The Unit 1 nuclear reactor at Exelon's Limerick Generating Station was shut down at 8:15 Wednesday morning following an electrical fault in a transformer, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a statement sent to area media outlets.
The reactor was manually shut down from the power station's control room following the fault, according to the NRC.
NRC spokesperson Neil Sheehan said Exelon had declared an "Unusual Event," which is the lowest of four levels of classification used by the NRC.
An "electrical disturbance caused a loss of power to generator cooling equipment" at the plant, Exelon Nuclear spokesperson Dana Melia said in a statement.
"There is no threat to the health and safety of the public associated with this event," Melia said
An excerpt: An "electrical disturbance caused a loss of power to generator cooling equipment" at the plant, Exelon Nuclear spokesperson Dana Melia said in a statement. "There is no threat to the health and safety of the public associated with this event," Melia said
That being said, the paradigm for energy generation has been stagnant since the introduction of nuclear energy, with minor concessions for solar, wind, geothermal and tidal energy. Nuclear energy is literally a ticking time-bomb, fossil fuels a slower death by poison...we can do better. It may cost more, upfront, and for a while, but eventually the monetary costs of "alternative" energy will come in line with traditional energy - but the side-effects and literal fallout will be much easier to live with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2vzotsvvkw