Nuclear Reactors 306 - Indian Point Power Reactor Shut Down Due To Problem With Control Rods
Last weekend, one of the nuclear power reactors at the Indian Point Energy Center in New York state was taken offline due to problems with the control rods. The power reactor was shut down by the control room operators around 5 o'clock EST on Saturday, December 5th. The Manual Reactor Trip (shutdown) was carried out when there was indication of ten control rods dropping into the core due to loss of power to the equipment that raises and lowers the control rods.
The power loss was caused by a smoldering Motor Control Center cubicle in the Turbine Building which supplies power to the control rods that are used to moderate the nuclear fission in the reactor core by absorbing neutrons. The system is designed to shut down the reactor if control rods lose power and fall into the core. The operators said that all the equipment functioned the way it was supposed to do when and if a problem arose with the control rods losing power. The cause of the smoldering cubicle is still undetermined.
When a control rod falls into the core, it reduces the power output of the reactor in its section of the core. The reactor tries to compensate by increasing the reaction rate in other parts of the core. It is possible that increasing the reaction rate could lead to overheating and a serious accident. There is also a possibility of the occurrence of "supercriticality" in the core which could result in a nuclear explosion. The result would be many deaths and great damage to the environment.
The company that owns the plant said that there was no release of radiation or threat to public safety. The incident was reported to state and federal authorities as regulations require. The Nuclear Regulatory commission is conducting an investigation. The reactor will remain offline for a few days while repairs and further inspections are conducted.
There have been many problems at the Indian Point plant and the Governor of the state has called for the plant to be shut down. Anti-nuclear activist groups have been campaigning for years to shut the plant down. (The hijackers who carried out the 911 attacks on New York City flew right over the Indian Point plant but did not try to destroy it because they wrongly believed that it would be defended by anti-aircraft weapons. If they had crashed a plane into the plant, the resulting spread of radiation could have killed thousands and forced millions to evacuate their homes and businesses.)
The U.S. fleet of nuclear power reactors is aging. Many of the reactors have now passed their originally licensed lifetimes of forty years. As the reactors get older, their materials and components fail at an increasing rate. The cost of maintaining them properly keeps increasing and they become less competitive in the power market. These old reactors should be shut down as soon as possible and replaced with renewable alternative energy sources before a devastating nuclear accident occurs.
Indian Point Nuclear Power Station:
