WATERFORD, Conn. – Dominion ended an Alert
at Millstone Power Station Unit 3 at 7:05 p.m. Sunday. An investigation into
the cause of the event continues.
Dominion declared an Alert, the second lowest
of four emergency classifications used by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
at 8:42 a.m. Sunday after Unit 3 automatically shutdown because of indications
of low steam pressure in the secondary piping system. The secondary piping system
moves steam from the steam generator to the turbine.
While a large release of steam from the secondary
piping system occurred at the station, no one was injured and no release of
radioactive material occurred beyond those small releases associated with normal
station operations. Federal, state and local emergency response agencies were
notified.
Millstone Unit 3, a 1,150-megawatt pressurized
water reactor, had been operating for 344 days continuously. The unit will remain
shut down during the investigation. No decision has been made on when the unit
will be restarted. Millstone Unit 2, an 870-megawatt unit, is being refueled
and is not operating. Millstone Unit 1 is being decommissioned.
The event Sunday began when Unit 3 shut down
automatically at 8:29 a.m. The cause of the shutdown is not known at this time.
Alan Price, site vice president-Millstone, said
the company would investigate all aspects of the event and report those findings
to the NRC.
"Our operations personnel responded to the
event quickly and effectively as they are trained to do, and they brought the
unit to shutdown in a safe and orderly manner," said Price.
No release of radioactive material occurred during
the event beyond those small releases associated with normal station operations.
These minor releases pose no danger to the public or station workers and are
below federally approved operating limits, below natural background levels and
cannot be detected at the site boundary.
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers
of energy, with an energy portfolio of about 28,100 megawatts of generation,
about 6 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves and 7,900
miles of natural gas transmission pipeline. Dominion also operates the nation's
largest underground natural gas storage system with more than 965 billion cubic
feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in nine states.
For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
