Bruce Power ran into some issues earlier in July with the condition of pressure tubes in two units which are not operating at this time.
According to a release from Bruce Power, Unit 3 is presently in a routine inspection and maintenance outage, while Unit 6 is undergoing its Major Component Replacement, where all pressure tubes are being replaced.
A Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) report says the Bruce Power pressure tubes in 3 and 6 had higher measurements of hydrogen equivalent (Heq) than predicted which contravened the company’s operating licence conditions.
The reactors with the higher hydrogen content in pressure tubes are shut down for refurbishment and maintenance outages and do not pose a safety concern to the public or environment.
Hydrogen content is not a concern when reactors are shut down or have reached operating temperature.
The CNSC says in its release, “Since hydrogen content can only be measured while the reactors are shut down, CNSC staff have directed Bruce Power to assess the fitness for service of the other operating reactors and issued formal notices to all nuclear power plant licensees in Canada requesting further analysis on the continued safe operation of pressure tubes.”
Bruce Power also states, “We completed an immediate review of this following our rigorous processes and concluded there was no impact on the safety of the units. All six units that are currently operating have recently undergone similar inspections and demonstrated fitness for service.
We proactively shared this information with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and with other CANDU operators to ensure we continue to contribute to the collective understanding from these inspection activities, which we collaborate on through the CANDU Owners Group.
Inspection activities undertaken, including recent inspection and maintenance outage campaigns, have demonstrated the ongoing safe operation of the pressure tubes, which will continue to be thoroughly inspected in future planned outages.”
