Inspection Finds No Safety Problems at Milwaukee Nuclear Plant

An intensive seven-week inspection in summer 2003 by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission discovered no serious problems needing immediate attention or correction at the Point Beach Nuclear Plant, an NRC spokesman said recently.

The inspection came after problems were discovered with a water pump system at the plant in 2001 and 2002.

The NRC had earlier determined that the 2001 problem was a serious safety concern. Recently, NRC spokesman Jan Strasma said the agency concluded that the second problem had been a serious safety concern as well.

As a result, the plant owned by Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Energy Corp. is the only nuclear plant in the nation to have had two problems classified as "red" -- the most serious under the federal agency's color-coded system. The system gauges the safety significance of problems found at nuclear plants.

The company that operates the Point Beach Plant, Hudson-based Nuclear Management Co., had initially disputed the finding that the second problem was a "red" violation.

In light of the problems found in recent years, the NRC plans more inspections next year "to make sure improvements in plant performance take place and are sustained," Strasma said.

Point Beach has revamped and expanded its management team and overhauled many of the procedures in how it runs its plant since late last year.

"We understand the need for additional NRC scrutiny, and we support that," Nuclear Management spokeswoman Maureen Brown said.

Knight Ridder Tribune