NRC says it must OK restart of Va. nuclear plant

[kristopher]

NRC says it must OK restart of Va. nuclear plant
By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM

RICHMOND, Va.
Two nuclear reactors that have remained shut down since the Aug. 23 earthquake can't be restarted until Dominion Virginia Power receives approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the federal agency said Friday.

The NRC sent a letter to Dominion confirming that the energy company won't restart the nuclear reactors at its North Anna Power Station about 11 miles from the quake's epicenter until it is given permission from the agency. Dominion says seismic vibrations from the 5.8-magnitude earthquake caused the plant's two reactors to shut down.

The agency is "reviewing Dominion's information to ensure North Anna's systems will be able to keep the public safe and the plant won't start up again until we're satisfied on that point," Eric Leeds, director of the NRC's office of nuclear reactor regulation, said in a statement.

In early September, the NRC said preliminary data from the U.S. Geological Survey showed the earthquake caused peak ground movement about twice the level for which the plant about 50 miles northwest of Richmond was designed...

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Aside from the obvious safety issues involved in actually, realistically inspecting a system as complex as a nuclear power plant after an event like this, it demonstrates well the intermittent, unreliable nature of nuclear power plants generally.

Perhaps those who support nuclear power could answer two questions for me:

Where did they get the power to replace what was lost when this plant shut down without warning?

How does the answer to that question impact the claims of nuclear proponents that the variability of some renewable sources means that we cannot build and operate a 100% renewable grid?