Biofouling Agent: Zebra Mussel
UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555
November 21, 1989
Information Notice No. 89-76: BIOFOULING AGENT: ZEBRA MUSSEL
Addressees:
All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power
reactors.
Purpose:
This information notice is intended to alert addressees to potential
problems related to biofouling of service water and cooling water systems
that may result from a recently identified biofouling agent, Dreissena
polymorpha (zebra mussel). It is expected that recipients will review the
information for applicability to their facilities and consider actions, as
appropriate, to avoid similar problems. However, suggestions contained in
this information notice do not constitute NRC requirements; therefore, no
specific action or written response is required.
Discussion:
The potential for biofouling has been of concern to the NRC since 1980
because biofouling can compromise the vital transfer of heat to the ultimate
heat sink. The NRC issued Generic Letter (GL) 89-13, "Service Water System
Problems Affecting Safety-Related Equipment," on July 18, 1989, requesting
licensees to adopt either the specific recommended surveillance and control
procedures delineated in the generic letter or an equally effective
alternative course of action for preventing biofouling of their nuclear
service water systems. This aspect of the generic letter presents the
results and recommendations from an NRC research program initiated in 1982
when biofouling agents were noted to clog service water systems. The
principal biofouling agents noted in the generic letter were Corbicula
fluminea (Asiatic clam), Crassostrea virginica (American oyster), and
Mytilus edulis (blue mussel). In 1980, the number of nuclear power plants
directly affected by these agents was small, but by 1984 the infestation by
these aquatic bivalves had spread to a large portion of the United States.
The following information about the zebra mussel is taken from the abstract
of a paper given at the Electric Power Research Institute Service Water
System Reliability Improvement Seminar at Charlotte, North Carolina, on
November 6-8, 1989. The paper is entitled, "The Zebra Mussel,
Dreissena Polymorpha (Pallas, 1771), in North America: Impact on Raw Water
Users." The authors are R. W. Griffiths, Ontario Ministry of the
Environment, Ontario, Canada; W. P. Kovalak, Detroit Edison Company; and D.
W. Schloesser, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
8911150012
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IN 89-76
November 21, 1989
Page 2 of 2
"The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas), is a small mollusc native
to the Black, Caspian, and Azov Seas that was discovered in Lake Erie of the
Laurentian Great Lakes of North America in 1988. The mussel raises
immediate concerns for raw water users because it can obstruct the flow of
water through pipes, hoses, screens, and condensers when it occurs in
substantial numbers. Biofouling attributed to this mussel was observed at
several power plants, water treatment plants, and processing and industrial
facilities along Lake Erie in 1989. At one power plant, densities as high
as 700,000 per m 2 were observed in the intake canal in August. In
addition, large numbers were found in main steam condensers and in the
service water system threatening operation of cooling, fire protection, and
dust suppression systems. Intakes of municipal water supplies along the
Canadian and the United States shorelines have also been impaired. In one
southeast Michigan city, drinking water withdrawal from Lake Erie was
reduced 45% by the mussel."
The geographical area of immediate concern for this source of potential bio-
fouling is along the Great Lakes and major tributaries and canals. This
potential is the subject of an international conference at Rochester, New
York, on November 28 and 29, 1989. Additional information on the meeting
may be obtained from Charles R. O'Neill, Jr., of New York Sea Grant at
(716) 395-2638 or Don W. Schloesser of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at
(313) 994-3331.
This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If
you have any questions about the information in this notice, please contact
the technical contact listed below or the appropriate NRR project manager.
Charles E. Rossi, Director
Division of Operational Events Assessment
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contact: C. Vernon Hodge, NRR
(301) 492-1169
Attachment: List of Recently Issued NRC Information Notices
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