Newsletter 
Emergency Services 
Share South Texas Project Electric Generation Station
| Service: | Electromagnetic Inspection |
| Client: | The South Texas Project Nuclear Operating Company (STP) |
| Project Date: | March 2005 |
| Type of Pipeline: | Water |
| Diameter: | 36-inch |
| Pipe Material: | PCCP |
| Length: | 3.23 miles |
(STP) is one of the largest nuclear power plants in the United States. Located near Bay City, Texas, STP’s two reactors produce nearly 2,600 megawatts of electricity, enough for well over one million homes and businesses. The plant is an industry leader in safety, reliability and efficiency. “There is nothing more important for us than the safety of our reactors,” says Brandon Jenewein, Systems Engineering Manager at STP. “That’s why we use only reliable and proven technologies to track the condition of our assets”.
Guided by this approach, STP contracted the Pressure Pipe Inspection Company (PPIC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pure Technologies Ltd., in early 2005 to conduct a non-destructive evaluation of a portion of one of the plants pipelines using its patented Remote Field Transformer Coupling (RFTC) technology. The portion of the pipeline that was inspected is constructed of prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP) manufactured in 1977, and covers an overall distance of 1.82 miles.
Due to the importance of a constant water supply at the power plant, it was critical for the project to be finished in the shortest possible time. Our inspection team conducted the evaluation in only two days in March 2005. The inspection found a number of pipe lengths show clear indications of wire breaks. The analysis provided STP with the necessary information and tools to implement preventative measures to insure the safety of their plant.
STP contacted PPIC again in October 2005 to evaluate sections that were not included in the first project. These sections cover an overall distance of approximately 1.41 miles. Analysis of the data obtained during this evaluation identified which of the inspected pipes displayed evidence of wire breaks. However, rather than replace the entire pipeline, STP started plans on repairing and replacing only the pipes that needed to be rehabilitated.
Failure of a water supply system in a populated area can cause catastrophic consequences. Depending on the size of the city, an estimate of the financial loss can be as high as several million dollars a week. But when it comes to a nuclear power plant, water system failure does not only cause huge financial losses, but also jeopardizes the energy supply.
From our experience, it has been shown that pipelines within power plants have a higher level of distress than transmission mains. Therefore, power plants should pay particular attention to their condition assessment programs.