Indian Point 2 Nuclear Reactor Back In Service

BUCHANAN, N.Y. -- A nuclear reactor in New York City's suburbs is back in service after an eight-day shutdown to repair a pump that was leaking slightly radioactive water.

Plant owner Entergy Nuclear says the reactor in Buchanan went back online Wednesday.

Indian Point 2 was shut down Jan. 10 to replace a seal inside a pump.

Entergy officials say the pump normally leaks about 2 gallons a minute. Operators shut the reactor down for maintenance when they noticed an increased flow.

The other reactor at the plant, Indian Point 3, continued operating at full power.

Indian Point generates about 2,000 megawatts of electricity and is a major energy producer for New York City and Westchester County.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[vmf211]

02:10 PM on 02/01/2012

Big Deal so a reactor coolant pump had a leaky seal that's a one day job at most to fix.
It's not even a story.

[Genders]

11:13 PM on 02/04/2012

Big deal: every nuclear reactor is just a cooling system failure away from meltdown and a trillion dollar cancerous disaster.

[Harley 2]

06:06 PM on 01/29/2012

http://nukepimp.blogspot.com/p/astronomy-and-carrington.html

The Carrington effect (solar storm) could cause a large area power loss that may take years to restore.

And you know what happens to nuke plants when you take their power away.

After a massive solar minimum, not seen in centuries, we are springing back with a solar maximum that is going to be a doozy. Even Sunday, another massive Coronal Mass Ejection threatens earth and we may get more than just a light show.

And check out the other resources on the "Nukepimp" blog which is a stop the nukes site. Drop a comment.

[Genders]

10:17 PM on 01/29/2012

400 Chernobyls? At least 100. 30% of nukes fai8le the backup generator tests.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-stein/400-chernobyls_b_1171129.html !!!!!!!

[Harley 2]

12:01 AM on 01/30/2012

I know, NO ONE, ever does proper backup power testing (except me), I throw the main effen breaker....OK now check everything. Being in the power business and doing $100M of business on Gov projects, secret and top secret military stuff, underground bunkers 300,000 SF, Sat comm centers with 600 secret links, etc.....even when the specs require it, THEY DO NOT DO THE FULL TEST.

[vetxcl]

06:02 PM on 01/23/2012

Let me guess, there's an excuse by someone commenting that the water is no more dangerous than the radiation recieved from microwaving a meal.

No, I'm not joking - that's right.

[Joffan]

09:43 PM on 01/23/2012

You may not be joking, but you're certainly wrong.

[Michael Mann]

11:58 AM on 01/24/2012

Ok, just to be clear, the leak was inside the plant, not released to the environment, so it posed absolutely no danger to anyone. Secondly, microwaving a meal, just like irradiating food to kill bacteria, doesn't make the food radioactive.
http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/radiation/rad-health-effects.html
There is so much irrational fear of radiation that it is no joke. I believe education can help combat the fear, there are many things that you should be afraid of, like the lack of science education in our schools.

[Harley 2]

06:07 PM on 01/29/2012

There is plenty of rational fear too.

How do you justify your nuke experts not taking preventative action to keep the pipes from freezing in the heart of winter?

Criminal negligence

[vetxcl]

06:01 PM on 01/23/2012

Bad news for some is good news for others: http://cleantechnica.com/2012/01/09/2011-the-year-renewables-overtook-nuclear-in-the-us/

[Joffan]

09:41 PM on 01/23/2012

So the Clean Technica is a little misleading when it talks about "power generation". Biofuel accounts for a significant chunk of that. Nuclear is still ahead on electricity generation.

[Genders]

10:23 PM on 01/29/2012

Nukes are more expensive than rooftop solar.

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/06/10/solar-power-graphs-to-make-you-smile/

So what, we green folks want the whole spectrum fo green energy.

http://inhabitat.com/report-reveals-america-now-receives-more-power-from-renewable-sources-than-nuclear/

[Genders]

10:20 PM on 01/29/2012

FF. you got it.

[fireofenergy]

05:01 PM on 01/22/2012

Reactors based on water for cooling is just plain ego in the face of opposites. Water will turn to hydrogen, explode and disperse toxic and radioactive elements for many miles. That's a worst case. Multiply that by some 450 plants around the world... Somethings bound to happen (and so it did in Japan).

Now, cool a reactor with a NON pressurized substance, and nothing will be dispersed in any explosive manner. So what then is the worst case? Multiply that by, say, 10,000 (needed to displace ALL other sources). What would happen. Nothing because reactors such as LFTR can't meltdown and thus can't expel it's toxic and radioactive mix. As long as the "room" was built strong enough to withstand a major Earthquake (and direct attack), no leakage into ground water, either! So the only "problems" would be periodic parts replacements (which would be more frequent than the LWR's due to higher temps).
Since LFTR is like 200 times more efficient, the waste issue would be much easier to deal with.
The future has been passed up by the need to make money off of inefficiency. That, and a lack of understanding leading to fear, are the ONLY problems with LFTR and its kind.

[Harley 2]

02:20 AM on 01/24/2012

Uh yeah, so non combine highly corrosive salts, with highly radioactive substances, and high temperatures, and high pressures, and then have them built by the lowest bidder that has also accomplished regulatory capture. Now also make sure that at least 1,000,000 various parts are needed to make the thing work. Now make sure that no terrorist could damage it. Now protect the used fuel products for 100,000 years.

OK, great, no problem looks like your precious little science is just perfect.

UNLESS you would prefer clean safe solar electric, for 2.9 cent per kWH and with no evacuation zone!

Here is the proof. Real data

http://nukepimp.blogspot.com/2012/01/solar-electric-photovoltaic-cost-per.html

[Nick Hatch]

01:52 PM on 01/24/2012

Nice; A link to an anti-nuke blog by Joe Wiki-expert featuring a solar company's online product estimator. What an airtight source. Ever used a paint company's online estimator for your home? I'll give you a hint: they come in low so you call in for a sales pitch.

[Genders]

10:25 PM on 01/29/2012

LFTR does not exist yet, and w2ill take at least 30 years before the first plant could be online.

By then solar will be 1 cent per KWH. You can't win.

[vvllib]

09:17 AM on 01/22/2012

Hot water being pumped by the pump internals would stress the shaft if allowed to creep up out of the pump casing into the shaft space. One very reliable method to keep that hot water inside, is to allow a somewhat cooler water flow to enter the shaft space first, preventing the hot from coming in.

While doing its job sealing the hot water inside, a small portion of the cool water is allowed to leak IN to the pump (in not out)... and this is called the "Seal Leakoff". It is very definitely NOT a leak, in the way Huff Po readers usually understand leaks. It is entirely intentional. It is a GOOD thing.

It is a clever way to use water to trap water in a confined space.
Ideally, this leakoff is kept at about 1 gpm. When operators noticed it at 2 gpm (a week ago) NRC was given a plan to take the unit down, open the pump, & adjust the Not-a-Leak.

Just as you cant put air in your tires while travelling 80 mph, or fill up your gas tank while doing all terrain stunts in the Mohave, you cannot adjust some things while still running.

If this incident is evidence of anything, it is the minute, precise care operators lavish on their equipment at Indian Point, and their reponsible actions in keeping everything up to spec.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE..... MOVE ALONG NOW.

[Genders]

02:51 PM on 01/22/2012

"NOTHING TO SEE HERE..... MOVE ALONG NOW."

You know the genesis of that phrase right?

It's what the big folks say when they are lying.

Link to what you say. I wait patiently.

Meanwhile: "Hot water being pumped by the pump internals would stress the shaft "

So now, it's not just a leak of radioactive water, but a threat to the pumps themselves,
and you want to reassure us. wow.

better stop while you're behind.

[Joffan]

04:37 PM on 01/22/2012

Actually the origin of the phrase is with the police, when they wanted to disperse a group of passers-by gathering pointlessly at an incident, causing more trouble than the original problem.

[JHKH]

08:34 PM on 01/21/2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9s0s3h4ETU

This TED talk about thorium as a solution to all our energy problems is worth a watch. It begs the question, why was this potential source of power get shelved decades ago?

[Genders]

02:58 PM on 01/22/2012

It's 30 years away from a commercial installation, by which times solar will be about 1 cents per KWH, and wind and waste bio fuels probably about the same or less.

Read a critique of the whole thorium bait and switch, that's what it is btw, the new rector on order aren't even AP1000, but bad old LWR that a just a cooling system failure away from meltdown.

http://daryanenergyblog.wordpress.com/ca/part-8-msr-lftr/8-4-the-isotope-separation-plant/
great critique of LFTR an nuke power in general

100% on Renewable Energies
http://130.226.56.153/rispubl/reports/ris-r-1608_186-195.pdf
http://www.iset.uni-kassel.de/abt/w3-w/projekte/LowCostEuropElSup_revised_for_AKE_2006.pdf

http://www.gizmag.com/sahara-solar-breeder-project/17054/

Though I think eff, plug in hybrid commuter vehicles, rooftop solar, offshore wind and waste bio char is the optimum systems. 24/6 using existing fossil generators but clean and carbon negative(yes bio char is c negative), forever, safe, no nuke disasters, oil wars, or environmental coal destruction.

Solar cheaper than nukes 16 cents, wind and waste half that and eff half that again.

http://cleantechnica.com/2011/06/10/solar-power-graphs-to-make-you-smile/

energy source amounts: http://cleantechnica.com/2011/08/23/solar-power-intro-3-key-solar-power-points-top-solar-power-news/

[fireofenergy]

04:43 PM on 01/22/2012

It's 50 year old tech, proven at ORNL.
Problem is, the future has been put on hold (at devastating expense).
The many Billions of tons of FF's and the 85,000 tons or so of uranium needed to power humanity every year can ALL be displace by just 5,000 tons of thorium!
Why, in this world of personal money, would anyone allow for that?
You must understand WHY today's nuclear sucks before understanding WHY LFTR is best for planetary populations that don't want (or need) to be constrained.

[JHKH]

06:59 PM on 01/22/2012

I wish all of these alternatives would be implemented. There is so much resistance to pulling the nuclear/petroleum plug. Most often, when you post this type of information, all you get are naysayers expounding on the "economic" reasons why it is impossible to implement without a "bridge" technology or suffer dire consequences of inadequate energy for life in the manner to which we've become accustomed.

[mbkeefer]

08:23 PM on 01/21/2012

An expected two gallon a minute leak must be part of the designed cooling and lubrication of the pump. The leakage in probably routed to a tank for processing and reuse as coolant.

[Harley 2]

02:35 AM on 01/22/2012

Right, so why did they have to shut down for 8 days, because the problem was a lot larger than they are letting on to.

[vvllib]

10:16 AM on 01/22/2012

Actually, cooling the pipes down to a workable temperature was about 3 days, lifting a 10,000 pound motor off the top of the pump was another day, ( the motor sits over the pump, vertically), replacing the seal package, about 6 hours, closing the pump back up, about 1 day, reinstalling the motor on top of the pump, 1 day, test-running the pump to assure complete, total repair, 2 days.

Add 'em up.

[professor]

12:21 AM on 01/21/2012

All NPPs leak. All the time.

[undsoweiter]

05:36 PM on 01/21/2012

Yes, they leak electricity all over the place.

[Silken17]

05:52 PM on 01/21/2012

So what?! I have to take a leak at least a couple of times per day.

[Harley 2]

02:18 AM on 01/22/2012

Wow, I cant believe you are getting paid to be a pro nuke troll.

[vetxcl]

06:07 PM on 01/23/2012

Did yu know there are meds for that now?

Be sure to hit your mark or wipe afterwards. And close the darn seat when you flush!!!

Next time you trickle, will you claim the economy's doing fine?

[undsoweiter]

09:14 AM on 01/20/2012

Faulty timer on microwave oven in breakroom at nuclear power plant ruins popcorn; film at eleven.

[Genders]

02:46 PM on 01/21/2012

Problems with the cooling system, cooling system fails, plant melts down.
You think it's nothing, that shows a total disregard for safety and the tragedy that a meltdown will cause. We are supposed to trust folks who think that way?
Solar cheaper than nukes. Faster to install. better. combined with wind and waste bio fuels for a 24/7 solution.

[undsoweiter]

03:57 PM on 01/21/2012

It was a leaking seal on a pump, Genders. The pump didn't fail. There's another pump if it does.
The reactor was never in any danger, and there was no danger to the public, while the seal was leaking.
Attacking nuclear will not increase our use of renewables. It will only put money in the pockets of the fossil fuel alternative.
Unless that's what you had in mind?

[vvllib]

09:32 AM on 01/22/2012

Dear "Genders" , the pump was worked on just as about 10,000 jobs per year get worked on at Indian Point. You heard about THIS work order only because the unit was taken off line. The other 9999 jobs get worked anyway, without consulting you.

Operators did not think it was "nothing" as you say above, but still they did not throw their apron over their heads and run around screaming like Ebenezer Scrooge's housemaid, either.

Why do you think high tech stuff keeps working? A mysterious genie, protecting it with spells & incantations?

A very competent population of engineers all over the world keeps the lights burning so the rest of you can attend sci fi movies, mud wrestling events, OWS rallies, and Star Trek conventions.

Solar, filled with lead, arsenic, and other poisons, destroys the land it sits on. It is made almost completely in China, where poor workmanship is de riguer, it cant work at night, or on cloudy days, For wind, see:

http://tinyurl.com/WINDFAILL

Waste bio? would that be cow poop?
YUMMMMM

[DeanWormer]

12:05 AM on 01/20/2012

Thanks for the breaking news on standard maintenance at a power plant. Looking forward to the story on replacing a water main.

[Genders]

02:47 PM on 01/21/2012

There is no such thing as "standard Maintenance" on the cooling system that prevent the reactor from melting down. Thanks for proving that you folks have no regard for safety.

[Silken17]

05:54 PM on 01/21/2012

Dang Genders! Yer soooo smart!

[Joffan]

05:39 PM on 01/19/2012

And in other good news... Vermont Yankee is permitted to continue operating by the courts after their case against the state of Vermont's blocking action was decided in their favor.

[Harley 2]

02:21 AM on 01/22/2012

No actually, after the lobbyist fed, campaign contribution recipients, decided that issues of radiation should only be regulated by Fed, Fed is fed by nuke, let them eat cesium.

[Joffan]

02:51 AM on 01/22/2012

You are clueless on this subject, apparently, as well as almost incomprehensible. When do you think that the issue of radiological safety at nuclear plants was taken on by the federal government?

[vetxcl]

07:42 PM on 01/23/2012

Faved for the humor. By all standards, they may already be exposed to a certain amount of cesium already.

[Polypmaster]

04:46 PM on 01/19/2012

You realize that a leaking pump doesn't leak to the environment? It leaks into containment where it is stored until the small amount of radiation decays away. Pumps will always leak. All nuclear plants are designed to handle this. This is not abnormal.

[Polypmaster]

11:23 PM on 01/19/2012

To Genders: That is neither here nor there. This article has nothing to do with how stupid you would have to be to actually buy a powerball ticket. It has to do with simple engineering. The numbers have said over and over again that nuclear is the least dangerous of all power sources. You cannot argue this unless you go out and make up your own data.

[Genders]

02:52 PM on 01/21/2012

No, the numbers say nuclear power is the most dangerous power source ever invented, from accident 3 world disasters in 50 years, from proliferation that will destroy civilization, and from million year waste. LNT calculation of the populations exposed to nuclear power radiation would count the deaths from nuclear power in the 100's of thousands from cancer. Cancer rates are up.

No, it not abnormal, just irresponsible. And NPP's leak radiation to the world all the time.

The NRC acknowledged that 12 people are expected to die as a direct result of normal operation and releases for each commercial nuclear reactor that is granted a license extension of 20 years. http://www.rockthecapital.com/03/14/wrong-nrcs-fact-sheet-tmi-accident/

That doesn't even include mining, disasters or waste.

[Harley 2]

02:34 AM on 01/22/2012

Decay is like 300 years, so shut up about your decay thing,

The leakage is recycled into the system, it is only a coolant and lube, duh!

[Polypmaster]

06:33 AM on 01/22/2012

Decay is a function of the isotope. Primary isotopes in reactor coolant are trace amounts of Xe-135 (9 hour half-life) and Xe-133 (3 year half-life) from tramp uranium, Tritium (3 year half-life) from activated hydrogen atoms in the water, and a few other noble gases. This is on the order of 1 part per billion or less, with a radiation level below that found in groundwater. Leaking water from a pump will go into a floor drain that is generally sent to rad waste, where the radioactive gases are given time to decay before being vented. Radioactive liquids and solids can be filtered out and the remaining water is usually returned to the body of water it came from. I suggest reading about nuclear physics and how nuclear plants are designed before you start blabbing nonsense.

[vmf211]

01:59 PM on 01/19/2012

Replacing a seal is no big deal> Why is this even a story.
We do pump work,replace seals,and repack valves all the time at our plants it's not even a relevant story why is it even here?

[Genders]

03:19 PM on 01/19/2012

So we can point out Indian Point is rated the most dangerous reactor in the USA?

Because they didn't even allow comments on the aritlce aabout how

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120110/us-indian-point/
"Entergy says the pump helps cool the Indian Point 2 reactor and normally leaks about 2 gallons a minute. Spokesman Jerry Nappi says the leak had been increasing and on Monday night it reached a point at which operators decided to shut down for repair."

Since all LWR reactors are just a cooling system away from meltdown, this is a big deal.

[Joffan]

05:37 PM on 01/19/2012

The NRC ranking of reactor operation puts Indian Point is in the best category for operation. Browns Ferry #1 is the sole occupant at present of their worst (operating) category.
http://www.nrc.gov/NRR/OVERSIGHT/ASSESS/actionmatrix_summary.html

The bogus "ratings" of nuclear opponents invariably rank whichever plant they are campaigning against that day as the "worst".

[vmf211]

12:31 AM on 01/20/2012

Well it sound like one of the reactor coolant pumps and it isn't no big deal.
All the did was shut own the reactor and replace the seal package around the shaft and it takes less than half a shift to pull and replace the seal package.

But off course all you anti nukes here on HP who have no experience and no knowledge about nuclear power wouldn't have any idea about what was wrong and had to be fixed.


If you want to know something about nuclear power you need to ask someone who actually works in a nuclear plant.

[KarlaElisa]

04:02 PM on 01/19/2012

seems to me every single nuclear reactor in the world is a current or future problem headed our way.

when it could/can take decades to get something under control when things go wrong (and that's the optimistic scenario) it's a 'big deal'.

[Joffan]

05:37 PM on 01/19/2012

Since there are plenty of reactors that have been built, run and fully decommissioned without ever causing a problem in their electricity generation, perhaps the problem is with your understanding.

[vmf211]

12:33 AM on 01/20/2012

Perhaps if you want to know about nuclear power you should ask someone who actually works at a nuclear plant and know's what's what and not from some left wing blog who is clueless.