Regulators Offer Praise for Cooper Nuclear Plant
Posted on: Tuesday, 25 October 2005, 21:01 CDT
By Nancy Gaarder
BROWNVILLE, Neb. -- Cooper Nuclear Station appears to be breaking an old habit -- and for the better.
The nuclear plant, Nebraska's largest, has a history of getting into trouble, launching an improvement program and solving its problems, only to backslide.
Kriss Kennedy of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday that early indications are that Cooper is breaking from that pattern -- although it's still too early to be certain.
"We haven't seen them backslide," he said.
The commission has worked for several years with the Nebraska Public Power District, which owns and operates the plant, on solving management problems at Cooper.
In January, the commission determined that the plant had made enough progress to close a period of intensive oversight.
Monday, the commission met with NPPD to discuss findings from inspections since January.
Kennedy said the plant continues to improve but has more work to do. Federal regulators will continue to inspect and oversee the plant to be sure that it stays on the right path, he said.
Randy Edington, vice president and chief nuclear officer for NPPD, said workers are focused on making Cooper one of the best in the industry.
Among the positive signs that Edington cited:
The number of problems found at the plant has dropped by about half since early 2004.
The number of days that the plant operates without an incident has steadily grown. The average is now 73 days, up from 52 about a year ago.
Cooper has been named the most improved nuclear plant in the country for 2004 by the American Nuclear Society.
Source: Omaha World - Herald
Related Articles
- Ur-Energy Submits License Application to Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission Confirms Security Lapses at Exelon; Findings Come a Year After the Company Was Warned By SEIU
- AEHI Leads Nuclear Regulatory Commission's New Reactor List As First Green Field Commercial Nuclear Plant in Over 25 Years
- Southern Nuclear Files for Early Site Permit on Behalf of Owners of Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant
- India, US seal nuclear cooperation deal
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission Approves Design for Nuclear Plant
- Pacific Gas and Electric Company Accepts Nuclear Regulatory Commission Decision on Humboldt Bay Power Plant
- Pakistan to Scrap Gas Deal With Iran If US Offers Nuclear Cooperation Pact
- Constellation Energy Seeks Combined Construction and Operating License From Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- U.S. lifts some curbs on India nuclear cooperation
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds