SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Officials Investigating Illinois Reactor Shutdown
from the Seattle Times
CHICAGO (Associated Press) -- Officials are investigating the events surrounding a power failure at a nuclear reactor in northern Illinois, but believe they may have traced the cause to a piece of equipment at a switchyard.
After the shutdown Monday morning at Exelon Nuclear's Byron Generating Station, operators began releasing steam to cool the reactor from the part of the plant where turbines produce electricity, not from within the nuclear reactor itself, officials said. The steam contains low levels of tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, but federal and plant officials insisted the levels were safe for workers and the public.
Exelon Nuclear officials believe a failed piece of equipment at a switchyard at the plant about 95 miles northwest of Chicago caused the shutdown, but they were still investigating an exact cause. The switchyard is similar to a large substation that delivers power to the plant from the electrical grid and from the plant to the electrical grid.
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