The Unit 3 reactor was taken offline Monday evening, after an "an electrical disturbance on the non-nuclear side of the plant," said a statement from Indian Point's operator, Entergy Corporation. The company blamed a problem with the high voltage transmission line leading from the plant to an electrical switching station outside.
"There was no release of radioactivity and no threat to the safety of workers or the public," Entergy said.
#IndianPoint Reactor's 30-year old license was just extended
Now it's unexpectedly shut down
Let's close it forever! pic.twitter.com/Ee1BvjjwrP
— Theodore Grunewald (@TedGrunewald) December 15, 2015
It was the fourth shutdown this year for the Unit 3 reactor, and the fifth this year at the facility. Last week, operators performed an emergency shutdown on the Unit 2 reactor, after several control rods inexplicably lost power.
Located in Buchanan, New York, just 25 miles up the Hudson River from New York City, the first reactor at Indian Point came online in 1962, and used thorium fuel at first. After switching to uranium dioxide, Unit 1 was shut down in 1974, because the core cooling system no longer met regulatory requirements. Unit 2 was brought online the same year, and Unit 3 followed two years later. Both operate uranium dioxide reactors, generating around 2,000 megawatts of power for New York City and Westchester County customers.
"There was no release of radioactivity and no threat to the safety of workers or the public," Entergy said.
Wow, maintaining their spotless record of zero accidents and zero radioactive contamination!!
Truly amazing how these heroes of nuclear technology bring us power that we could otherwise get cheaply and cleanly from other sources by using risky outdated technology and maintain a perfect safety record!!
Shutdown after shutdown, they toil ceaselessly and never ever have they made a mistake or have their crappy old plants released radiation on an unsuspecting public!!!
Well, maybe just a teensy little bit, but never more than is in a banana, so you don't need to know about it. Don't worry, the nuclear engineers are very clever and have you (their asses) covered!!
Hats off to nuclear power companies!!!!!