nuclear-news

Malfunction shuts down Pennsylvania nuclear power reactor

Pennsylvania nuclear power reactor shut down after malfunction By Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com   2 June 16 A malfunction in the coolant system at a nuclear reactor about 30 miles south of Allentown led to its temporary shutdown Wednesday, its owner reported. Operators at Exelon Corp.’s Limerick Generating Station removed Unit 2 from service about 9 a.m. after an electrical component malfunctioned in the reactor’s recirculating water pumps.

The pumps circulate water to regulate temperatures in Unit 2, one of two twin 1,200-megawatt reactors at Limerick. They are not required for safe shutdown, Exelon said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.

The malfunction and shutdown did not rise to any of the levels of emergency classification under the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said Diane Screnci, spokeswoman for the agency.   As is the case at all 100 nuclear power plants in the United States, the NRC has resident inspectors at Limerick…….

The shutdown comes amid a stretch of warm weather that has air-conditioners buzzing throughout the region. PJM Interconnection, based like Limerick in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County, says Wednesday’s shutdown is not expected to cause any power shortages……http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/06/pennsylvania_nuclear_power_rea.html

June 3, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general