- TRENTON, NJ (AP) --
The Salem nuclear plant is deficient in dozens of critical aspects and
is being investigated over reports that employees were afraid to express
safety concerns, according to a published report.
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- Problems cited in reports by private consultants include
the reliability of equipment and availability of spare parts, The New York
Times reported in Monday editions. Reports specifically noted a leaky generator
and unreliable controls on a reactor.
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- In addition, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission
is investigating claims by at least two employees that their superiors
retaliated against them after they expressed concerns about safety, the
newspaper reported.
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- Executives at Public Service Enterprise Group's nuclear
division, which owns the plant, said the plant has met all safety standards
and that efforts were being made to address the concerns of experts and
regulators. But company president Christopher Bakken III said it would
take two years to improve the system of detecting and repairing maintenance
problems.
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- "This is not a quick fix," Mr. Bakken told
The Times. "I believe we are making measurable progress, but this
is a long-term thing."
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- The federal regulatory commission has warned PSEG repeatedly
in the last two years about its system of detecting maintenance problems.
The commission warned in its most recent report about poor maintenance
that led to the failure of a pump valve, inadequate insulation on piping
and rusted metal supports on water pipes leading to a reactor.
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- PSEG plans to shut down one of the station's three reactors
for extensive repairs this fall, the newspaper reported. The company also
said some of the problems cited in the reports have been fixed, and that
it has developed a new maintenance program that cuts the backlog of complaints
about faulty equipment.
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- PSEG Nuclear operates the Hope Creek and Salem I and
II reactors at a complex in Lower Alloways Creek Township in Salem County
along the Delaware River. They provide electricity to more than half of
PSEG's two million customers in New Jersey.
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- Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
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