Philly-area nuclear plant shuts reactor for repair

LIMERICK, Pa. -- Officials at a nuclear power plant near Philadelphia have taken one reactor offline because of a potential valve problem.

The Mercury of Pottstown reports ( http://bit.ly/QnpsNR) Unit 2 at the Limerick Generating Station was shut down on Friday.

Plant spokeswoman Dana Melia says a slight rise in temperatures indicated a possible malfunction in a main steam valve. She says the valve can be replaced only if the reactor is offline.

Exelon Nuclear shut down Limerick's Unit 1 reactor last week for an electrical problem. The "unusual event" on July 18 fell under the lowest of four emergency classifications.

Unit 1 began operating at full power again earlier this week.

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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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Ill. nuclear plant generating electricity again after reactor lost power, shut down last week

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, February 7, 4:36 PM

BYRON, Ill. — A northern Illinois nuclear plant is back up and running after a reactor lost power and shut down last week.

Exelon Nuclear says the Unit 2 reactor at the Byron Generating Station began producing electricity at about noon Tuesday after it was reconnected to the electrical grid.

n outage on Jan. 30 started when an electrical insulator failed and fell off the metal structure it was attached to. That interrupted power and caused the reactor to automatically shut down as a precaution.

Exelon says technical experts did hundreds of maintenance and inspection tasks while the unit was offline.

The Byron Generating Station is about 95 miles northwest of Chicago.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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