[Translate]   Exelon is reporting via email press release that Oyster Creek has exited alert status. Water levels have receded below the alert levels but there is still no clear information on the status of the intake pumps during the alert. It is also unclear if access to the ultimate heat sink (the river) was lost at any point during the alert. This is critical as it is required to cool both the reactor and the spent fuel pool even if the reactor is turned off. The reactor does have some alternative methods to cool the reactor in an emergency but there is not an alternative heat removal system for the spent fuel pool. This makes access to the river for cooling critical for safety. Temperatures and water levels for the reactor … Read entire article »

[Translate] Oyster Creek had service water pumps at risk due to high water from Sandy. This included the cooling water for the spent fuel pool cooling system. As of 2:53am EST Exelon did not know if the service water pumps had been impacted. Media contacts at Exelon, owner of Oyster Creek are promising an update shortly. We will pass on any new information as soon as we get it. Update: Oyster Creek as of 2003 has more than 3025 assemblies in the spent fuel pool with a capacity of 2645 assemblies  that are at risk if the service water pump is lost. As of November 2010, there were 1,159 used assemblies stored in 19 dry casks. Casks are stored in a concrete block system and would not be at risk in this scenario. Oyster Creek; 36 … Read entire article »

[Translate] We have full confirmation that Oyster Creek nuclear station has lost grid power via Yahoo news. “The plant’s owner, Exelon Corp., said power was also disrupted in the station’s switchyard, but backup diesel generators were providing stable power, with more than two weeks of fuel on hand.” http://news.yahoo.com/nations-oldest-nuclear-plant-alert-024720174.html The loss of grid power puts Oyster Creek in a tense situation where the diesel generators are the only source of AC power needed for many critical systems. The reactor itself is shut off as the plant was in an outage but still requires some cooling. As was seen at Fukushima Daiichi Units 5 and 6 were shut down yet still had their own issues with hydrogen and heat build up as they lost cooling from the ocean.  Flooding is still a problem at Oyster … Read entire article »

[Translate] Oyster Creek Nuclear Station is under an alert after storm waters exceeding the high level criteria per the NRC. The NRC does not state what that level was. In our earlier reporting today we mentioned that the plant itself sits about 10 feet above sea level and the water levels at the nearby USGS station had already exceeded 8 feet today. The USGS station near Oyster Creek nuclear station has been going in and out all day. It showed the 8 foot reading, a bit of a drop below 8 feet but then the station stopped reporting before Sandy officially made landfall. “The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is continuing to monitor impacts from Hurricane Sandy on nuclear power plants in the Northeastern United States, including an Alert declared at the Oyster … Read entire article »