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Progress Energy and federal officials continue to investigate the cause of a half-inch-wide crack recently found inside a containment wall at the Crystal River nuclear plant. One possibility: The crack opened as workers created a huge hole in the reactor building's fortress-thick outer wall to remove some old equipment. "It looks like it's very new," Progress Energy spokeswoman Jessica Lambert said of the crack. The gap was discovered about six weeks ago, shortly after the nuclear plant was shut down for a major maintenance project, officials said. No radiation escaped.

Progress Energy and federal officials continue to investigate the cause of a half-inch-wide crack recently found inside a containment wall at the Crystal River nuclear plant. One possibility: The crack opened as workers created a huge hole in the reactor building's fortress-thick outer wall to remove some old equipment. "It looks like it's very new," Progress Energy spokeswoman Jessica Lambert said of the crack. The gap was discovered about six weeks ago, shortly after the nuclear plant was shut down for a major maintenance project, officials said. No radiation escaped.

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission confirmed Tuesday evening that a large fiberglass pipe in the recently rebuilt cooling towers at Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor had developed an 18-inch crack and was leaking water. Another crack developed in a joint in another location along the same pipe, a spokeswoman for the NRC said. The disclosure of the cracks in the large distribution or header pipe in the east cooling tower comes after Entergy recently completed rebuilding the infrastructure of the two cooling towers over the past three years, after the western tower partially collapsed in August 2007. Samuel Collins, Region One administrator for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Donald Jackson, another NRC official, confirmed the cracks in the cooling tower pipe during a public meeting over the annual assessment of the plant's operation and condition held at Brattleboro Union High School. There are cracks in cell 1-5 and cell 1-8 in the east tower, which is closest to the Connecticut River. Until the issue was brought up by Raymond Shadis, senior technical advisor to the nuclear watchdog group The New England Coalition, about two hours into the meeting, neither Entergy nor NRC officials had mentioned the problem, which was discovered Thursday by Entergy. The leaks have already undergone a temporary repair, according to Entergy spokesman Larry Smith."

A deep crack just discovered this week in the concrete containment wall of the Crystal River nuclear reactor on Florida's west coast signals a disturbing trend in on-going cracking and corrosion and other dangerous wear-and-tear symptoms among the country's fleet of aging reactors. Beyond Nuclear argues that it is time that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission fulfill its Congressional mandate to look out for public safety instead of risking lives to save nuclear utilities money. The agency should keep the Crystal River reactor closed, Beyond Nuclear argues, while seriously evaluating the safety of continuing to relicense the country's aging reactor fleet.

A deep crack just discovered this week in the concrete containment wall of the Crystal River nuclear reactor on Florida's west coast signals a disturbing trend in on-going cracking and corrosion and other dangerous wear-and-tear symptoms among the country's fleet of aging reactors. Beyond Nuclear argues that it is time that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission fulfill its Congressional mandate to look out for public safety instead of risking lives to save nuclear utilities money. The agency should keep the Crystal River reactor closed, Beyond Nuclear argues, while seriously evaluating the safety of continuing to relicense the country's aging reactor fleet.

A deep crack just discovered this week in the concrete containment wall of the Crystal River nuclear reactor on Florida's west coast signals a disturbing trend in on-going cracking and corrosion and other dangerous wear-and-tear symptoms among the country's fleet of aging reactors. Beyond Nuclear argues that it is time that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission fulfill its Congressional mandate to look out for public safety instead of risking lives to save nuclear utilities money. The agency should keep the Crystal River reactor closed, Beyond Nuclear argues, while seriously evaluating the safety of continuing to relicense the country's aging reactor fleet.

"Vermont Yankee nuclear plant officials say two new cracks have been found and repaired in a rebuilt tower that cools water from the plant. The cracks were found June 17,and were not publicly reported by the plant. The water cools the reactor, but it is not radioactive. The Rutland Herald says the cracks' existence came to light Tuesday during a meeting held by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Plant spokesman Larry Smith said yesterday the cracks in a 36-inch pipe were both about 12 to 15 inches long, and were spilling about 10 gallons of water a minute. He says the problem didn't meet the plant's threshold for public reporting. In August 2007, a different cooling tower at Vermont Yankee collapsed. "

Utility officials and regulators next week will review an analysis of what caused a crack in the concrete wall of the Crystal River nuclear plant's containment building. Progress Energy will also present repair plans for the crack, which was discovered Oct. 2 as the utility was cutting a hole in the containment building wall to replace two generators. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will also share its findings of what caused the concrete in the 42-inch-thick wall that surrounds the nuclear reactor to crack. The NRC sent its own team of inspectors to survey the plant.

Utility officials and regulators next week will review an analysis of what caused a crack in the concrete wall of the Crystal River nuclear plant's containment building. Progress Energy will also present repair plans for the crack, which was discovered Oct. 2 as the utility was cutting a hole in the containment building wall to replace two generators. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will also share its findings of what caused the concrete in the 42-inch-thick wall that surrounds the nuclear reactor to crack. The NRC sent its own team of inspectors to survey the plant.

"Cracked asphalt provides a stark reminder of the nonexistent margin for error at a controversial radioactive waste dump in West Texas. When state inspectors visited the site in Andrews County, they found cracks up to an inch wide in asphalt near canisters of radioactive material. While cracked asphalt is fairly inconsequential - and pretty much par for the course - when it comes to our city streets, it can be a dangerous proposition at a radioactive waste dump. A spokesman for Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists, which operates the low-level radioactive waste site, dismissed the cracks as superficial and said they have been repaired. But as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has noted, that asphalt pad is an important safeguard against ground contamination. "

Small cracks have again been detected in control rods used to control the fission process at two nuclear reactors in Sweden, media reports said Wednesday. Cracks were detected last year at one reactor at Forsmark, north of Stockholm, and one reactor at the Oskarshamn plant, in south- eastern Sweden. Several control rods were replaced at the end of the year, but some of the new rods appear to have faults. Chief executive Lars Turing of the Oskarshamn plant told Swedish radio news that the new rods may have been damaged at production, but a probe was underway. Reactor 3, one of three at Oskarshamn, is to remain offline due to maintenance work and the new finds were likely to delay the scheduled start-up in June. The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority said it would review the report from the operators, but did not rule out allowing the reactors to be restarted for a limited time. Sweden operated 12 nuclear reactors at the peak of its nuclear activity. Two at the Barseback plant in southern Sweden have been decommissioned, the most recent in May 2005.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has launched a special inspection of a crack in a containment building wall at Progress Energy's (PGN.N) 838-megawatt Crystal River nuclear power station in Florida, the agency said late Thursday. The unit shut Sept. 26 for an extended refueling outage that will include replacement of two steam generators and other work to increase the unit's output. A crack was found as workers began removing concrete to create an opening for new generators, Progress told the NRC in a report.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has launched a special inspection of a crack in a containment building wall at Progress Energy's (PGN.N) 838-megawatt Crystal River nuclear power station in Florida, the agency said late Thursday. The unit shut Sept. 26 for an extended refueling outage that will include replacement of two steam generators and other work to increase the unit's output. A crack was found as workers began removing concrete to create an opening for new generators, Progress told the NRC in a report.

Utility officials and regulators next week will review an analysis of what caused a crack in the concrete wall of the Crystal River nuclear plant's containment building. Progress Energy also will present repair plans for the crack discovered Oct. 2 as the utility was cutting a hole in the containment building wall to replace two generators. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will also share its findings of what caused the concrete in the 42-inch-thick wall that surrounds the nuclear reactor to crack. The NRC sent its own team of inspectors to survey the plant.

Workers at Vermont Yankee nuclear plant identified 16 additional cracks in the steam dryer, a key component in the reactor, which has failed at other nuke plants that have undergone power increases. Entergy Nuclear announced Monday the plant had successfully completed a three-week refueling and maintenance shutdown, and Vermont Yankee was back generating electricity. Half of the plant's production is sold to Vermont utilities. Robert Williams, Entergy Nuclear spokesman, said the discovery of the 16 additional cracks brings the total number in the steam dryer to 63 cracks.

Progress Energy continues to investigate what caused a 2-inch wide and at least 30-foot-long crack in the containment wall of its Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant. It expects to have answers within the next few weeks. Once the cause is determined, the utility will decide how it will repair the containment wall, said Jessica Lambert, Progress Energy spokeswoman. The containment facility ensures that radiation doesn't escape in the event of a radioactive leak or accident within the reactor. Also unknown is how much it will cost to repair the crack, which is about 9 inches deep inside the 42-inch-thick wall.

Progress Energy continues to investigate what caused a 2-inch wide and at least 30-foot-long crack in the containment wall of its Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant. It expects to have answers within the next few weeks. Once the cause is determined, the utility will decide how it will repair the containment wall, said Jessica Lambert, Progress Energy spokeswoman. The containment facility ensures that radiation doesn't escape in the event of a radioactive leak or accident within the reactor. Also unknown is how much it will cost to repair the crack, which is about 9 inches deep inside the 42-inch-thick wall.

"Ultrasonic tests completed Sunday night show 12 of the 69 nozzles on top of Davis-Besse's reactor head developed some sort of crack, eight more than previously known. Those 12 are among 14 that FirstEnergy Corp. identified last week of having suspicious flaws, or indications, of a crack that needed further examination, Todd Schneider, utility spokesman, said. A company report the Nuclear Regulatory Commission made public on March 15 stated that FirstEnergy could confirm only four cracks at that time. But the utility also said it hadn't yet tested 17 of the 69 nozzles."

"A cracked containment lid at a nuclear power plant in Ohio needs replacing, and a new one will be installed in 2011, plant officials say. FirstEnergy Corp. has purchased a replacement lid for the Davis-Besse reactor near Toledo, Ohio, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Monday. The plant has been closed since Feb. 28 for work to repair cracks in its lid. Such cracks can allow radioactive coolant into the facilities containment building, the newspaper said."

Westinghouse vows to fix all the issues raised by regulators SCOTTSBORO - Westinghouse's failure to show that a shield building for a proposed nuclear plant near Scottsboro is structurally safe is "the tip of the iceberg of problems that lie ahead" for the project, said Lou Zeller, director of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. Zeller said Friday that cracks could cause the steel and concrete buildings housing a nuclear reactor to leak into the air outside the plant. But Westinghouse spokesman Scott Shaw said that the plant "wouldn't be licensed" if that were the case. Zeller said containment buildings at older nuclear plants are "showing signs of wear and tear," including cracks. But Shaw said Westinghouse designed a concrete building with steel plates to prevent any leaks, instead of steel-reinforced bars used in previous nuclear plant designs. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday informed Westinghouse, designer of the AP1000 plant proposed at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Bellefonte site, that it will need to modify its design.

Westinghouse vows to fix all the issues raised by regulators SCOTTSBORO - Westinghouse's failure to show that a shield building for a proposed nuclear plant near Scottsboro is structurally safe is "the tip of the iceberg of problems that lie ahead" for the project, said Lou Zeller, director of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. Zeller said Friday that cracks could cause the steel and concrete buildings housing a nuclear reactor to leak into the air outside the plant. But Westinghouse spokesman Scott Shaw said that the plant "wouldn't be licensed" if that were the case. Zeller said containment buildings at older nuclear plants are "showing signs of wear and tear," including cracks. But Shaw said Westinghouse designed a concrete building with steel plates to prevent any leaks, instead of steel-reinforced bars used in previous nuclear plant designs. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday informed Westinghouse, designer of the AP1000 plant proposed at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Bellefonte site, that it will need to modify its design.

This is the final of two stories detailing a new report on the economics of closing Vermont Yankee in 2012. BRATTLEBORO -- A revenue-sharing agreement between Vermont Yankee and the state's utilities that goes into effect if the nuclear power plant continues to operate past 2012 is not all it's cracked up to be, said a pair of men who reviewed reams of documents filed with the Vermont Public Service Board. BRATTLEBORO -- A revenue-sharing agreement between Vermont Yankee and the state's utilities that goes into effect if the nuclear power plant continues to operate past 2012 is not all it's cracked up to be, said a pair of men who reviewed reams of documents filed with the Vermont Public Service Board. "While there is a small chance that it will have small value, conceivably as high as around $150 million, this could come only against the backdrop of Vermonters' buying over $3 billion of electricity from VY at market rates," said John Greenberg, who with Michael Daley, authored the study, which was released in August.

This is the final of two stories detailing a new report on the economics of closing Vermont Yankee in 2012. BRATTLEBORO -- A revenue-sharing agreement between Vermont Yankee and the state's utilities that goes into effect if the nuclear power plant continues to operate past 2012 is not all it's cracked up to be, said a pair of men who reviewed reams of documents filed with the Vermont Public Service Board. BRATTLEBORO -- A revenue-sharing agreement between Vermont Yankee and the state's utilities that goes into effect if the nuclear power plant continues to operate past 2012 is not all it's cracked up to be, said a pair of men who reviewed reams of documents filed with the Vermont Public Service Board. "While there is a small chance that it will have small value, conceivably as high as around $150 million, this could come only against the backdrop of Vermonters' buying over $3 billion of electricity from VY at market rates," said John Greenberg, who with Michael Daley, authored the study, which was released in August.

A crack found in a nuclear reactor's primary coolant pipe here is at least five times deeper than originally believed, and experts say if it widens it could cause a serious accident. The crack was found on the inside of a weld in the primary cooling water pipe during an inspection on the No. 3 reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) Oi Nuclear Power Plant in early April. Engineers initially believed it was less than 3 millimeters deep, but later realized that it was over 15 millimeters deep. The pipe walls are 74.6 millimeters thick.

Repairing a cracked containment wall will force Progress Energy to keep the Crystal River nuclear plant offline longer than anticipated. Progress Energy shut down the plant on Sept. 26 for a major maintenance project that was expected to last only into December. But on Friday the utility told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it now plans a major repair: removing and replacing part of the containment wall, which has developed a gap below the surface. "It is clear that the repairs will require us to extend our outage," Progress Energy spokeswoman Jessica Lambert said.

Repairing a cracked containment wall will force Progress Energy to keep the Crystal River nuclear plant offline longer than anticipated. Progress Energy shut down the plant on Sept. 26 for a major maintenance project that was expected to last only into December. But on Friday the utility told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it now plans a major repair: removing and replacing part of the containment wall, which has developed a gap below the surface. "It is clear that the repairs will require us to extend our outage," Progress Energy spokeswoman Jessica Lambert said.

"Three degrees might not sound like much. But according to FirstEnergy Corp., a three-degree reduction in Davis-Besse's operating temperature will provide enough safety over the next two years to ensure there is no additional cracking of the steel nozzles that penetrate the reactor's interim head. Now it's up to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to decide whether it agrees with the utility's analysis of what caused 24 of the massive steel device's 69 nozzles to either develop flaws or full-blown cracks. One had been leaking reactor acid on top of the lid when the flaws were found in mid-March, though - unlike eight years ago - the problem was caught long before any noticeable amount of steel had melted, according to Vito Kaminskas, Davis-Besse's director of plant engineering."

Swedish power group Vattenfall [VATN.UL] said on Tuesday an inspection had revealed one broken control rod and cracks in about 30 percent of others at its Forsmark 3 reactor. Forsmark communications director Claes-Inge Andersson told Reuters that about 100 out of 169 rods had been inspected and cracks had been found in some 25-30 percent of them.

Sweden shut down one of its nuclear reactors on Tuesday to check the plant's control rods after cracks were found in the rods at an identical plant, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) reports. The agency said it had been alerted last week that a routine annual inspection at the Oskarshamn nuclear plant in eastern Sweden had turned up cracks in Reactor 3's control rods, which are used to control the rate of fission of uranium and plutonium.