Pipe Damage Forces Brunswick Nuclear Plant to Go Offline

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Progress Energy’s Brunswick Nuclear Station was forced offline Monday when engineers discovered damage to the piping components of the water-cooling system. This piping serves a critical function in transporting heat away from the core to ensure safe operating temperatures. If not repaired, catastrophic effects including loss of reactor coolant pressure can occur, which could lead to complete core meltdown. Major welding work will be required to repair the damage, and officials hope to have the issue resolved within the next two weeks.

The Brunswick Nuclear Plant is located west of the Cape Fear River near Southport, North Carolina. It consists of two nuclear-powered units capable of producing approximately 1,683 megawatts of electricity. The units were engineered by General Electric and began operations in 1975. Last year, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) extended the licenses for the station to continue operations on both units for an additional 20 years.

Progress Energy is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is a Fortune 250 energy company with more than $10 billion in annual revenues. It serves about 3 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

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