Flooding shuts down Unit 1 at nuclear plant

From the Times Leader:

Unit 1 at PPL’s Susquehanna nuclear plant was shut down safely on Friday after about 1 million gallons of river water flooded the basement.

Jeff Helsel, PPL’s Susquehanna power plant manager, described the reason for shutting down the unit.

“(There was) a leak of river water into the turbine building basement,” he said. “The river water entered the basement from a hatch that provides access to part of the unit’s condenser.”

Helsel said the leak could not be resolved without shutting down the unit.

Joe Scopelliti, a PPL spokesman, said the Susquehanna River water is used to cool the steam that is generated by the reactor and comes through the turbine. He said the river water never touches the plant water.

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