Checklist of Steam Generator Repair Safety Issues at Maine
Yankee
12/1/95
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Circumferential cracking in the steam generator.
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Ongoing corrosion and deformation processes.
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Accumulated residual stress damage from steam generator fabrication
and operation.
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Weld-induced stress damage at the sleeve-tube transition.
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Post-weld heat treatment efficacy for repair of weld-induced
damage.
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"Far-field" stress damage in parent tube resulting from sleeve
welds and post-weld heat treatment.
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Steam-tube sludge deposits and corrosion scaling.
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Tube deformations (tube bowing and lateral displacement)
induced by sleeve insertion, welding, and sludge deposits.
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Sludge deposit, tube plugging, and deformation-induced changes
in pressure gradient and reactor coolant flow.
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Increased likelihood of steam tube contact during reactor
operation.
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Non-uniform sleeve length fails to cover all parent tubing.
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Stress resistance and corrosion resistance differentials
between new sleeves and old parent tube and tube welds.
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Reduced effectiveness of ultra-sonic weld inspections due
to attenuation of signals by the extensive sludge deposits and tube scaling.
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The dilapidated condition of the steam generator is a paradigm
for the condition of the rest of the reactor at Maine Yankee. (Embrittled
reactor vessel, obsolete spent-fuel storage facility, etc.)
Keywords:Keywords: Maine Yankee Atomic Energy,atomic
energy,steam generator,Center for Biological Monitoring,biologically significant
radionuclides,dietary intake,reactor nuclide inventories,decomissioning
costs,violations of nuclear waste policy