because employees
become more knowledgeable about site
expectations and work requirements.
We manage our own work and
our safety managers make sure all
personal protective equipment and safety
resources are in place before we ramp
up outage staffing. Our teams conduct
work readiness and gap assessments
and provide safety conscious work
environment (SCWE) training and
orientation. We have developed standards
of training for employees new to nuclear
work and complete supervisory oral
board challenges to insure all safety and
work standards are fully understood.
2. What is Shaw’s Corporate and
Plant Management strategy to direct the
collection and interpretation of outage
experience into the plant improvement
plan after the refueling outage?
McCall: We participate in each
customer’s post-outage review and
lessons learned process. We also capture
our own lessons learned in one internal
database and transmit best practices from
one site to all our project teams through
regular supervisory meetings. As we
complete major projects that affect the
industry, such as replacing transformers,
Responses to questions by Newal
Agnihotri, Editor; Nuclear Plant
Journal.
Ron McCall
Ron McCall is president of the
Maintenance Division of Shaw’s Power
Group, which provides engineering,
procurement, construction, technology,
maintenance and operations services. He
is responsible for all aspects of global
maintenance operations.
McCall holds a Bachelor of Science
degree from McNeese State University
and completed post-graduate
business administration coursework
at Pepperdine University. He recently
served as chairman of the Louisiana
Association of Business and Industry
Executive Board. He also has served as
chairman and a member of the board
of directors for Bank One, Associated
Builders & Contractors, United Way and
the Chamber of Commerce.
we can enhance our skills from one job to
the next with continuous improvements.
3. Some organizations rotate the outage
managers; whereas other organizations
keep the same managers for different
refueling outages. What is Shaw’s policy
in managing refueling outage?
Church: Shaw establishes a
leadership team at every site to manage
Anita Church
Anita Church is the site manager for
Shaw’s maintenance and modifi cation
services at Limerick Nuclear Generating
Station. She is responsible for Shaw’s
online and outage support operations at
the Exelon site.
Church has 26 years of experience in the
nuclear power industry, joining Shaw
in 2005. She has experience performing
outage work at seven nuclear reactors in
the U.S.
Church holds a liberal arts degree
from Cayuga Community College in
Auburn, New York and has attended
Dale Carnegie Training and various
Leadership classes. She also completed
a plant certifi cation at Nine Mile
Point Unit 2. In 2003, she developed a
newsletter for on-line nuclear work week
managers, circulated to more than 300
members in the U.S. and Canada.
outages and online maintenance work, as
well as rotates a team of subject matter
experts from site to site to provide
support. It provides opportunities for all
teams to incorporate best practices from
other sites, which establishes a high level
of standardized performance.
As part of the Exelon fleet, I tend to
work more with management teams from
other Exelon plants. We rotate within the
38 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
fleet to provide support for continuity. I
usually assist one other Exelon nuclear
plant outage each year in the mid Atlantic
area as the night site manager. My work
controls superintendent also assumes the
role of night supervisor at another Exelon
location. In turn, other team leads come to
Limerick to assist us during our outage.
4. Probabilistic Risk Assessment has
sometimes shown that the possibility of
core melt is higher during the refueling
outage than during the plant normal
operation. How does Shaw reduce this
vulnerability?
Church: While much of our work
does not involve core activity, we
engage operations whenever it does. We
have specific tasks and operational risk
assessment (ORA) activities, usually
related to building scaffolds around
sensitive pieces of equipment. Our
tasks are set prior to starting a job and
we include additional oversight using
craft workers and spotters to make sure
we have positive or total control of all
equipment.
5. How does Shaw ensure safety of
the plants during refueling outage
considering Three Mile Island and
Chernobyl experiences?
Church: We always focus on
keeping our people safe which keeps the
plant safe. We use all the tools we have
available to us, including procedures
and work orders. We bring everyone
together before each shift to talk, stretch
and review safety information. Everyone
participates in pre-job briefs and reviews
and records job hazards as a team. We
empower every employee with the ability
to stop a work process if they have safety
concerns, to verify or check the work so
no one proceeds with uncertainty.
We also work with our supervisors to
make sure they understand the Stop, Think,
Act, Review (STAR) human performance
process. Supervisors participate in oral
board challenges and meet one-on-one
with managers to review expectations. We
provide continuous supervisor training.
Other plants and companies may have
different priorities and we want to make
sure everyone has the same information
about Shaw and Exelon expectations.
We spend a lot of time teaching about
radiation dose allocations and the reason
doses are different, depending on what
jobs are scheduled and where they are
located. We have rewards and incentive
for employees who successfully complete
their work with radiation doses lower than
the expected dose for that area.
Our safety observation program is
set up to be tailored to three phases of
the outage. The three phases are: (1) the
initial phase, when workers are new to
the site and possibly to the industry; (2)
the intermediate phase, when workers
become familiar to the job and systems
open for work; and (3) the final phase,
when workers are nearing the end of the
job. We adjust our safety observations to
add safeguards and address situational
issues that may arise during each phase
of outage work.
6. How does Shaw handle the challenge
of organizing a refueling outage without
lost time or work confl ict?
Church: Our outage performance
is disciplined. We organize multiple
outages twice every year, working with
a total of 36 reactors. We have a lot of
experience and solid relationships with
craft unions, plus we maintain a bench of
field non-manual employees who focus
on supporting outage operations.
Identifying and staffing field nonmanual
positions early are key elements
of successful performance. We bring in
leaders first to set up the plan for all craft
hires. The subject matter experts then lay
out the processes for their discipline. We
ramp up scaffold builders first and fast
since that is the first piece of work that
tends to take place during an outage.
We get a lot of returning craft as well
as new employees, and we blend teams
to balance work experience. We have
good quality people who we can transfer
from one outage to the next. Some craft
workers may work several outages a year,
depending on schedules.
Another important element is to
always review work coming up, not just
the work performed during the current
outage. We keep some staff for online
work that roll right into the next outage,
which increases their knowledge and
familiarization with plant procedures and
processes.
Contact: Gentry Brann, The Shaw
Group, Inc, 4171 Essen Lane, Baton
Rouge, LA 70809; telephone: (225) 987-
7372, fax: (225) 213-1331, email: gentry.
brann@shawgrp.com.
www.
NuclearPlant
Journal.com
Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com 39
Exelon's Vision & Leadership
By Amir Shahkarami, Exelon Nuclear.
Summary
Exelon Nuclear Leadership and
Participation in Industry Organizations
has contributed to Exelon's improved
fleet performance/safety as well as overall
industry improvement and resolution of
challenging technical issues.
With 20% of the United States
nuclear operating fleet, it is critical to
Exelon Nuclear’s success to develop/
maintain leadership and influence in the
industry, to collaboratively work with
industry counterparts to solve the broad
technical issues confronting the industry
and to stay abreast of those emerging
technologies that can improve safety and
performance.
Details
Exelon’s Management Model, Industry
Leadership Plan and Industry
Participation Process Control provides
the Vision, Strategy, Plan and
Process for Nuclear Power Industry
Leadership.
EPRI Participation
• Exelon has over 100 Primary Advisors
and in most cases Alternative
Advisors on:
• Board of Directors
• Research Advisory Council
• Nuclear Power Council (NPC)
• NPC Executive Committee
• Action Plan Working Groups
Nuclear Energy Institute’s (NEI Top
Industry Practice (TIP) Award’s
highlight the nuclear industry’s most
innovative techniques and ideas. They
promote the sharing of innovation and
the best practices, and consequently
improve the commercial prospects and
competitive position of the industry as a
whole.
This TIP Award Entry won NEI's 2009
Vision & Leadership Award.
The team members who participated
included: William Naughton, Senior Staff
Engineer, Exelon; Ted Schiffl ey, Exelon
Senior Staff Engineer, Exelon.
Amir Shahkarami
Shahkarami is the Senior Vice President
at Exelon and the Site Vice President at
Braidwood Nuclear Station. Shahkarami
joined Exelon Nuclear in 2002 as
Engineering Director of the Dresden
Nuclear Station. He was promoted
to the Engineering VP, and later to
Senior VP of engineering and Technical
Services where he was responsible
for the conduct of fuel (procurement,
design, and back-end), engineering,
project management, license renewal,
industry organizations (BWROG,
PWROG, EPRI), innovation, and
the international exchange program
(KHNP, TEPCO, EDF). He was the
company’s chief engineer responsible
to provide governance and oversight to
the corporate and Exelon’s seventeen
(17) nuclear units located in Illinois,
Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
• Streering Committees, Task Forces,
Committees and Subcommittees
• Exelon continuously holds either
Chair or Vice-Chair positions on
over 30% of the key committees reporting
directly to the Nuclear Power
Council.
Owners Group Participation
• Exelon has developed and maintained a
significant leadership role within both
the PWROG and BWROG in the past
few years that currently includes the
Vice Chair for BWROG and PWROG
Executive Oversight Committee.
• PWR Owners Group – Exelon participates
on all subcommittees and
Shahkarami received his Bachelor
and Master of Engineering degrees
from Tulane University during 1977-
1981, MBA from Mississippi College
in 1994, and completed PhD studies
in nuclear engineering at Louisiana
State University in 2001. He completed
the Harvard Advanced Management
Program (AMP) in 2008. He is a
registered Professional Engineer.
Shahkarami is a member of the Electric
Power Research Institute (EPRI)
Nuclear Power Council, the Executive
Committee, and has chaired ERAPWG.
He is the chairman of the NEI digital
I&C working group that has reported
the progress to the NRC commissioners
twice a year. Amir is the 3 time winner
of NEI's Top Industry Practice (TIP)
Award. Amir was named the 2008
Business Leaders of Color by Chicago
United . He also serves on the Tulane
University, Texas A&M, and Illinois
Institute of Technology engineering
advisory boards. Amir has been a
member of the American Nuclear Society
since 1992 and currently serves on
their Board of Directors. He received
the 2009 ANS utility leadership award.
He received his 2010 WANO Nuclear
Excellence Award. Amir serves on
the board of directors of Will County
Center for Economic Development and
Chamber of Commerce.
working groups and has developed
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
for Membership, Participation, Product
Implementations and Leadership
with action plans.
• BWR Owners Group – Exelon participates
on all subcommittees and
working groups and has developed
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
for Membership, Participation, Product
Implementations and Leadership
with action plans.
Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Participation
• Exelon holds the Chairman position
on NEI Board of Directors, and Key
40 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
positions on NSIAC (Nuclear Strategic
Issues Advisory Committee)
and Executive Task Forces such as
New Plant (NPOC) and Nuclear Fuel
Supply. Exelon also participates on
Working Groups such as Security,
Emergency Planning, Communication,
License Renewal, Government
Affairs, Environmental and numerous
working level task forces. Over
50 Exelon employees are engaged
in NEI initiatives and NEI has given
strong positive feedback on the level
of participation and leadership that
Exelon provides.
Institute for Nuclear Power Operators
(INPO) Participation
• Exelon Senior Management holds
positions on the following INPO
advisory boards and councils, Board
of Directors, Executive Advisor
Board, National Nuclear Accrediting
Board, Executive Point of Contact,
INPO Academy Council, INPO
Analysis Review Board, INPO
Administrative Point of Contact and
INPO Communication Council.
• Exelon maintains on average 10
loaned employees to INPO
Safety
Exelon has provided key personnel
and technical support to help numerous
Industry Safety issues. Three examples
are listed below:
• Key personnel and technical support
for the development of the INPO
Guideline 07-004, Zero Fuel Defects
by 2010.
• Key personnel for the BWROG
and NEI Task Force for Sump
Performance.
• Based on best practices identified
from Exelon’s INPO loanees, we
brought sonar technology (from
Cooper Station) to Quad Cities to
help map silting in front of intake
structure.
Cost Savings
Four recent Industry Group
resolutions where Exelon has led the
effort have saved Exelon over $20.2
Million and the Industry countless more.
Innovation
For a problem to become an Industry
Issue means that no good solution has
been previously developed to address the
problem. Each time the Industry develops
a solution to difficult problems facing
Nuclear Power Utilities is an Innovation.
The innovative approach that Exelon
takes is to address Industry Group
Leadership and Involvement in the
Management Model, Procedurally and
with Key Performance Indicators to make
sure Exelon is on track to do our part.
Productivity/Efficiency
Compared to other industries such as
the Pharmaceutical Industry, which has
very little sharing of information due to
competitive advantage, the Nuclear Power
Industry openly shares information and
works on solutions to difficult problems
together.
Solving an issue or problem that has
implications for the entire US fleet is a
tremendous efficiency gain for the entire
Industry and not an approach taken by
most Industries.
Contact: Keith Moser, Exelon
Generation, 4300 Winfi eld Road,
Warrenville, IL 60555; email: keith.
moser@exeloncorp.com.
The nuclear industry knows that when we take on an assignment,
it will be done on time and on budget. We pioneered the use of rail
to lower costs and enhance safety. Through our integrated approach
to technical services, packaging, transloading, transportation and
disposition services, MHF has earned the trust of the nuclear waste
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Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com 41
New Generation Shielding
By Margie Jepson, Entergy Nuclear.
Entergy is unrelenting in identifying
opportunities to create and deploy
cutting edge technologies that achieve
breakthrough improvements for its fleet.
Entergy is the second largest nuclear
power fleet in the U.S. that owns, operates
or manages 12 reactors at 10 sites
nationwide. An example of Entergy’s
innovative approach is the Arkansas
Nuclear One facility in Russellville where
the radiation protection team has designed
shielding that is achieving higher levels
of safety and worker efficiency.
Summary
No one else in this industry or others
have created a tungsten shield like this.
In looking beyond conventional materials
such as lead, steel and water for more
effective materials to use in shielding
applications, tungsten has been identified
for a number of years as a viable radiation
shielding option. Possessing superior
shielding factors, ANO worked together
with a manufacturer to create a new
tungsten shielding application and has
utilized it effectively and economically in
piping and surface applications.
After the initial success of surface
shielding with this new generation
application, a second innovation, the
tungsten vest, was also designed and is
being utilized with great success. Both
of these applications have leveraged the
shielding strength of tungsten in flexible,
lightweight and surprisingly effective
ways.
Defining the shield
The Entergy ANO tungsten radiation
shielding is a flexible heat-resistant
shielding made of tungsten and iron metal
powder immersed in a silicone polymer.
Due to the ability to place the maximum
amount of weight between the source and
the worker, the new generation tungsten
shielding has proven to be up to twice
as effective as lead in lowering exposure
rates to the worker with many other
advantages.
This tungsten radiation shielding
employs a new method of attaching
shielding using imbedded magnets. As a
polymer material, this shielding becomes
form fitting with ease and with significant
benefits such as:
• The new generation tungsten
shielding can be cut to allow for a
“field fit” that works exceptionally
well around obstructions. Whether
using scissors to cut little pieces
– such as the tungsten (duct)
tape that can plug small areas, or
custom cutting with knives to cover
significant areas next to the reactor
wall, this shielding offers versatility
that is unequaled.
• The shielding is low in profile and
therefore can be used in areas where
there are tight spacing or clearance
issues.
• The unique ability to secure
shielding in this easy-to-wraparound-attachment
avoids the need
for ty-wrap plastic binding or other
inefficient means of attachment and
therefore foreign material exclusion
is enhanced.
• Use of this shielding on floor surfaces
provides additional safety measures
eliminating uneven surfaces and
lessens the physical stress of standing
for long periods on steel surfaces.
• This shielding technology lessens
exposure by significantly reducing
the time required to install.
“We call it the ‘snap-on-snap-off’
shield because of how easily it attaches
in the field. Compared to lead blankets,
the attachment is simple and efficient and
is overall a more effective shield,” notes
Bacquet.
The flexible and customizable
system allows for the shielding of
difficult-to-shield projects that includes
pipe diameters from three-quarter inches
and larger. The shielding can be ordered
in custom sizes and thicknesses such as
sheets or as convenient as a roll of duct
tape. Most of all, the flexibility in the
field is a superior characteristic that is
unmatched by other shielding materials.
Savings and Success
Designed in custom shapes, this
shielding has the ability to field-fit
providing for attenuation of radiation
protection totaling from five to10 person-
Rem/year more than provided by the
equivalent weight of traditional lead
blankets.
ANO took a giant step forward
in shielding technology using New
Generation Shielding in several first
time applications. In a recent outage,
eight shield sites were installed utilizing
approximately 5800 lbs. of the new
tungsten shielding material. This was a
big part of the reason for the radiation
exposure being 12 Rem below the outage
exposure stretch goal.
When over 4000 pounds of the 1"
thick shielding was installed for a control
rod element assembly motor tubes project,
dose rates were reduced from 800 mRem/
hr contact and 250 mRem/hr at 30 cm to
250 mRem contact and 120 mRem/hr at
30 cm. Dose performance for the RVCH
lift rig project was outstanding, with an
actual dose of 8.1 Rem compared to an
estimated 21 Rem. The shielding has been
used for multiple applications at both
ANO Unit 1 and ANO Unit 2 including
decay heat system piping, core flood
system piping, RCP bleed-off piping, gas
collection header piping and pressurizer
spray piping.
“The New Generation Shielding isn’t
magic – just good science. It is certainly
a far better tool than we’ve been using
for the last 25 years,” stated Dan Stoltz,
ALARA coordinator.
Additionally, the tungsten shielding
weighs 25 to 50 percent less than lead
while removing the accompanying toxicity
hazard and mixed waste processing costs.
It benefits workers in the area of industrial
safety because it is easier to handle than
lead and lessens exposure time.
Monetary savings realized as a result
of using the new generation tungsten
shielding have totaled more than $300,000
in critical path time savings, outage labor
hours saved in installation of shielding
(Continued on page 44)
42 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
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New Generation...
Continued from page 42
and in non-outage shielding installation
labor.
“We couldn’t have made a better
investment than with the tungsten
material for this flexible shielding,” adds
Stoltz. New applications have already
been implemented by the team for the
auxiliary building for both ANO Unit
One and Unit Two.
Tungsten Vest
Employing new technology is not
a simple task. It is not just applying
new materials or equipment. It is about
a new way of thinking for the industry.
Entergy’s ANO radiation protection team
took tungsten shielding a step further and
invented an application of technology
not done before: the personal shielding
tungsten vest.
The industry ALARA practice has
always been to shield the source. But,
when you can’t shield the source, shielding
the person becomes an imperative.
Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
www.aecl.ca
AREVA NP, Inc.
www.us.areva-np.com
The Babcock & Wilcox
Company
www.babcock.com
Curtiss-Wright Flow Control
Company
www.cwfc.com
Day & Zimmermann Power
Services
www.dayzim.com
Divesco, Inc.
www.divesco.com
E. H. Wachs Co.
www.ehwachs.com
Enertech, a business unit of
Curtiss-Wright Flow Control
Company
enertech.cwfc.com
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
has defined Effective Dose Equivalent
(EDE) measurements for parts of the body.
As EDE is common place in the medical
field, the health care industry has used
materials like breast shields for radiation
treatments for cancer patients achieving
75 percent shielding results. Applied to
the nuclear industry, a fabricated tungsten
vest provides better radiation protection
than a lead application as it is more
effective for stopping gamma rays.
The EDE defines the percent of
radiological damage potential to body by
body part areas:
• The thorax and abdomen- 88 percent
• The head- 10 percent
• All other- 2 percent
By shielding the thorax and abdomen
area with a tungsten vest, significant dose
reductions overall are achieved with the
tungsten vest.
Entergy was granted approval by the
NRC to use an Electric Power Research
Institute two-badge method for estimating
effective dose equivalent at their sites
based upon their experience and expertise
extending from calculations made relative
to the medical field.
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GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
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Kinectrics Inc.
www.kinectrics.com
MHF Services
www.mhfservices.com
Nuclear Logistics Inc.
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ORTEC
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Petersen Inc.
www.peterseninc.com
Reef Industries, Inc.
www.reefindustries.com
Remote Ocean Systems
www.rosys.com
A First for the Industry
It was on the heat exchanger project
that employees were outfitted with the
tungsten vests for the first time in the
industry. The project entailed building
and installing a permanent shield
comprised of a steel plate, one inch thick,
around the heat exchanger. The project
was scheduled for 10 days, 24 hours per
day, with seven to 10 employees assigned
to the project during the 2009 outage,
not on the critical path timeline. Welders
and fitters on scaffolds, up on rigging
or some within inches of the exchanger
were exposed to approximately 200 - 600
mRem/hour.
Outfitting workers with the vest was
an innovative approach to save dose. The
employee productivity was not hampered
by the light-weight vest and fewer
employees were utilized overall since
staff would have been used for shielding
purposes – maintaining shielding as the
welders and fitters worked.
Measurements confirmed pre-project
estimations regarding dose savings:
exposure to the welders was reduced by 39
percent. The total exposure avoided was
(Continued on page 47)
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UniStar Nuclear Energy
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Urenco Enrichment Company
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URS
urscorp.com
Westerman Nuclear
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Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC
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Zachry Nuclear Engineering,
Inc.
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Zetec, Inc.
www.zetec.com
44 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
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Ultrasonic Cleaning of Jet Pump
Fouling
By Robert Geier, Exelon Nuclear.
Background
With the development of the BWR/3
through BWR/6, GE included jet pumps
in the boiling water reactor design as a
means to improve safety by ensuring
water would remain in reactor vessel
up to 2/3 of the core height in the event
of a recirculation piping loss of coolant
accident.
To perform this important safety
function, millions of pounds of water
flow through the jet pumps each hour
from the recirculation loops to the bottom
of the reactor in the lower plenum. As
one would expect, this large amount of
flow does make jet pumps susceptible
to vibration issues. Surprisingly, this
large amount of flow also causes another
problem with jet pumps experiencing
crud build up (fouling) due to electric
static discharge. The most susceptible
areas for jet pump fouling are the inlet
mixers especially the inlet nozzles.
Jet pump fouling causes a number of
problematic issues.
First the reduction in core flow results
in an economic penalty. For every 1% in
reduced core flow as a result of jet pump
fouling an extra fuel bundle is loaded into
the core to compensate for the power loss.
In addition at the end of the operating
cycle the unit starts to coast down earlier
and as a result produces less power.
Second the jet pump fouling increases
the pressure delta across the slip joint
and results in increased vibration. This
in-turn, causes additional degradation to
main wedge, restrainer bracket and riser
brace.
Third the increased vibration
degradation on the main wedge and
restrainer bracket releases cobalt from the
surface hardfacing into the recirculation
system causing contamination and
increased radiation exposure.
A number of BWR operators have
found jet pump fouling so problematic
that they have performed jet pump
cleaning operations. In 2001, Peach
Bottom unit 3 was one of the units to
Robert Geier
Geier is the BWR Internals Program
Manager at Exelon Nuclear. He manages
engineering activities involving the
inspection, maintenance and repair of
have jet pumps cleaned with traditional
methods. During this operation all the
fuel was removed from the core and each
jet pump inlet mixer was de-tensioned
and moved to the spent fuel pool area to
have ultrahigh pressure cleaning applied.
The increase in critical path outage time
was over 6 days and Exelon’s all in costs
were over $20 million. While the ultra
high pressure cleaning was effective not
all the flow was restored as the tenacious
fouled oxide layer defied removal in some
areas.
Innovative Solution
Exelon BWR Rx Internal Program
Manager has an after hours hobby of
buying and refurbishing rare antique
clocks. One of the key tools in the
restoration effort is an ultrasonic cleaning
bath that removed very tenacious oxide
layer that have built up over hundreds of
years on the clock mechanisms.
Coupling the successful antique
clock ultrasonic cleaning with what is
happening in the industry with ultrasonic
cleaning of PWR fuel assemblies, the
Exelon Program Manager started to think
about applying this technology to clean
BWR jet pumps.
the internal components of the twelve
Exelon boiling water reactors. Geier
joined Exelon (ComEd) in 1977 and was
engaged in welding activities during
construction at Braidwood and LaSalle.
Later at Dresden, he was the Mechanical
Maintenance Superintendent and
then held (Continued a Senior Reactor on page Operators 47)
license as a Shift Supervisor in the
Operations Department. In his current
role he has been involved with the
invention and development of reactor
internals inspection and maintenance
technologies.
Geier received Bachelor’s Of Science
degrees in Welding Engineering from
Millikin University and Mechanical
Engineering from Illinois Institute of
Technology in 1985.
With Exelon senior management buy
in, a development phase was conducted
where the best practices and lessons
learned from PWR fuel assembly
cleaning was applied to concept tooling,
ultrasonic probes and system to clean
BWR jet pumps. While the conceptual
design looked good on paper, proof is
what is needed to develop the confidence
that this new cleaning device will
work. Fortunately, LaSalle Station had
previously replaced jet pump inlet mixers
due to vibration damage. These jet
pumps were stored in the fuel pool and
had considerable fouling to validate that
the ultrasonic cleaning technique. The
ultrasonic jet pump cleaning prototype
worked extremely well at dislodging the
tenacious oxide layers on the jet pumps
inlet mixer.
With a successful demonstration
under their belt the team went on to apply
this technique to Peach Bottom 3 during
the recent September, 2009 refueling
outage. Even though Peach Bottom 3
had cleaned jet pumps in 2001, up to 2%
of core flow losses had occurred on the
worst fouled jet pumps.
After incorporating lessons learned
from the LaSalle demonstration and
46 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
edesigning the tools for a BWR/4 style
jet pump, the team went about cleaning
6 of the worst fouled jet pump. This
operation took absolutely no critical path
schedule as the team was able to deploy
the tooling during fuel moves off of the
360 degree work platform. The jet pump
cleaning tool worked great and over 10
HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air)
filters of crud were removed from the 6
jet pumps.
But the real proof came after the
outage when the core flow from the 6 jet
pumps cleaned showed that the entire 2%
loss due to fouling had been restored.
Safety Considerations
Jet pumps ensure that water will remain
in the reactor after a loss of coolant
accident and are important to safety.
Jet pump fouling increases the pressure
or drive flow and as a result increase vibration
loads. This increased vibration
results in damage to critical jet pump
components including the main wedge
and restrainer bracket. The wear on the
restrainer bracket and main wedge results
in cobalt being released from the Stellite
hard surfacing.
The radiation exposure reduction
from reduced cobalt source term is equal
to 10 REM per operating cycle.
Cost-Savings
Using ultrasonic to cleaning jet
pumps eliminates 6 days plus of critical
path schedule Impact and at an average of
$1.5 million per day of outage extension
from lost power production that is $9
million in generation.
Compared to traditional cleaning
methods ultrasonic’s cost is approximately
$6 million less to deploy.
Every 1% of recovered core flow
results in $400k in reduced fuel costs per
cycle and $300k in reduced house loads.
House loads are the electrical power used
to run equipment in the plant to generate
power; the cost of making electricity.
Depending on the level of crud
build up, utilizing ultrasonic’s to clean
jet pumps is worth over $16 Million per
application.
Contact: Keith Moser, Exelon
Generation, 4300 Winfi eld Road,
Warrenville, IL 60555; email: keith.
moser@exeloncorp.com.
New Generation...
Continued from page 44
642 person-mRem. With vest shielding,
radiation-avoided was 400 person-mRem
for carpenters and shielding crew.
“This solution for shielding is really
revolutionary. When I talked to colleagues
around the country, they thought it was a
crazy idea. The more I talked to my peers,
the more they liked the idea and agreed
with the science of this dose savings,”
said Stoltz.
“The vest was a natural extension
of the tungsten shields we developed.
I wanted a vest to shield a person when
we couldn’t effectively shield a source
of radiation,” said team leader, Bacquet.
“Other Entergy plants have since utilized
the shields and we continue to find more
and new uses here at ANO. We are proud
to have developed such a tremendous
innovation in shielding for our industry
and to be the first to use it.”
Contact: Margie Jepson, Entergy
Nuclear; 1340 Echelon Parkway, Jackson,
MS 39213; telephone 601-368-5460;
email mjepson@entergy.com.
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Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com 47
Safety of the Public is our Top Priority
By John Grubb, Xcel Energy.
Xcel Energy’s Monticello Nuclear
Generating Plant has earned a reputation
of superior performance in the
community and among its industry peers
during 39 years of operation.
Northern States Power (NSP), which
merged with New Century Energies
to form Xcel Energy in 2000, began
construction of the Monticello plant
in the mid-1960s. Total cost of initial
construction was $119 million.
The boiling water reactor unit
conducted its first nuclear chain reaction
at 9:49 p.m. December 10, 1970, marking
the transition from licensing, construction
and testing to formal start-up and plant
operations. On June 30, 1971, the plant
hooked up to NSP’s grid and began
serving its customers.
Doug Antony, who later became
plant manager and president of generation
for NSP, recalls the thrill of first- time
generation. “In the early stages of
operational testing we relied on General
Electric and Bechtel start-up engineers,”
he said. “We knew the plant was going to
be ours – but the only place we practiced
start-up was on the simulator. It was quite
exciting to go critical the first time.”
Antony notes the biggest differences
then and now revolve around security
and sharing industry knowledge. “We
have always made safety the top priority
for our main stakeholders – the general
public,” he said. “Security was nothing
like it is now – we had one man and a
guard shack.
“The other big difference is the
respect for INPO and the industry. INPO
was just starting up – we were not as
accepting of outside advice. Fortunately,
we grew to respect and learn from the
industry.”
A determining factor in NSP’s
decision to build a nuclear plant was
the lower cost of uranium fuel. Another
was dependability. Monticello has a
track record of generating safe, reliable
and economical electricity with a record
online run of 637 consecutive days in
2005-2007. As of this writing, Monticello
John Grubb
Mr. Grubb has been at Monticello for
20-plus years, serving in several key
capacities leading up to the important
position of ensuring the plant operates
safely and economically as plant
manager. Prior to his current role,
Grubb served as director of engineering,
business support manager, operations
manager, system engineering manger
and design engineering manager. Grubb
holds an electrical engineering degree
from North Dakota State University.
He has completed and mentored
development and managerial courses
at INPO and serves on the advisory
committee of the Boiling Water Reactor
Owners Group.
had a current online run of more than 350
days from its late spring start-up from the
2009 refueling.
Monticello has generated more than
155 million mega-watt-hours of electricity
with a lifetime capacity factor exceeding
80 percent since that initial start-up.
There are 190,000 pounds of
uranium loaded into 484 fuel assemblies,
which is the equivalent to the energy in 7
million tons of coal. The plant is refueled
approximately every 24 months.
Monticello’s boiling-water reactor
generates 600 megawatts of electricity,
enough to serve more than a half-million
households and about 10 percent of
the electricity used by Xcel Energy’s
Tim O’Connor
Mr. O’Connor was appointed Monticello
site vice president in May 2007 with
25 years of extensive nuclear energy
experience in BWR and PWR plants.
Tim is responsible for the overall
management of Monticello site activities.
He joined Monticello from Constellation
Energy Group’s Nine Mile Point station
in New York, where he served as site vice
president from 2004-2007.
After receiving a mechanical
engineering degree at Marquette
University in Milwaukee, O’Connor
joined LaSalle Nuclear Station as a
fi eld engineer in 1982. Since then he has
served in a variety of positions at several
stations.
customers in the Upper Midwest.
Combined with the production at Prairie
Island Nuclear Generating Plant near
Red Wing, Minn., nuclear power makes
up nearly 30 percent of the power
Xcel Energy supplies its customers in
Minnesota and neighboring states.
The Monticello plant is located on a
2,150-acre site about 50 miles northwest
of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The plant
received a 40-year operating license
from the federal Nuclear Regulatory
Commission in 1970.
In 2006, the NRC renewed the plant’s
license for 20 years, which will allow
operations until 2030. Approximately
(Continued on page 50)
48 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
Meeting & Training Calendar
1. International Forum ATOMEXPO
2010, June 7-9, 2010, Moscow,
Russia. Contact: Rosatom, telephone:
7 495 645 23 27, fax: 7 495 66 33 820,
email: atomexpo@rosatom.info.
2. Nuclear Power Uprate Conference,
June 21-22, 2010, Washington, D.C.
Contact: Nuclear Energy Insider,
Dean Murphy, telephone: (800) 814-
3569, ext. 7204, email: dmurphy@
eyeforenergy.com.
3. 6 th Annual World Nuclear University
(WNU) Summer Institute, July 3-14,
2010, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Contact: World Nuclear Association,
telephone: 44 207 451 1520, fax:
44 207 839 1501, email: wna@info.
world-nuclear.org.
4. 51 st Annual Meeting of the Institute
of Nuclear Materials Management
INMM, July 11-15, 2010, Baltimore,
Maryland. Contact: telephone: (847)
480-9573, fax: (847) 480-9282, email:
inmm@inmm.org.
5. 29 th Steam Generator Nondestructive
Evaluation Workshop, July 12-14,
2010, Vail Cascade Resort and Spa,
Vail, Colorado. Contact: EPRI, Brent
Lancaster, telephone: (704) 595-2517,
email: blancaster@epri.com.
6. International Youth Nuclear Congress
IYNC, July 12-18, 2010, Cape Town,
South Africa. Contact: email: mosa.
rasweswe@iync.org, website: www.
iync.org/iync-2010.html.75.
ASME 2010 Power Conference, July
13-15, 2010, Palmer House Hilton,
Chicago, Illinois. Contact: Vince
Dilworth, telephone: (925) 244-1360,
email: Dilworthv@asme.org.
7. Mitigating System Performance Index
(MSPI) Workshop, July 14-16, 2010,
San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter,
San Antonio, Texas. Contact: Nuclear
Energy Institute, Linda Wells,
telephone: (202) 739-8039, email:
ljw@nei.org.
8. EUCI Course on Nuclear Power
Fundamentals, July 15-16, 2010,
Chicago Illinois. Contact: telephone:
(303) 770-880, fax: (303) 741-0849.
9. 31 st International Nuclear Air Cleaning
Conference, July 19-21, 2010,
Charlotte, North Carolina. Contact:
Ronald Bellamy, International
Society for Nuclear Air Treatment
Technologies, telephone: (610) 337-
5200, email: rrb2@nrc.gov.
10. Health Physics Forum, July 25-28,
2010, Sheraton Sand Key, Clearwater,
Florida. Contact: Nuclear Energy
Institute, Linda Wells, telephone:
(202) 739-8039, email: ljw@nei.org.
11. Nuclear Fuel Supply Forum, July
27, 2010, Willard InterContinenal,
Washington, D.C. Contact: Nuclear
Energy Institute, Linda Wells,
telephone: (202) 739-8039, email:
ljw@nei.org.
12. Utility Working Conference and
Vendor Technology Expo, August
8-11, 2010, Amelia Island Plantation,
Amelia Island, Florida. Contact:
American Nuclear Society, website:
www.ans.org.
13. Nuclear Information Records
Management Association
Conference NIRMA 2010, August 15-
20, 2010, Summerlin, NV. Contact:
telephone: (505) 248-7555, email:
SteveAdams@nara.gov.
14. EPRI Boiling Water Reactor Water
Chemistry Workshop, August 18-19,
2010, Oak Brook Terrace, Illinois.
Contact: Nicole Lynch, telephone:
(650) 855-2060, email: nlynch@epri.
com.
15. U.S. Women in Nuclear, July 18-
21, 2010, Westin Seattle, Seattle,
Washington. Contact: Nuclear
Energy Institute, Linda Wells,
telephone: (202) 739-8039, email:
ljw@nei.org.
16. Summer School on Nuclear Reactors:
Goals and Challenges for the Gen-II
to Gen-III Transition, August 25-
Septmeber 3, 2010, Aix-en-Provence,
France. Contact: FJOH Summer
School, email: fjoh@cea.fr.
17. 2010 American Nuclear Society
Topical Meeting and Decommissioning,
Decontamination, & Reutilization
and Technology Expo, August
29-September 2, 2010, Idaho Falls,
Idaho. Contact: Teri Ehresman, telephone:
(208) 526-7785, email: Teri.
Ehresman@inl.gov.
18. 35 th Annual World Nuclear
Association Symposium, September
15-17, 2010, London, United
Kingdom. Contact: telephone: 44
20 7451 1520, email: info@worldnuclear.org.
19. China International Nuclear Power
Industry Expo, September 19-21,
2010, China International Exhibition
Center, Beijing, China. Contact:
Winder Wang, telephone: 86 10
85863866, fax: 86 10 85863866,
email: winderwang@163.com.
20. 2010 LWR Fuel Performance
Meeting/TopFuel, September 26-
29, 2010, Hyatt Regency Grand
Cypress, Orlando, Florida. Contact:
Lynne Schreiber, American Nuclear
Society, email: fuel@fuel.ans.org.
21. International Conference on Nuclear
Power for the People, September 26-
29, 2010, Nesebar, Bulgaria. Contact:
Bulgarian Nuclear Society, fax: 359
2 974 39 55, email: manolova@inrne.
bas.bg.
22. The 13 th International Conference
on Environmental Remediation and
Radioactive Waste Management.
October 3-7, 2010, Tsukuba, Japan.
Contact: John Bendo, ASME, email:
bendoj@asme.org.
23.Nuclear Plant Chemistry Conference,
2010, October 3-7, 2010, Hotel Le
Concorde, Quebec City, Quebec,
Canada. Contact: Elizabeth Muckle-
Jeffs, Canadian Nuclear Society,
telephone: (800) 868-8776, fax: (613)
732-3386.
24.17 th Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference,
October 24-30, 2010, Hilton Cancun
Golf and Spa Resort, Cancun, Mexico.
Contact: Pacific Nuclear Council,
email: info@pbnc2010.org.mx.
25. 2010 ANS Winter Meeting and
Nuclear Technology Expo, November
7-11, 2010, Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas,
Nevada. Contact: website: www.ans.
org.
Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com 49
Safety of...
Continued from page 48
500 people are employed full-time at the
plant, which is owned and operated by
Northern States Power Co.-Minnesota,
an Xcel Energy company. The plant is
highly reliable with a five-year average
capacity factor of 90.9 percent from
2005-2009.
Extended Power Uprate
Our plan to increase the generating
capacity (power uprate) at the plant by
71 megawatts has been approved by the
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
and awaits action by the federal Nuclear
Regulatory Commission. The project
is expected to be completed in 2011.
Monticello expects a workforce of more
than 2,000 to complete the following
projects and other outage tasks in 2011:
Replacement of:
• Main transformer
• Normal and auxiliary power
transformers
• Condensate demineralizer system
and controls
• Steam dryer
• Feed water pumps and motor
• 6 high pressure feed water heaters
• Main generator exciter
• Stator water cooling heat exchanger
• Condensate pump impeller and
motor
Among other tasks:
• Installation of a new 13.8 Kv
electrical distribution system
• Main generator rewind
• Reactor water cleanup flow
enhancement
Meanwhile, in connection with
proposals for a regional transmission
system upgrade in Minnesota, new
substation equipment and several new
power source connections – including a
row of 345-kilovolt breakers -- will be
installed at the plant substation.
CapX2020
Monticello is a key connection point
for CapX2020, a joint initiative of 11
transmission utilities in Minnesota and the
surrounding region to expand the electric
transmission grid to ensure continued
reliable and affordable service.
Planning studies show that customer
demand for electricity will increase 4,000
to 6,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020. The
new transmission lines will be built in
phases designed to meet this increasing
demand as well as to support renewable
energy expansion.
Work began this spring on the
Monticello’s new substation equipment
that will allow one of the new lines to tie
in to the station.
Dry Fuel Storage
The federal Nuclear Regulatory
Commission has licensed the storage
facility and the NUHOMS design. The
state has authorized 30 canisters to
accommodate plant operations through
2030, when the plant’s renewed license
expires. Ten containers now are filled
and loaded in the dry storage facility; 10
are scheduled to be loaded in 2013 and
another 10 in approximately 2016.
Strengths
The station was proud to develop
a dynamic set of learning tools for
supplemental personnel prior to the 2009
refueling outage that resulted in reduction
of OSHA recordable injuries from seven
in 2007 to one in 2009 and significant
human performance events.
Highlights
• Monticello developed a detailed and
user friendly documentation package
for important air operative valve
parameters and results to improve
efficiency.
• Methods used in development of
interns and knowledge transfer
for new hires in engineering have
resulted in the hiring and retention of
quality engineers.
• Management implemented a program
to develop staff who demonstrate
leadership potential and are interested
in progressing to supervisory roles.
Risk Management
Our personnel pride themselves
in performance and safety. Employees
demonstrate intolerance for equipment
issues and events. We constantly strive to
improve in all areas.
Monticello has been praised recently
by industry organizations for identifying
risk in job planning and at the jobsite and
taking the appropriate actions to mitigate,
reduce or eliminate risk. The station
identified risk management principles
and behaviors as part of its Target Zero
campaign of operating with no accidents,
no events in operational decision making
and to avoid and reduce risk.
The station’s Nuclear Oversight
Department noted implementation of
the principles resulted in improved plant
performance, “most notably reflected
in the essentially event free operations
during the 2009 refueling outage.
Additionally, online events have been
reduced and problems are being identified
before work execution.”
Risk principles have been
internalized through various departments
of the station. Personnel who identify risk
prevention situations are rewarded and
recognized in the site’s newsletter.
Here are the site’s risk management
principles:
• Nothing is routine.
• Take the time to challenge
uncertainty.
• Risk significant activities will be
made visible.
• Risk activities will be planned,
challenged and controlled.
• No risk option – the first choice.
• Prioritization to minimize operational
•
challenges.
And, behaviors:
Stop/engage when we hear
justifications or the word, “routine.”
• Methodical fact-based decision
making.
• Risk activities are clearly identified
with clear owners.
• Verify commitments in detail / follow
through and validate the specifics
Contact: Patrick Thompson, Xcel
Energy, 2807 West County Road 75,
Monticello, MN 55362-9637; telephone:
(763) 295-1282, fax: (763) 295-1421, email:
Patrick.thompson@xenuclear.com.
50 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010
Westinghouse AP1000
On schedule for 2013
Placement of the containment vessel
bottom head at Sanmen, Unit 1.
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with the first scheduled to come online as planned in 2013.
In the United States, the AP1000 has been selected as the
technology of choice for more than half of the new plants
announced, including the only six for which engineering,
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Westinghouse nuclear technology will help provide future
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