Byron nuclear plant reaffirms safety after Fukushima anniversary

BYRON (WREX) -

In the year after the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster, the Byron nuclear plant has undertaken multiple inspections, upgrades, and other work to ensure safety.

Nationally, Exelon Nuclear, the company that runs the Byron Generating Station, has verified the readiness of over 1,700 pieces of equipment, inspected more than 1,900 floor barriers and seals, and invested more than 43,000 worker hours inspecting and testing equipment and procedures that might be needed in an emergency.

Within a week of the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan that caused a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant, teams of engineers and experts from Exelon Nuclear traveled to Japan to offer help and learn from the experience. Lessons learned from Fukushima have led to extensive reviews of equipment, structures, and procedures at the Byron nuclear plant as well as purchases of additional backup emergency equipment, updates of emergency procedures, and additions to emergency training.

"At Byron Station we recognize that nuclear power is special and unique, and our top priority is operating our facility with the highest safety standards," said Tim Tulon, Byron Station site vice president.

Some of the protections Byron has in place include watertight doors, elevation of equipment above flood levels, and specially engineered flood barriers. The station can automatically and safely shut down and keep the fuel cooled even without electricity from the grid due to backup power generators that have second, third, and fourth layers of backups. Concrete walls up to four-feet thick protect reactors and other critical components.

The Byron plant undergoes frequent emergency training and its operating procedures are constantly tested and drilled by government emergency response agencies at all levels.

Unusual Event Declared at Byron Nuclear Plant

BYRON (WIFR) -- The Byron Exelon Nuclear Plant declared another unusual event. The declaration came at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Exelon believe a failed insulator in the station's switch-yard was the cause of the power loss. They say that both units are now operating at 100%.

An unusual event event is the lowest of four emergency classifications established by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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No radiation increase from steam release at Byron nuke

By Brian Leaf

Steam rises from one of the two cooling towers Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, at the Byron nuclear generating station in Ogle County. A loss of power coming into the plant caused one of the reactors to automatically shut down that morning.

Lab tests on water and vegetation found no measurable increase in radiation at Exelon Nuclear's Byron Generating Station after steam was released during a low-level emergency last week.

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency took samples after a power outage triggered an automatic shutdown of one the plant's two nuclear reactors on Jan. 30. The shutdown prompted the release of steam to depressurize the cooling system.

Steam from reactor systems contains tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. Tritium naturally occurs, but is in greater concentration in commercial nuclear reactors.

"Our laboratory results confirm that the steam release at the Byron nuclear power plant on Monday presented no health hazard for people who live and work in the area," said Jonathan Monken, IEMA director.

Monken said three samples taken after the steam release were statistically the same as samples taken Jan. 11, and that a fourth sample showed a lower concentration of tritium.

In 2010, Exelon paid $1.2 million to settle a suit filed by the Illinois attorney general over leaks of radioactive tritium into the ground around reactors in Byron, Braceville and Morris.