Westinghouse Electric Co. must prove that the building it designed to shield its nuclear reactors can withstand natural disasters such as strong earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes before the reactors are approved for a Georgia power plant, a federal agency said yesterday.
Westinghouse, based in Cranberry, needs to submit more detailed information to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission outlining how the building designed to shield its AP1000 nuclear reactor could withstand natural disasters, said NRC spokesman Scott Burnell at the agency's Washington headquarters.
Westinghouse said it submitted some information last week and will submit more in April.
"We're waiting for all the technical information and analysis that will support the design changes they are proposing. We need to see that information before we can conduct a complete review of the AP1000 as Westinghouse is describing it," Burnell said.
Westinghouse will need to conduct tests on the components of the design — either a large-scale variety or on a test model — before the commission can set an AP1000 design certification schedule, Burnell said.
The company wants to use the revised design for two nuclear reactors it proposes to build for Atlanta-based Southern Co. The $14 billion power plant project, which would be the first new nuclear power plant in 30 years, is planned for Southern's plant near Waynesboro, Ga.
Westinghouse expects to submit its revised report by April 30, spokesman Scott Shaw said. That report will include results of tests conducted of the building design at a research laboratory at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Westinghouse will provide test results to support the analyses that the building is properly designed, and a description of any future tests that will be finished in May.
"Westinghouse is confident that it will satisfy the NRC's expectations resulting from the extensive design, testing and analysis work, which has been and will continue to be peer-reviewed by industry experts," the company said.
Westinghouse modified the design for the enhanced shield building that covers a metal-framed building housing the nuclear reactor, in response to a commission report in October. The agency wants Westinghouse to design a structure that also can withstand a crash from a jet airliner, Shaw said.
"We don't anticipate any impact to our commercial operating schedule," Southern Co. spokeswoman Beth Thomas said. The first of the two plants are slated to be operational in 2016.
The enhanced shield concept will not result in any significant change in the cost of plant construction, Westinghouse spokesman Vaughn Gilbert said.
Members of NuStart Energy consortium are:
DTE Energy, Detroit, MI, Duke Energy, Charlotte, NC, EDF International North America, Washington, D.C., Entergy Nuclear, Jackson, MS, Exelon Generation, Philadelphia, PA, Florida Power & Light Company, Juno Beach, FL, Progress Energy, Raleigh, NC, South Carolina Electric & Gas, Columbia, SC, Southern Company, Atlanta, GA, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville, TN, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Wilmington, NC, Westinghouse Electric Co., Pittsburgh, PA