Nine Mile Point nuclear plant shuts down

dawnofwar · Aug 8, 2011

There was a "higher then normal leakage," at reactor unit #2 in the Nine Mile Point nuclear plant. It is classified as an "unusual event," which is the lowest level of nuclear emergencies. With that being said reading this article raised a few eyebrows. What in the hell is considered "normal leakage," why is leakage even considered normal? 0.o

Constellation Energy Nuclear Group spokeswoman Jill Lyon said the drywell is the containment structure surrounding the reactor vessel and associated piping. She said the reactor will remain shut down until the necessary repairs and post maintenance testing are finished.

Neil Sheehan of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it appears the source of the leakage is a valve on a recirculation pump.
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Source: Nine Mile Point nuclear plant shuts down - WSJ.com

dawnofwar · Aug 8, 2011

Nine Mile Point Unit 2 remains shut down as of press time Sunday, after a â€œhigher-than-normal leakageâ€ was discovered inside the facility's drywell over the weekend. The incident, classified as an â€œunusual event,â€ which is the lowest level on the scale of nuclear power plant emergency classifications, occurred at 3:22 a.m., Saturday. â€œWe will remain shut down until we complete the necessary repairs and post maintenance testing,â€ said Jill Lyon, a spokeswoman for Constellation Energy Nuclear Group, the company that owns the two units that comprise Nine Mile Point. According to Lyon, the drywell is the containment structure that surrounds the reactor vessel and all the associated piping for the reactor. The drywell has floor drains for water to leak through, which is monitored by plant personnel. Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said if there are more than 10 gallons of water per minute of unidentified leakage inside the drywell, the plant would shut down.

Sheehan added that it appears that the source of the leakage is a valve on a recirculation pump inside the structure. He explained that these large industrial pumps are used to recirculate water through the reactor. â€œThey are going to have to take a look as to why they have this problem with this valve,â€ Sheehan said. â€œThey only go in the drywell when the plant is shut down. So the last time they were in there was 14 months ago when the plant was shut down for a refueling and maintenance outage. â€œThey won't know and we won't know until they get a closer look at this,â€ he added. â€œIt doesn't appear to be as a result of maintenance or lack of maintenance.â€ The next refueling and maintenance at the facility is slated to occur sometime in spring 2012, Sheehan said. Lyon noted that the issue with the unit 2 facility has no relation to an emergency siren that inadvertently sounded in Scriba at approximately 8 p.m., Friday. That was a malfunction of the siren, she said.
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RSOE EDIS - Nuclear Event in USA on Monday, 08 August, 2011 at 08:11 (08:11 AM) UTC. EDIS CODE: NC-20110808-31890-USA

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