The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is set to meet Nov. 15 with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to discuss a low to moderate safety issue identified earlier this year, concerning an emergency cooling system, at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in California.
Located about 12 miles southwest of San Luis Obispo, Diablo Canyon is the last operating nuclear plant in the state and is scheduled to close by 2025. The NRC and PG&E representatives will discuss a preliminary finding regarding the company’s failure to adequately maintain the emergency core cooling system at the plant, according to an NRC announcement Friday.
The regulator said one of two emergency core cooling systems in Diablo Canyon’s Unit 2 was inoperable for an extended period of time due to a maintenance issue, in which workers incorrectly set a mechanical switch on one of the system’s valves. An emergency core cooling system provides water to the reactor when it loses coolant.
The problem was identified in May and could date as far back as October 2014, the NRC said.
“The licensee has corrected the condition and changes have been made to maintenance procedures to prevent recurrence,” the release says.
Scheduled for 12:30 p.m., the meeting will be held at NRC’s Region IV office, 1600 E. Lamar Blvd., Arlington, Texas.
