The Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant’s safety record up for public scrutiny

A blemish on the safety record of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant in Lacey will be discussed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during its annual public meeting on the facility's performance this Thursday in Stafford Township.

Exelon, the plant owner and operator, received an inspection report issued on May 12, that preliminarily classified a January incident involving a failed cooling hose for an emergency diesal generator as a "white classification," or of low to moderate safety significance.

The incident is expected to be finalized as "white," according to NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan.

"Exelon has notified us that it does not intent to challenge this, so it will change our level of oversight for the plant," said Sheehan.

The NRC gauges plant performance through the use of color-coded inspection findings and performance indicators, explained Sheehan.

"It goes from green to white, to yellow to red. If you get anything that's above a green, and in this case they will get a white, they will get a team of NRC inspectors coming to visit the plant that will look at this particular area of performance and determine whether or not the company is appropriately addressing the condition," Sheehan said.

The findings stem from the failure of the hose during a regular test on January 4, 2016.

"After we took a closer look at it, we determined that this hose really should be changed on an interval of about every 12 years. It had not been changed since 1994, and this is a very vital piece of equipment, and therefore that's why we've issues this violation," said Sheehan.

While the most recent infraction involved lack of maintenance, Exelon was cited in 2015 for improper maintenance, for work on a drive shaft that led to a diesel generator failing, according to Sheehan. That incident also led to a "white" classification.

"We see no indication that at this point, that it's emblematic of larger problems involving either of these generators or plant maintenance in general," Sheehan said.

The NRC issues reports on performance twice a year. Inspection findings and performance indicators are updated on a quarterly basis on the agency's website.

Thursday's public meeting on Oyster Creek's annual assessment will take place at 6 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Manahawkin, at 151 Route 72 West in Stafford.