PORT GIBSON — Grand Gulf Nuclear Station once again earned overall top safety ratings for 2008 from federal regulators who completed annual inspections of the plant and its preparedness.

Grand Gulf was one of 86 plants rated “green” in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Licensee Response category, the highest possible grouping associated with a color-coded system.

Colors start with green, then descend to white, yellow or red in the order of safety significance in various ratings. Those areas include incident response, integrity of the barriers between radioactive fuel inside the reactor and the public, emergency planning and limiting radioactive exposure to workers. 

Twice during the year, the boiling water reactor itself was graded in the green — resulting in a rating that reflected the reactor operating in a manner that preserved public health and safety.

In two other quarters of the year, the reactor experienced four unplanned shutdowns that triggered a response from the NRC.

Of the four, three were caused by equipment failure as opposed to human failure, said Richard Smith, an NRC senior resident inspector for the facility. A small oil fire on Nov. 17 that triggered the lowest of the plant’s four emergency levels did not trigger a regulatory response because capacity was lowered only partially. Officials reported the fire was extinguished in less than two hours and 100 percent capacity returned within two days.

A new station performance improvement plan to address the issues will be monitored by the agency over the next assessment period, according to a letter from the NRC’s Division of Reactor Projects.

“Grand Gulf has been and will continue to be safe and operate in the interest of the public,” said Randy Douet, vice president of operations for Grand Gulf.

Entergy Nuclear has an active application for a second reactor at the site. Reviews were suspended by the utility in January due to a holdup in negotiations between federal regulators and firms vying to develop its main boiling water reactor component.

Entergy Mississippi president and CEO Haley Fisackerly has said any major construction at Grand Gulf is not expected until 2020 at the earliest due to the recent developments.

The nuclear power plant on the Mississippi River was completed in 1985 and remains the state’s only nuclear-fired steam-electric plant. It is licensed to operate through 2024.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com