BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier this week,
three teams from Southern Nuclear were each honored with a Top
Innovative Practice (TIP) award at a ceremony in Miami in conjunction with the Nuclear Energy
Institute's 63rd Annual Industry Conference and Supplier Expo:
Nuclear Energy Assembly. TIP awards are the nuclear industry's
highest honor.
Entries from across the industry were selected for four vendor
awards and eight process awards. Southern Nuclear's development of
equipment for evaluating shroud cracking in boiler water reactors
at Plant Hatch won the GE Hitachi vendor award. In partnership with
colleagues across the industry, the entry for response to
post-Fukushima seismic safety won a process award for Plant
Support. Finally, Southern Nuclear's National SAFER Response Center
solution received a special recognition for its impact on the
entire industry.
"I was excited to see our teams receive awards for their
innovative work in achieving excellence in performance by utilizing
researched-based solutions," said Steve
Kuczynski, President and CEO of Southern Nuclear. "Our teams
demonstrated leadership by considering impacts, benefits and
results to strategically solve problems, and these awards are a
testament to our commitment in delivering nuclear's promise of
clean, safe, affordable and reliable energy."
Following are descriptions of the award-winning innovations by
Southern Nuclear employees.
Hatch Shroud
Denver
Atwood, Alliance Vendor Manager; DeLisa Pournaras, Materials Principle Engineer;
Eric Stinnett, Site Project Lead;
Andrew Gordon, BWRVIP Engineer;
Kevin White, Senior Nuclear
Technical Specialist
The nuclear units at Plant Hatch are boiling water reactors, and
operators of BWRs throughout the industry have observed indications
of cracking of the core shroud from intergranular stress corrosion.
Indications of cracking have been observed primarily on the inside
diameter of the core shroud and in orientations that standard
ultrasonic inspection techniques and equipment were not designed to
detect.
A qualified technique to interrogate indications outside the
heat-affected zone (HAZ) and at off-axis angles did not exist in
the industry.
Southern Nuclear worked in collaboration with the Boiling Water
Reactor Vessel Internals Project and GE Hitachi to develop and
demonstrate a new phased array ultrasonic tool and technique that
"followed" indications outside the HAZ and at angles that were not
perpendicular or parallel to welds. The equipment also has
the ability to physically scribe a location on the material at a
site of interest. Plant Hatch used this tool and technique to
verify there were no issues with the core shroud of units 1 and 2,
and the tool and technique have benefitted the industry in
maintaining the highest level of safety and integrity of the core
shroud in BWRs.
Post-Fukushima Seismic
Melanie Brown, Fleet Design Engineer, in
partnership with colleagues across the industry
As a result of the Seismic Special Operations
Team's steadfast efforts and determination, the nuclear
industry has made extensive progress in reaffirming and enhancing
seismic safety following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant. The team proposed and built a compelling
coordination, cost control and quality of end result charter to
take the entire U.S. nuclear energy industry lock-step through
resolution of the post-Fukushima seismic requirements. This
provided clarity in path, lessons learned, teamwork and compounding
benefits for an approach where all utilities implemented a
consistent resolution for their company/station. This led to
significant shared accomplishment, progress, innovation and
continuous learning.
The U.S. nuclear energy industry has a simple, yet effective,
approach to seismic safety: expect the unexpected and prepare for
it. Nuclear plants are designed and built with layer upon layer of
protection against earthquakes. The FLEX approach – developed based
on lessons learned from the Fukushima accident – builds on existing
safety approaches to provide another layer of backup safety
equipment in multiple locations, both at plant sites and at
national response centers in Phoenix and Memphis.
SAFER
David
Crawley, PIM SAFER Project Manager; John Giddens, Licensing Project Manager; and
Jim Ripple, Supply Chain
Director
Pooled Equipment Inventory Co. partnered with AREVA Inc. to
develop the National SAFER Response Center (NSRC) strategy as the
industry's offsite response to Beyond Design Basis External Event
preparedness. The NSRC strategy consists of two emergency response
centers, one in Memphis and one in
Phoenix. Each of these secure,
80,000-square-foot facilities has five sets of equipment that can
be transported by truck or air to a plant site anywhere in
the United States in 24
hours.
The equipment at the centers is the same as the equipment at the
plant sites. It would only be sent if something happened to the
existing onsite equipment and onsite backup equipment during an
extreme and unexpected event. The backup equipment – both at the
plant sites and the emergency response centers – ensures that plant
operators can maintain key safety functions even if offsite power
sources are curtailed. It will be used to maintain reactor core
cooling, used fuel pool cooling and containment integrity.
This TIP Award represents the success of a special
first-of-a-kind project through creative solutions.
About Southern Nuclear:
Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary
of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), is one of the nation's leading
nuclear energy facility operators. Producing safe, reliable and
environmentally friendly nuclear energy, Southern Nuclear operates
a total of six units for Alabama Power and Georgia Power at the
Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan, Ala.; the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant
near Baxley, Ga., and the Alvin W.
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Ga. Southern Nuclear is the
licensee of two new nuclear units currently under construction at
Plant Vogtle, which will be the first nuclear units constructed in
the United States in more than 30
years. Southern Nuclear employs more than 3,500 skilled and
dedicated professionals who are committed each day to nuclear and
personal safety and the health and safety of the public. The
company's headquarters is based in Birmingham, Ala.
Twitter: @SouthernNuclear; Facebook:
facebook.com/southernnuclear;
www.southerncompany.com/southernnuclear
About Southern Company:
With more than 4.5 million
customers and approximately 46,000 megawatts of generating
capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the
premier energy company serving the Southeast through its
subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and
affordable electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in
four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well
as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company
brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability
and affordable prices that are below the national average. Through
an industry-leading commitment to innovation, Southern Company and
its subsidiaries are inventing America's energy future by
developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including
nuclear, 21st century coal, natural gas, renewables and energy
efficiency, and creating new products and services for the benefit
of customers. Southern Company has been named by the U.S.
Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top
military employer, listed by Black Enterprise magazine as one of
the 40 Best Companies for Diversity and designated a 2014 Top
Employer for Hispanics by Hispanic Network. The company earned the
2014 National Award of Nuclear Science and History from the
National Atomic Museum Foundation for its leadership and commitment
to nuclear development, and is continually ranked among the top
utilities in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric
and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website
at www.southerncompany.com
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