Posted on 07/30/2004 3:09:10 PM PDT by Robert357
RICHLAND, Wash. -- Washington state's only commercial nuclear reactor remained out of service while technicians tried to determine why an automatic shutdown system failed during a test Friday.
State emergency officials said there was no release of radiation and no danger to the public. It was not immediately known when the Columbia Generating Station reactor would be restarted.
The reactor, which produces power for the Northwest electricity grid, would remain out of service until crews determine what caused the problem, he said.
Energy Northwest spokeswoman Heather McMurdo said lights on a control panel showed that two of 185 control rods did not fully insert into the reactor during the test.
Columbia Generating Station is a boiling water reactor that produces 1,150 megawatts of electricity, which is sold to the Bonneville Power Administration.
Formerly known as the Washington Public Power Supply System No. 2 reactor, it is the only one of five reactors started in the late 1970s to be completed before construction was halted in 1982-83.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattlepi.nwsource.com ...
If the Columbia geneating station doesn't get back to full operations this weekend and the heat wave returns to California next week, you may want to make sure your beer is well chilled, just in case there are power shortages in California due to reduced imports from the PNW.
Whoops!
The marine layer took a good while to burn off this morning so that should have dropped the need for A/C considerably.
Hope they get it figured out before Monday though.
Our marine layer has been really thick every day for about two weeks. And to think I've been grousing about it!
Bet you know the secret handshake too!
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