The Shaw Group's recent initial rejection of more than 200 steel embedments supplied to Georgia Power's $14-billion Plant Vogtle nuclear power project, sited near Waynesboro, Ga., is the latest in a series of quality-control lapses by various project suppliers.
As the prime contractor for project quality assurance, Shaw reported in September to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that 211 of the more than 800 embedments delivered by Cives Steel Co., Thomasville, Ga., did not pass the contractor's initial pre-installation quality inspection. To be used in a building that will contain spent nuclear fuel, these steel plates, which measure roughly 18 in. by 18 in., act as a connection point for reinforcing steel and serve to transfer loads.