Representatives from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Holtec International are scheduled to meet on Jan. 9 to discuss two possible violations of federal regulations in the energy services firm’s updated design for a spent nuclear fuel storage canister.
The apparent violations, identified during a May 2018 inspection of Holtec headquarters in Camden, N.J., could lead to fines or other forms of escalated enforcement by the NRC. They derived from a loose standoff pin found earlier in the year in a Holtec multipurpose canister used during fuel-transfer operations at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California.
The same cask design is used in spent fuel storage at seven other nuclear power plants around the country. One, Entergy’s shuttered Vermont Yankee facility, also temporarily suspended its own transfer of used fuel from wet to dry storage following the SONGS incident.
Holtec in December 2014 received a contract from utility Southern California Edison to place used fuel from two reactors at San Onofre, which were permanently retired the year before, into dry storage. During operations in March 2018, a loose 4-inch pin was found in one container into which used fuel was to be loaded. The pin was a component of a “shim” that supports the fuel basket and enables airflow to the spent fuel assemblies in the canister.
The used fuel transfer at SONGS was suspended for more than a week in March while Southern California Edison and Holtec studied the situation. Holtec ultimately resumed work using casks with a separate design.
Fuel storage operations at the San Diego County facility were halted again following an Aug. 3 mishap in placing one canister into the storage pad. The NRC is also considering enforcement action against Southern California Edison for that incident. The utility and Holtec have said they hope to resume the storage process later this month and to complete work in 2019.
The NRC team conducted its routine on-site inspection at Holtec headquarters from May 14-18, 2018. It submitted its findings to the company in November.
The two apparent violations, related to a change in design for the Holtec multipurpose canister, are:
- Holtec’s failure to ensure adequate design control measures were in place as of August 2016 for the “selection and review for suitability of application” of alternative 4-inch stainless steel standoff pins that ensure shims stay in place within the fuel canister. “Specifically, on or after August of 2016, Holtec failed to establish adequate design control measures as part of the selection and review for suitability of application for alternative four-inch stainless-steel standoff pins,” the report says.
- Failure to prepare a written evaluation required under federal regulations before revising the cask design for the standoff pins.
Holtec requested a pre-decisional enforcement conference to provide further information about the situation. The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. next Wednesday at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md. It is open to the public and will be webcast.
“The NRC has confirmed the safety of the canisters in use with the shim stand off design,” Joy Russell, senior vice president of business development and communications at Holtec, said Wednesday by email. She added: “Holtec does not agree with the severity level of the NRC apparent violations.”
Four storage canisters with the shim-pin design in question were loaded with used fuel assemblies, a Southern California Edison spokesman said by email. The utility “remains confident, following thorough analysis validated by an independent third-party engineering firm, and ongoing monitoring of the four loaded canisters utilizing the Holtec shim pin design, each canister continues to perform all safety functions,” he said.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission generally makes its decision on enforcement several weeks after the conference, spokesman Neil Sheehan said.
“Outcomes of the escalated enforcement review process can range from a determination that no violation(s) occurred to a notice of violation or a fine,” he said by email. “The NRC staff will have to take all of the relevant information under consideration before rendering a decision.”
Southern California Edison has requested a pre-decisional enforcement conference of its own ahead of possible NRC action related to the Aug. 3 incident, which renewed concerns about storing radioactive waste in an earthquake-prone area along the Pacific Ocean. The meeting has not yet been scheduled.
Twenty-nine canisters had been placed on the storage pad at the time of the incident. Another 44 will ultimately be added.
