Nuclear plant owners move closer to life extension

Journal Article · Tue Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · Power Engineering; (United States)

OSTI ID:5404330

Smith, D J

A major debate is now underway about the safety of 40-year-old nuclear power plants. Under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 a nuclear power plant's license is limited to a maximum of 40 years. Although the act permits the renewal of an operating license, it does not outline any standards or procedures for determining when or under what conditions a plant's operating license should be renewed. This paper reports that the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are co-sponsors of a program to demonstrate the license renewal process for two nuclear power plants - Yankee Atomic Electric's 175-MW Yankee PWR plant and Northern States Power's 536-MW Monticello BWR plant. The demonstration is known as the lead plant project. Yankee Atomic has already analyzed the plant's condition and evaluated aging using computer-based expert systems and the plant's operating experience. During these tests Yankee Atomic found embrittlement of the reactor vessel.

• OSTI ID: 5404330
• Journal Information: Power Engineering; (United States), Journal Name: Power Engineering; (United States) Vol. 95:10; ISSN POENA; ISSN 0032-5961
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210700* -- Nuclear Power Plants-- Regulation & Licensing
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220200 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Components & Accessories
220900 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
BWR TYPE REACTORS
CONTAINERS
EMBRITTLEMENT
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
EPRI
EVALUATION
EXPERT SYSTEMS
LICENSING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
OPERATION
PLANNING
POWER PLANTS
POWER REACTORS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
REACTOR LICENSING
REACTOR OPERATION
REACTOR SAFETY
REACTOR VESSELS
REACTORS
SAFETY
SAFETY ANALYSIS
SERVICE LIFE
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
THERMAL REACTORS
US NRC
US ORGANIZATIONS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS