NRC: Indian Point workers mishandled spent nuclear fuel

Michael Risinit, TJN

Workers at the Indian Point nuclear power plant mistakenly tried twice to place a second bundle of used nuclear fuel into a spot already holding one during maintenance work in March, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday.

Because the maneuver didn't result in any radiation release or damage any spent fuel in the storage pool, the NRC deemed the matter to be of "very low safety significance." The agency told Entergy to take steps to avoid the problem in the future and said it would follow up with more inspections.

A computer program that manages the pool's inventory wasn't updated, the NRC said, and Indian Point workers failed to "ensure that a cell location is visually verified as empty prior to loading."

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/indian-point/2014/05/15/indian-point-cited-fuel-mistake/9140293/