Indian Point Energy Center operators shut down the Unit 3 reactor at the Buchanan nuclear power plant after a pump automatically shut down Wednesday afternoon.
One of the reactor”™s condensate pumps, which transfer water to the plant’s steam generators, automatically turned off and caused water levels in a steam generator to fluctuate, according to a press release from the plant”™s owner, Entergy Corp. The press release did not say why the pump shut off, but a spokesman said repairs are being made to fix the problem.
Plant control room operators manually shut the reactor down after detecting that the water was abnormally wavering.
In the last 63 days, the Unit 3 reactor has unexpectedly shut down on four different occasions for a combined total of 18 days. The Unit 2 reactor has been continuously running for 477 days.
Another in a never ending series of reasons why it is past time we close Indian Point. It’s not safe, it’s never been secure, and it’s obviously not vital.