Press Release-I-10-037, NRC Monitoring 'Alert' Declared at Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant

Press Release-I-10-037: NRC Monitoring 'Alert' Declared at Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant

ML102220456
Person / Time
Site:	Susquehanna
Issue date:	08/10/2010
From:	Office of Public Affairs Region I
To:
Category:Press Release
References
Press Release-I-10-037
Download: ML102220456 (1)

Text

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs, Region I 475 Allendale Road, King of Prussia, Pa. 19406 E-mail: opa1@nrc.gov Site: http://www.nrc.gov No. I-10-037 August 10, 2010

Contact:

Diane Screnci 610/337-5330 Email: OPA1.RESOURCE@nrc.gov Neil Sheehan 610/337-5331 NRC MONITORING ALERT DECLARED AT SUSQUEHANNA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is monitoring PPLs response to an Alert declared this morning at the Susquehanna nuclear power plant, which is located in Salem Township (Luzerne County), Pa. The Alert - the second-lowest of four emergency classifications used by the NRC -

was declared at 9:22 a.m. after toxic gas - believed to be Freon - was identified by workers in the Unit 1 Reactor Building. As a precaution, PPL, which owns and operates the two-reactor plant, has evacuated that building. No injuries have been reported.

Freon apparently leaked from a chiller, or air-conditioning, system used to maintain certain temperatures inside the Reactor Building. That structure houses safety systems used to support the operation of the reactor, but those systems have not been impacted by the event.

The NRC has two Resident Inspectors stationed at Susquehanna who are following PPLs response to the event. In addition, the NRC Region I Office, in King of Prussia, Pa., has activated its Incident Response Center and is closely monitoring the companys actions from there.

PPL is seeking to identify the exact source of the Freon leakage and terminate it. Both reactors at the site remain in operation. As of earlier today, Susquehanna 1 was at 100-percent power and Susquehanna 2 was at 94-percent power.

Appropriate federal and state officials have been notified regarding the event.

News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address:

http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site