KING OF PRUSSIA, PA  - The R.E. Ginna nuclear power plant will receive additional oversight from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission based on NRC inspection findings involving the performance of the turbine-driven auxiliary feedwater pump. Ginna is operated by Constellation Energy, LLC, and located in Ontario, N.Y.

The auxiliary feedwater system is a back-up system that, in the event of an accident, is one of multiple methods designed to remove heat from the reactor when it is shut down.

In an inspection report issued today, an NRC Special Inspection Team sent to the plant to look into multiple failures of the turbine driven auxiliary feedwater pump found that Ginna had identified corrosion of a pump component in 2005, but did not take adequate corrective action to prevent the recurrence of corrosion. This finding was assessed as “white,” or of low to moderate safety significance. Taken together with a “white” finding for a Dec. 2008 pump problem, the plant moved into the “degraded cornerstone” column of the NRC’s Action Matrix which calls for the plant to have a supplemental NRC inspection.

“Overall, Ginna continues to operate safely. However, these findings represent performance issues and a trend that needs to be understood and addressed,” said NRC Region I Administrator Samuel J. Collins. “The additional oversight inspection by NRC is warranted based on the repeated failures of this important plant component.”

The additional NRC inspection will provide assurance that the root causes and causes of the performance issues are understood, the extent of condition is identified and the corrective actions are sufficient to prevent recurrence. The timing of that inspection has not been determined.

The inspection report will be available shortly on the NRC Web site at:  www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/listofrpts_body.html.