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Coordinates: 28°57′27″N 82°41′54″W / 28.9575°N 82.6983°W / 28.9575; -82.6983
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{{commons|Crystal River 3 Nuclear Generating Station}}
{{commons|Crystal River 3 Nuclear Generating Station}}


The '''Crystal River 3 Nuclear Power Plant''', also simply called the ''Crystal River Nuclear Plant'', is a decommissioned [[nuclear power plant]] located in [[Crystal River, Florida]]. The facility is currently transitioning to a SAFSTOR condition.<ref>http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/cr3.html</ref> The power plant is the third plant built as part of the {{convert|4700|acre|adj=on}} [[Crystal River Energy Complex]] which contains a single [[pressurized water reactor]], while sharing the site with four [[fossil fuel power plant]]s.
The '''Crystal River 3 Nuclear Power Plant''', also called the ''Crystal River Nuclear Plant'', or simply ''CR-3'', is a shut down [[nuclear power plant]] located in [[Crystal River, Florida]] in the process of being decommissioned.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1334/ML13340A009.pdf
| title = Crystal River Unit 3 - Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report
| date = December 2, 2013
| author = Duke Energy}}</ref> The facility is currently transitioning to a SAFSTOR condition.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/cr3.html
| title = Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant
| date = March 4, 2016
| author = U.S.NRC}}</ref> The power plant is the third plant built as part of the {{convert|4700|acre|adj=on}} [[Crystal River Energy Complex]] which contains a single [[pressurized water reactor]], while sharing the site with four [[fossil fuel power plant]]s.


The Crystal River reactor has been offline since September 2009 when a refueling and 20% upgrade outage began. During the upgrade, workers discovered a [[delamination|gap]] in the concrete [[Containment building wall|containment dome]].<ref>{{cite web
The Crystal River reactor has been offline since September 2009 when a refueling and 20% upgrade outage began. During the upgrade, workers discovered a [[delamination|gap]] in the concrete [[Containment building wall|containment dome]].<ref>{{cite web

Revision as of 14:50, 20 September 2016

Crystal River Nuclear Plant
The power plant complex of Crystal River, on the right of the cooling towers is the nuclear reactor (Unit 3)
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationCrystal River, Florida
Coordinates28°57′27″N 82°41′54″W / 28.9575°N 82.6983°W / 28.9575; -82.6983
StatusClosed
Commission dateMarch 13, 1977
Decommission date
  • 5 February 2013
Construction cost$400 million
OwnerDuke Energy
OperatorDuke Energy
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePressurized water reactor (PWR)
Reactor supplierBabcock & Wilcox
Power generation
Nameplate capacity
  • 860 MW
External links
Websitewww.duke-energy.com/.../crystalriver.asp
[edit on Wikidata]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crystal River 3 Nuclear Generating Station.

The Crystal River 3 Nuclear Power Plant, also called the Crystal River Nuclear Plant, or simply CR-3, is a shut down nuclear power plant located in Crystal River, Florida in the process of being decommissioned.[1] The facility is currently transitioning to a SAFSTOR condition.[2] The power plant is the third plant built as part of the 4,700-acre (1,900 ha) Crystal River Energy Complex which contains a single pressurized water reactor, while sharing the site with four fossil fuel power plants.

The Crystal River reactor has been offline since September 2009 when a refueling and 20% upgrade outage began. During the upgrade, workers discovered a gap in the concrete containment dome.[3] The NRC investigated and found that the gap was caused by workers applying more pressure to the concrete than it could handle while cutting a hole through which to replace the steam generators.[4] (Taking the generators into the containment through the equipment hatch was an option that was advised by consulting engineers MPR Associates Inc. in a report submitted to Progress Energy in 2005 in preparations for the 2009 OTSG replacement). The plant had originally been due to restart in April 2011, but the project encountered a number of delays.[5] Repairs were successful, but additional delamination began to occur in adjacent bays. After several months of consideration by Duke Senior executives, it was announced in February 2013 Duke Energy that the Crystal River Nuclear Plant would be permanently shut down.[6] The coal-fired units are not affected.[7]

Crystal River was originally owned by Florida Progress Corporation (and operated by its subsidiary, Florida Power Corporation) but, in 2000, it was bought by Carolina Power & Light to form the new company, Progress Energy. Progress Energy owned 91.8% of the plant; the remainder is owned by nine municipal utilities. Effective July 2, 2012 Duke Energy purchased Progress Energy and made it a wholly owned direct unit of Duke Energy.[8]

Outage, repairs and closure

Crystal River is a pressurized water reactor that normally produces 860 MWe, but it has been offline since September 2009 when a refuelling and 20% uprate outage began. While the reactor was down, the old steam generators were to be replaced. There are 426 steel tendons within the concrete walls of the reactor containment dome which reinforce the dome. Plan developer Sargent & Lundy specified that 97 tendons be loosened. Progress rejected that number as excessive. The next proposal was 74 tendons, which was typical of other nuclear plants doing the procedure. According to a Progress employeee, "de-tensioning the tendons is a very expensive and time-consuming effort", so the number was further reduced to 65. Progress engaged Bechtel to provide a 3rd party review, which agreed that 65 was appropriate. However, when the work was performed, only 27 tendons were loosened, and a foreman and supervisor sent emails questioning the way the tendons were loosened.[9]

When workers began to cut the access hole for the steam generators, a crack formed. That crack was repaired, but more cracks appeared. Engineers noticed that parts of the concrete had delaminated. This was repaired, and the concrete re-tensioned, but the same problem was found in other areas. The plant had originally been due to restart in April 2011 following the uprate, but in June 2011 Progress Energy said that it did not expect it to restart until 2014. Preliminary cost estimates for the repairs was put at between $900 million and $1.3 billion,[5] but this estimate was later called into question by Duke Energy.[10] In October 2012 an independent review estimated the repair cost at $1.5 billion, with a worst-case scenario of $3.4 billion.[11] In February 2013 Duke Energy announced that Crystal River would be permanently shut down and that they will recover $850 million in insurance claims.[6] A Duke spokesperson stated, "The company sought input from numerous engineering experts — internally and externally — and used proven industry-accepted practices when determining how to replace the steam generators. Analysis has shown that the 2009 delamination (cracking) could not have been predicted. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission confirmed these findings."[9]

Gregory Jaczko, former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, stated, "That's a multi-billion dollar asset that had to be shut down because of improper work planning, improper understanding of how to properly do this containment retrofit".[9]

Surrounding population

The NRC defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.[12]

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Crystal River was 20,695, an increase of 50.9 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 1,046,741, an increase of 32.4 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Ocala, (38 miles to city center) and Spring Hill (34 miles to city center).[13]

Seismic risk

In September 10, 2006 a magnitude 5.8 earthquake occurred 300 miles southwest of the nuclear plant,[14] no damage occurred to the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant from the rare quake. The odds of such a quake happening again in the near-term around Florida are low.[15]

The NRC's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Crystal River was 1 in 45,455, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.[16][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ Duke Energy (December 2, 2013). "Crystal River Unit 3 - Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report" (PDF).
  2. ^ U.S.NRC (March 4, 2016). "Crystal River Unit 3 Nuclear Generating Plant".
  3. ^ Matthew L. Wald (November 23, 2009). "A Nuclear Reactor Shows Its Age". New York Times.
  4. ^ Donovan, Travis (03-18-11). "U.S. Nuclear Power Plants Had 14 'Near-Miss' Problems In 2010: UCS Report". The Huffington Post. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b "Progress analysing Crystal River repair proposals". Wprld Nuclear News. 11 January 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Crystal River Nuclear Plant to be retired; company evaluating sites for potential new gas-fueled generation". 5 February 2013.
  7. ^ "Duke Energy shuts down Crystal River nuclear plant permanently". CFN13. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  8. ^ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/duke-energy-acquires-progress-energy-184514127.html
  9. ^ a b c Penn, Ivan (October 13, 2013). "Settlement likely to end inquiries into Duke Energy nuclear plant". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  10. ^ http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/repair-costs-rise-at-crystal-river-nuclear-plant/1243770
  11. ^ "Duke to retire Crystal River nuclear plant". Nuclear Engineering International. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  12. ^ http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/emerg-plan-prep-nuc-power-bg.html
  13. ^ Bill Dedman, Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors, msnbc.com, April 14, 2011 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42555888/ns/us_news-life/ Accessed May 1, 2011.
  14. ^ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2006/us2006slav/#summary
  15. ^ http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/florida/history.php
  16. ^ Bill Dedman, "What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk," msnbc.com, March 17, 2011 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42103936/ Accessed April 19, 2011.
  17. ^ http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/NEWS/quake%20nrc%20risk%20estimates.pdf
  • View of Crystal River Fossil Units 4 & 5 and their cooling towers at the Crystal River Energy Complex
    View of Crystal River Fossil Units 4 & 5 and their cooling towers at the Crystal River Energy Complex
  • Sign at the entrance of the nuclear power and fossil generation plants
    Sign at the entrance of the nuclear power and fossil generation plants
  • Crystal River Units 4 & 5 coal power plants near the nuclear plant
    Crystal River Units 4 & 5 coal power plants near the nuclear plant
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