Byron Generating Station Power Failure: Tests Show No Radiation Increase

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois Emergency Management Agency officials say lab tests show no measureable increase of radiation after steam was released to cool a northern Illinois nuclear reactor.

Officials said Friday that the environmental sampling was conducted earlier this week after a reactor lost power and shut down at Byron Nuclear Power Plant on Monday. Agency director Jonathon Monken says the results confirm "no health hazard for people who live and work in the area."

Monday's outage started when an electrical insulator failed and fell off the metal structure that it was attached to. That interrupted power and caused the reactor to automatically shut down as a precaution.

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Comments

[stephengn1]

04:52 PM on 02/05/2012

Yet another nuclear incident in which people must be reassured by government and industry

Such incidents seem to be happening on a weekly bassis now.

[Totto]

10:52 AM on 02/05/2012

Uh-huh. Pull the other one.

[WhatWereTheyThinking]

10:41 AM on 02/05/2012

So a government agency concluded no measurable amounts of radiation were found.
Yeah, right.
An independent group is needed.

[GRLCowan]

04:36 PM on 02/05/2012

No measurable *increase*, the article says. There is always measurable radiation.

Government profits from fossil fuels, so if they could get away with anything, it would be to say a radiation increase had occurred when one had not. But independent measurements are too easy, and would very soon bring that to light.

[PoloniumMan]

04:38 PM on 02/05/2012

Good idea. Any suggestions?

[WhatWereTheyThinking]

03:45 PM on 02/06/2012

IAEA. They could not be bullied by the W administration over Iraq.