Unit 1 at the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant, located on Hutchinson Island, was manually shut down on Thursday after three control rods dropped into the reactor core. The incident was reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the manual shutdown occurred at 9:04 a.m. when the plant was operating at 100% power. The commission stated that the shutdown was uncomplicated, with all systems responding normally post-trip. The plant was stabilized in Mode 3, and decay heat is being removed by discharging steam to the main condenser using the turbine bypass valves and main feedwater.
Unit 2 was not affected by the incident. The NRC resident inspector has been notified, and Florida Power & Light, the operator of the power plant, is conducting an investigation into the cause of the control rod drop.
The St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant is located on a 1,200-acre site and generates approximately 2,000 megawatts of emissions-free electricity, supplying roughly 11% of FPL’s total power generation and serving more than 1 million homes and businesses.
In a separate matter, the FPL Siren Team will conduct minor maintenance on each of the 92 sirens throughout St. Lucie and Martin counties on Monday. The maintenance will include a test that will involve a one-minute sounding of the sirens, with a message broadcast on the sirens’ public-address system stating, ‘This is only a test.’ In the unlikely event of an actual emergency at the St. Lucie plant, the sirens would sound for at least a five-minute period, followed by official instructions or information on local radio and television.
Original reporting: WPBF West Palm Beach — read the source article.
