Under the pressure of the coronavirus pandemic, the US nuclear industry has asked the administration of President Donald Trump to provide specialized workers, power providers and traders with access to nuclear facilities and personal protective equipment during planned plant breaks in the spring and fall. All nuclear power plants with the exception of two facilities have planned to suspend work this year for prevention, refueling and other critical processes.

In a letter dated March 20, sent to Energy Minister Dan Brouillette, President, and CEO of the Institute for Nuclear Energy, Maria Korsnick, noted that nuclear reactors have a “unique requirement” to refuel a batch of fuel once every 18 to 24 months. The event calls for their work to be suspended for two to four weeks, during which intensive work is carried out, including vital maintenance.

“Each enterprise typically attracts several hundred specialized workers for this work over a period of 30-60 days, which includes activities before and after the interruption. Typically, these workers stay in hotels or stay with local families and eat in restaurants”, writes Maria Korsnick. During interruptions and during routine operations, NPP workers also use personal protective equipment and supplies to protect against radiation. With the expansion of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry already requires medical precautions to minimize the spread of the infection, added she.

“We continue to work with the administration to address how best to support the industry and our workforce through this time. We know that the work of nuclear power plants and the continuous supply of electricity are crucial to powering our hospitals and maintaining lights in our homes and emergency rooms”, says also Institute for Nuclear Energy.

In 2020, 56 of the 58 nuclear reactors in the United States, including several that have taken emergency action because of the pandemic, are planning recharge breaks. At least 31 of the 58 plants have suffered or will have planned interruptions between mid-February and early May. The other 25 scheduled refueling breaks are scheduled between late August and late October.

Recharge interruptions in the US have shortened in recent years – reducing from an average of 46 days in 2012 to 32 days in 2019, due in part to improvements in charging practices over the years, NEI said.

As of March 25, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 13 of the 96 commercial nuclear reactors in the US were offline due to a fuel interruption: Indian Point 3, Nine Mile Point 1, Susquehanna 2, Browns Ferry 2, Brunswick 2, McGuire 1, North Anna 2, Turkey Point 4, Vogtle 2, DC Cook 1, Perry 1, Point Beach 1, and Quad Cities 1.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA), which compiles NRC data into a useful interactive map showing the status of nuclear power outages in the United States, noted that 16.9% of total US nuclear capacity – about 17 GW of a total of 100 GW – were excluded as of March 25.

Because fuel interruptions are so critical to the safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants, the Trump administration must consider several actions that would be immediately won by nuclear facility owners, operators, and suppliers.

On the one hand, it calls on the Energy Minister to ensure that the federal appointment of vital workers also includes those who support nuclear operations. The Trump administration’s initial list, published on March 19, of “essential critical infrastructure workers” includes “employees required to ensure safe and secure nuclear power operations” but does not specify whether the extensive list of specialized contract workers required for power plant interruptions are qualified.

Maria Korsnick also calls on the administration to allow employees to travel freely to headquarters for basic interruption activities. Noting that the workforce is sometimes located in other countries, she also asks Washington to “allow foreign employees who perform highly specialized functions to travel to the United States”.

To accommodate the workers, Korsnik requires the administration to maintain active hotel services and catering facilities. At the same time, she insists on access to medical personal protective equipment, in particular surgical gloves, disinfection wipes, disposable masks, and thermometers – as well as COVID-19 testing kits.