Federal regulators say a North Carolina nuclear plant will get extra oversight after an inspection found fuel tanks for the backup generators weren't properly protected from potential flooding.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says inspectors determined that fuel oil tank rooms serving the Brunswick nuclear plant's emergency diesel generators could have flooded in a hurricane. The generators power the reactor's cooling systems if electricity is cut off at the plant.
The NRC determined the failings represented a low to moderate safety risk.
The two-unit nuclear plant near Southport is operated by a division of Raleigh-based Progress Energy.
The agency says nuclear plant officials sealed cracks that could have allowed water to get into the fuel tank rooms and built wave barriers near the building housing the tanks.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
