02/13/2012, 10:22 pm
he number of workers at the Exelon nuclear plant in La Salle County is swelling to accommodate a refueling outage.
Each of the facility's two nuclear reactors are refueled every other year on a staggered schedule. A refueling of one of the reactors began Monday. For the process, the reactor must be shut down, which also allows for safety inspections, equipment enhancements and other maintenance and upgrades that cannot be done while the reactor is running.
One job to be done is testing of the plant's hydraulic snubbers — shock absorber-like devices that are to protect equipment from earthquakes and other natural events.
Two transformers also will be installed. The transformers were shipped to the plant by barge and truck in August, causing roads near the plant to be temporarily closed.
About 2,000 temporary skilled workers from local union halls and 350 technical experts from other Exelon nuclear stations will be working at the La Salle County plant during the refueling, according to Exelon. The refueling is to take about six weeks
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