The
NRC continues to monitor impacts from Hurricane Sandy on nuclear power
plants in the Northeastern U.S., and as of 3 p.m. EDT today, no plants
have had to shut down as a result of the storm. Two plants in the
region, Oyster Creek and Salem Unit 2, were already out of service for
regularly scheduled refueling and maintenance outages.
All plants remain in a safe condition, with emergency equipment available if needed and NRC inspectors on-site.
This
is what Chairman Allison Macfarlane had to say about the NRC’s action:
“Given the breadth and intensity of this historic storm, the NRC is
keeping a close watch on all of the nuclear power plants that could be
impacted. Our extra inspectors sent to the potentially affected sites
will continue, on an around-the-clock basis, to independently verify
that the safety of these plants is maintained until the storm has passed
and afterwards.”
The
NRC has dispatched inspectors to all of the plants that could
experience effects of the storm. These include: Oyster Creek, in Lacey
Township, N.J.; Salem and Hope Creek, in Hancocks Bridge, N.J.; Calvert
Cliffs, in Lusby, Md.; Limerick, in Limerick Township, Pa.; Peach
Bottom, in Delta, Pa.; Three Mile Island, in Middletown, Pa.;
Susquehanna, in Salem Township, Pa.; Indian Point, in Buchanan, N.Y.;
and Millstone, in Waterford, Conn.
Those
inspectors, working with the NRC inspectors on-site on a daily basis,
will independently verify that operators are following relevant
procedures to ensure plant safety before, during and after the storm. In
addition, the NRC is monitoring the storm from its emergency response
centers.
Nuclear
power plant procedures require that the facilities shut down under
certain severe weather conditions. The plants’ emergency diesel
generators are available if off-site power is lost during the storm.
Also, all plants have flood protection above the predicted storm surge,
and key components and systems are housed in watertight buildings
capable of withstanding hurricane-force winds and flooding.
The
NRC will continue to track Hurricane Sandy using the resources of all
federal agencies and several weather forecasting services. The agency
will also continue to communicate on storm-related developments with
other federal and state agencies.
The NRC asks that if you are not a member of the media or a licensee and need to contact the agency, please use
817-200-1868. We are monitoring that voice mail box regularly. We ask that you do not call the NRC emergency line unless it is an emergency.
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