RUSSELLVILLE -- Entergy's Arkansas Nuclear One power plant near Russellville will return to a column one status soon, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday.
Column one is for well-performing plants, the commission's highest safety level.
"We don't have a formal timetable, but [the plant will return to column one] soon," said Victor Dricks, spokesman for the commission. "What we have announced tonight is our intent to return the plant to column one since [Entergy] has met all the requirements."
During the time the plant was in column four, it was subject to the commission's highest level of scrutiny. Whereas a plant in column one undergoes about 3,500 hours of inspection a year, a plant in column four can undergo more than 10,000 hours of inspections.
In 2015, the commission moved the Arkansas nuclear plant to the column four category of the commission's rating of overall plant performance.
The downgrade at Arkansas Nuclear One came after an accident on March 31, 2013, when the mishandling of a 1 million-pound generator stator caused it to fall 30 feet while it was being moved. The fall dislodged beams, and one struck and killed worker Wade Walters, 24. Eight others were injured.
The plant's actions to address the findings surrounding the accident were "robust and adequate to prevent recurrence," said Neil O'Keefe, the commission's branch chief for the Entergy plant.
Entergy created an oversight program for subcontractors that could serve as an industry model, O'Keefe said.
"Oversight plans verify these standards are being met through rigorous field observations," O'Keefe said.
Other programs created at Arkansas Nuclear One are already being studied at other nuclear plants and are being copied, he said. The plant's reliability has been significantly improved, O'Keefe said.
"Notably, [the plant] eliminated nearly all of the degraded fire protection features," O'Keefe said, and is effectively reversing years of declining staffing.
Entergy met the requirements in a little more than two years, which is about the industry average, Dricks said.
The two reactors at Arkansas Nuclear One are among only three reactors in the country in column four. The other reactor in column four is at an Entergy plant in Massachusetts. Plants in column five aren't allowed to operate.
More than 80 percent of the country's approximately 100 nuclear reactors have column one status.
There were more than 100 people in attendance Thursday at a conference room on the plant's campus. Only one question was asked by the audience in the approximately one-hour meeting.
The two nuclear reactors at Arkansas Nuclear One have the capacity to supply 60 percent of the power used by Entergy Arkansas' approximately 700,000 commercial and residential customers. The plant has more than 900 full-time workers with an annual payroll of $84 million.
It's good to have the commission's acknowledgment for the work that Entergy did at the plant, said Richard Anderson, site vice president for the plant.
"We want to be the industry leader," said Anderson, who was brought out of retirement to Arkansas in September 2016.
Anderson, 60, has worked in the nuclear industry for 41 years, working at plants in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida and Arkansas.
"I believe in a constructive leadership style, where you engage employees, you treat them right, you recognize them and reward them," Anderson said. "You promote good performance, and there's no yelling, no condescending, no mean behavior. That energizes people."
Currently there are at least five lawsuits pending over the accident, including Entergy's lawsuit against subcontractors for the property damage.
Kriss Kennedy, the commission's regional administrator, recalled the accident in an interview after the meeting.
"It was on my mind as I was walking around the plant today," Kennedy said. "Looking at the location where the damage occurred, where the injuries occurred and where the fatality occurred. It's on my mind every time I walk through the plant."
Business on 06/02/2018