NY Reactor Shut Down Because Of Warm Water In Long Island Sound

Waterford — For the first time, record-breaking water temperatures in Long Island Sound have forced the shutdown of the Unit 2 nuclear reactor at the Millstone Power Station.

It appears to be the only nuclear power plant in the nation forced to shut down this summer due to high water temperatures, said Neil Sheehan, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

This is the first time Unit 2 has been shut due to high water temperature since it began operations in 1975, according to Ken Holt, spokesman for Millstone owner Dominion.

The Unit 2 nuclear reactor at the Millstone Power Station will remain shut until the company is confident that the temperature of the water drawn into the plant from Long Island Sound will remain below 75 degrees, Holt said.

“We don’t want to restart it and then have to shut it down again if the temperature spikes back up,” he said.

The unit, the smaller of the two operating plants at the power station, was shut down on Sunday afternoon after the temperature of water from Long Island Sound used to cool the plant exceeded limits set by the plant’s license.

Millstone was among plants that received emergency license amendments this summer related to the temperature of cooling water. Last week, Millstone received permission from the NRC to take an average of three temperature measurements for the water at the intake pipes for Unit 2, rather than using the single highest measure.

Record Warm Water in Long Island Sound Shuts Down Connecticut Nuclear Power Plant

Hot LI Sound water forces Millstone unit shutdown

The plant’s license states that it must be shut down when the water temperature is 75 degrees or higher over a 24-hour period. The water is used to cool instruments in the nuclear reactor building and the emergency diesel generators. Water that is too warm does not sufficiently cool the plant to keep it within the margin of safety.

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