Nuclear plant Michigan venting radioactive steam

The Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan is venting radioactive steam (containing the radiactive hydrogen isotope ‘tritium’) into the air as part of an unplanned shutdown triggered by an electrical accident.

This shutdown came just five days after the plant restarted from another shutdown that was caused by a leak in the plant’s cooling system.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Prema Chandrithal said that the current shutdown happened because an object slipped during work on a circuit breaker and caused an arc that took out power for one of two DC electrical systems that power safety valves and other devices.

sources:

http://michiganmessenger.com/52729/electrical-problems-trigger-radioactive-steam-release-at-palisades

http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=NC-20110927-32447-USA

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