A Primer on How A Pressurized Water Reactor Shuts Down

A Primer on How A Pressurized Water Reactor Shuts Down

My motivation for this layman's primer is to correct the misstatements of what actually goes on when an operating Pressurized Water Reactor Shuts Down as a result of either a suddenly occurring event such as an earthquake or because of an impending severe storm such as a hurricane. There are two types of shutdowns to be considered: (1) one in which an event such as earthquake or loss of offsite power occurs and the unit automatically trips, and (2) one in which station procedures recognizing a deteriorating weather situation (as an example) takes a slower path to shutdown. I will discuss both of these cases. I will discuss the equivalent case for an operating Boiling Water Reactor in a separate blog.