THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996            TAG: 9610190244
SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER 
                                            LENGTH:   43 lines

COMMISSION ASKS VA. POWER TO CHECK REACTOR BUILDINGS AFTER REPORTS OF PROBLEM IN CONNECTICUT REGULATORS WANT TO BE SURE THAT CONCRETE FLOORING ISN'T ERODING AT SURRY AND NORTH ANNA NUCLEAR PLANTS.

In a precautionary letter, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has asked Virginia Power for information about possible damage to concrete foundations at its nuclear plants in Surry and near Richmond.

The NRC wants to know if Virginia Power's Surry and North Anna nuclear power stations are suffering from what a similarly designed plant in Connecticut is experiencing - slow erosion of concrete flooring in its containment building, said Joe Gilliland, an NRC spokesman in Washington.

The containment is a thick shell around the reactor that is designed to block radioactive leaks in case of a nuclear accident. Any cracking from erosion or age could provide an escape route for radioactive emissions, Gilliland said.

While there is no immediate danger at the Connecticut plant or any reason to suggest a problem at Surry or North Anna, the NRC wants Virginia Power to check its structures and report the findings, he said.

Jim Norvelle, a spokesman for Virginia Power's nuclear power program, said an inspection turned up no such problem at North Anna, about 40 miles northwest of Richmond.

The utility will be checking Surry next week, Norvelle said, although previous reviews have not shown any foundation erosion.

As with the Millstone 3 plant in Connecticut, Virginia Power's containments are built with porous concrete, which seems to be susceptible to erosion and settling, Gilliland said.

``You have to ask, could this have some impact, could this affect the integrity of the containment 10, 20 years down the road?'' Gilliland said.

In its Oct. 16 letter, the NRC asked Virginia Power to provide information about the status of its porous concrete containments within 14 days.

In addition to Surry and North Anna, the NRC wants additional data on plants in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Ohio. ILLUSTRATION: File color photo

Virginia Power will check its Surry nuclear plant next week to

ensure there is no erosion of the reactor containment foundation. by CNB