Inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are investigating an incident wherein three workers received unplanned radiation doses at the Cooper Nuclear Station.
According to an NRC release, the crew was removing a tube containing radioactive material through the bottom of a reactor vessel April 3 when they heard radiation alarms and left the area.
“We want to understand why normal work practices were not followed, resulting in unplanned radiation exposures to three workers,” NRC Region Four Administrator Elmo E. Collins said in the release, referencing the fact that the tube usually is removed through the top of the reactor. “We want to take a look at the decision-making that contributed to this event.”
The NRC does not believe the workers’ doses exceeded the agency’s limits. Still, two NRC inspectors on Monday began calculating the workers’ exposure and examining the circumstances of the event and the utility’s response to it. Their findings will be released in a publicly available report within 45 days of their inspection.
The Cooper plant generates 830 megawatts from a single General Electric Type 4 boiling water reactor 23 miles south of Nebraska City, according to the NRC.