USEC working to resolve issues (at uranium enrichment plant)

[jpak]

http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20111203/NEWS01/112030303

PIKETON --Recent reports published by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission help paint a clearer picture of the June 11 power failure at USEC's American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon that damaged several centrifuge machines.

The report, published by the NRC and dated Nov. 21, was sent to USEC Inc.'s Director of Regulatory and Quality Assurance. In it, the NRC outlined three unresolved issues that contributed to the incident.

Those issues include a connectivity issue between the backup generator and the machines it is intended to supply power to in an emergency, insufficiency of the layer of protection in the casings that enclose the centrifuge machines and prevent radiation from escaping in the event of a power outage, and a weakness in employee training and familiarity.

The report notes that on June 11, a generator was not able to properly connect to a motor control center during normal operations. A staff member, who meant to turn off an alarm notifying workers about the generator issue, unintentionally shut down the power supply panel that powered some centrifuge components. Within a few minutes, four machines crashed, and one machine's casing was breached.

<more>