3 nuclear power reactors shut down during Hurricane Sandy

By Steven Mufson, Published: October 30

Three nuclear power reactors were shut down because of electricity issues during Hurricane Sandy, while a fourth plant, Oyster Creek in New Jersey, remains in “alert” mode because of high water levels in its water intake structure, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday.

All three reactors shut down safely, the NRC said, but the incidents are likely to come under close scrutiny given the series of electrical problems that led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex disaster in Japan in 2011.

“Sandy should be a wake-up call for the NRC and the industry to accelerate efforts launched after Fukushima to strengthen protection against natural disasters so that they will be better prepared to cope with the unexpected,” Edwin Lyman, senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in an e-mail.

The three reactors to experience trips, or shutdowns, during the storm this week were Nine Mile Point 1 in Scriba, N.Y., Indian Point 3 in Buchanan, N.Y.; and Salem Unit 1 in Hancocks Bridge, N.J., the NRC said.

To read the entire article go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/3-nuclear-power-reactors-shut-down-during-sandy/2012/10/30/7ddd3a94-22b6-11e2-8448-81b1ce7d6978_story.html