Deficiencies cut margin of safety at Palo Verde

Associated Press 12/21/2007

http://www.elpasotimes.com/business/ci_7773932

PHOENIX -- The margin of safety at the nation's largest nuclear power
plant has narrowed, but problems don't pose a threat to the public,
according to federal regulators.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has increased oversight at the Palo
Verde Nuclear Generating Station outside Phoenix since March,
spending 8,500 hours on the project.

El Paso Electric owns a portion of Palo Verde, which provides about
half of El Paso's electricity.

In a meeting at the three-reactor plant Wednesday night, the
commission said it found 37 more-than-minor performance deficiencies
affecting operations.

Most of the problems involved laxness in procedures, incomplete
documentation and inefficient problem-solving efforts. Palo Verde's
performance has declined notably since 2003, said Troy Pruett, chief
of the reactor-projects division of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, who led the investigation.

But Pruett said the team determined the plant is operating safely
even though it has seen degradation in safety performance.

Officials of Arizona Public Service Co., the plant's operator, said
they were working to improve safety at Palo Verde.

Pruett said inspectors twice saw managers ignoring signs announcing
required radiological monitoring. The managers walked past stations
intended to test for contamination.

Investigators also found combustible material stored in a
nuclear-containment dome without proper documentation, Pruett said.

Palo Verde, the nation's largest nuclear power plant in both size and
capacity, has been on the regulatory hot seat in recent years over a
series of problems, which have included generator failure.