nuclear-news

USA -Feedwater system flaw shuts down Nine Mile Point 1 nuclear plant

It’s the second time this week that Unit 1 shut down.

The first time was Monday, after high winds from Superstorm Sandy blew down a lightning pole in a National Grid switch yard that handles electricity generated by the plant. With nowhere for the plant’s power output to go, two output breakers closed and the plant shut down, Lyon said.

The plant had been restarted and was at 25 percent power when this morning’s shutdown happened. The two events are not believed to be related, Lyon said.

By John Mariani, The Post-Standard 
on November 03, 2012 at 5:45 PM, updated November 04, 2012 at 2:39 AM

Scriba, NY – The Nine Point Unit 1 nuclear plant in Scriba shut down this morning after a component failed that controls the water level in the vessel containing its nuclear fuel, the plant’s owner said.

The automatic shutdown took place at 8:23 a.m. when instruments detected too much water in the reactor pressure vessel at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station Unit 1, said Jill Lyon, speaking for Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, the owner.

Officials believe one of the level control instruments failed in the plant’s feedwater system, which supplies water to the reactor pressure vessel, she said.

There was no release of radiation to the water or the air, Lyon said.

“When the plant gets certain indications, it shuts itself down as a safety feature,” Lyon said. “It wasn’t anything that was a potential safety concern for our employees or for the public, but obviously we designed the plant with certain parameters to ensure safety.”

Officials have returned the water level to normal and now are trouble-shooting to find why the control failed, she said. Workers then will make repairs and perform tests to make sure the fixes were successful before they restart the reactor.

The plant is safe and stable, she said. She declined to speculate when the plant may be brought back on line.

It’s the second time this week that Unit 1 shut down.

The first time was Monday, after high winds from Superstorm Sandy blew down a lightning pole in a National Grid switch yard that handles electricity generated by the plant. With nowhere for the plant’s power output to go, two output breakers closed and the plant shut down, Lyon said.

The plant had been restarted and was at 25 percent power when this morning’s shutdown happened. The two events are not believed to be related, Lyon said.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/feedwater_system_flaw_shuts_do.html

November 4, 2012 - Posted by arclight2011 | Uncategorized