South Carolina nuclear plant’s cracked pipes get downgraded warning from nuclear officials

JENKINSVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Federal regulators have lessened the severity of their warning about cracks discovered in a backup emergency fuel line at a South Carolina nuclear plant northwest of the state capital. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday downgraded its preliminary “yellow” warning issued this October to a final “white” one. The commission says owner and operator Dominion Energy showed its generator could still run for six hours in an emergency. That demonstration has eased concerns that Dominion Energy’s failure to maintain cracks and leaks had impeded the plant’s ability to cool down the reactors if electricity failed. Regulators found cracks and leaks in the backup lines at least five times over the past two decades.