SJ Nuclear Plant Shuts Down After Cooling Pump Problem
By David Madden
LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK, N.J. (CBS) -- The Salem Two nuclear plant in South Jersey is shut down.
So what happened? Imagine a short in the junction box of your home and you've got a pretty good idea what PSEG Nuclear is handling at the plant.
Spokesman Joe Delmar says the outage occurred late Wednesday afternoon.
"An electrical bus associated with one of the plant's 4 reactor cooling pumps that pump water through the reactor core stopped working," Delmar told KYW Newsradio. " When the electrical bus caused the pump to trip, the pump automatically caused the reactor to shut down as a safety precaution."
That's exactly what is supposed to happen. There is no threat to plant workers or Salem County neighbors.
As to when the facility will be back in business, Delmar can't say. They're still looking into how and why the shutdown happened. Once repairs are made, officials will need NRC approval before cranking the plant back up.