The
NRC continues to monitor impacts of Sandy on nuclear power plants in
the Northeastern U.S., including an Alert declared at the Oyster Creek
nuclear power plant in New Jersey. The plant, currently in a regularly
scheduled outage, declared the Alert at approximately 8:45 p.m. EDT due
to water exceeding certain high water level criteria in the plant’s
water intake structure.
An
Alert is the second lowest of four NRC action levels. The Alert was
preceded by an Unusual Event, declared at approximately 7 p.m., EDT,
when the water first reached a minimum high water level criteria. Water
level is rising in the intake structure due to a combination of a rising
tide, wind direction and storm surge. It is anticipated water levels
will begin to abate within the next several hours.
As
of 9 p.m. EDT Monday, no plants had to shut down as a result of the
storm although several plants 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.
The
NRC has inspectors providing around the clock coverage at all of the
plants that could experience effects of the storm, and agency response
experts continue to monitor the storm from our emergency response
centers, and track it as it travels inland.
It’s
important to remember that 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.
Eliot Brenner
Public Affairs Director
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