All Nuclear Plants Need Inspection for Damaged Pipes, Agency Warns

WASHINGTON —  The General Accounting Office on Friday recommended the mandatory inspection of all nuclear power plants for pipe deterioration in the wake of findings that nearly one-third of the nation’s commercial reactors already have such a problem.

The congressional watchdog agency deemed the industry-wide inspections necessary after reviewing actions taken by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the utilities since a pipe rupture at the Surry Unit 2 plant in Virginia killed four workers in late 1986.

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who released the GAO report, said the NRC’s “failure to act aggressively on this matter is astounding.”

Critical of Time Lag

“It was a full seven months before the commission even asked the industry for information to determine whether this was a widespread problem,” he said. “Yet . . . if a utility had no pipe inspection program and hadn’t checked for erosion or corrosion, the NRC imposed no requirement that it do so.”

After the Surry accident, the NRC did develop evidence of widespread pipe deterioration at the Trojan nuclear plant in Oregon. By Jan. 21 of this year, the commission had identified 34 plants with at least some pipe damage caused by erosion or corrosion.

In defense of the NRC’s approach, Robert Newlin, a commission spokesman, said the agency had sent out “several notices” to the industry asking them to inspect their own plants and report back.