(AmericanProsperity.com) – US federal officials issued on October 9 a warning about a major safety violation at a nuclear plant in South Carolina following the discovery of numerous cracks in a backup emergency fuel pipe. Over the last two decades, authorities have found small cracks in numerous occasions in emergency generators’ fuel lines. According to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, these provide cooling water for a nuclear reactor in case electricity at the VC summer plant fails.
This agency issued the so-called preliminary “yellow” warning to Dominion Energy, which is the plant owner. During an interview with The State, nuclear expert David Lochbaum said this is the second most serious category that a nuclear plant has received. He also pointed out this is the seventh occasion that this type of warning has been issued across the United States since 2009.
Records from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said that the first crack appeared in 2003 on a diesel fuel line. The agency also noted that, from that moment, similar pipes have shown more cracks. Its records pointed out that a small diesel fuel leak grew bigger after a one-day test of the system in November 2022. Following the results, the agency issued a preliminary yellow warning as the problem remained.
In a statement, Dominion Utility spokesman Darry Huger said that the agency’s ruling is not final, and the company will have an opportunity to explain everything that happened at the nuclear plant. He also said that Dominion remains committed to maintaining “safe operations” and inspections of its generators and components. Huger added that the plant owner will keep the agency updated on its strategy to enhance its diesel generators in the near future.
According to different reports, the Virginia-based company hasn’t been the only owner of the nuclear plant, as SCANA was the one to originally build it and start it back in 1984. While this South Carolina-based company wanted to build more nuclear reactors, it was forced to sell the plant to Dominion in 2017, after financial issues.
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