Nukes cracking up: Michigan and NC

Inspectors find radioactive leak at Entergy nuclear plant
May 16, 2013 by legitgov

Inspectors find radioactive leak at Entergy nuclear plant 16 May 2013 U.S. inspectors have found the source of a [radioactive] water leak that forced the shutdown of Entergy Corp.'s Palisades Nuclear Power Plant is on the Lake Michigan shoreline. The inspection has turned up a crack about half-inch-long around a nozzle. New Orleans-based Entergy idled the plant May 5 , 2013, after operators found a tank leaking faster than regulations allow. Some slightly [?] radioactive water entered Lake Michigan, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says there's no health risk. ['Slightly radioactive.' Is that like being 'a little bit pregnant?']

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Crack forces shutdown of nuclear reactor at Shearon Harris

NEW HILL, N.C. — A quarter-inch crack in a reactor sensor at the Shearon Harris nuclear plant in southwest Wake County has forced Duke Energy to take the plant offline, officials said Thursday.

No radioactive material leaked from the plant, and the public health and safety is not in danger, spokeswoman Kim Crawford said.

"There are no indications that there was any leakage," Crawford said. "We made the conservative decision to take the unit offline and make the repair."

Crawford said she couldn't say how long the reactor would be out of commission, but she said the utility has plenty of capacity and wouldn't need to purchase electricity from outside sources to meet demand.

"We're not anticipating any issues," she said. "While our plant is offline, we'll continue to serve our customers."

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