![Credit: NASA/NOAA]()
Credit: NASA/NOAA
Just
over five weeks after Sandy battered the Northeast, all three of the
reactors that experienced a shutdown as a result of the storm are now
back at full power.
Two of the affected reactors,
Salem Unit 1 and
Indian Point 3,
returned to service not long after Sandy struck on Oct. 29. Indian
Point 3, the Buchanan, N.Y., reactor that experienced an automatic
shutdown due to grid fluctuations, was back at 100-percent power as of
Nov. 3.
Salem
Unit 1, the Hancocks Bridge, N.J. reactor that was manually tripped by
operators after high water levels and debris impacted the plant’s
circulating-water pumps, was once again at full power as of Nov. 5.
Nine Mile Point Unit 1
was the last of those units to return to full power output. That unit,
located in Scriba, N.Y., was automatically knocked out of service during
the storm after a lightning arrestor pole fell over in a switchyard,
temporarily preventing the plant from sending power out to the grid.
Although
the unit had restarted shortly after the storm, it experienced an
automatic shutdown on Nov. 3 after a feedwater pump tripped, causing a
lowering reactor water level. It restarted on Nov. 9, but vibration
issues involving the turbine lube oil system led to a manual shutdown on
Dec.1 to address the problem.
With the necessary repairs now completed, Nine Mile Point Unit 1 achieved 100-percent power once again on Dec. 5.
NRC
inspectors kept close tabs on developments at all of the affected sites
before, during and after the storm, and they were satisfied any related
issues were satisfactorily addressed prior to the units restarting.
Oyster Creek,
a plant out of service at the time of Sandy because of an already
under-way refueling and maintenance outage, is also now back online. The
Lacey Township, N.J., plant restarted on Nov. 30 and was at full
reactor power once again as of Dec. 5.
The
plant saw high water levels in its water intake structure during the
storm, prompting first an “Unusual Event” declaration and later an
“Alert” declaration. The Alert was terminated at 3:52 a.m. on Oct. 31
when the water level dropped sufficiently and off-site power that was
disrupted by the storm was fully restored.
The
NRC on Nov. 13 began a Special Inspection at Oyster Creek, the focus of
which was to review the circumstances surrounding the event
declarations and other storm-related developments at the site. Once the
inspectors have completed their reviews, a report summarizing any
findings will be issued within 45 days.
Neil Sheehan
Public Affairs Officer
Region I
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