UPDATE: Nine Mile Point 2 nuclear facility shut down twice in 1 week due to a "higher than normal leak". On August 8th the plant was shut down, then again on August 11th. Nine Mile Point 2 is situated on Lake Ontario and was leaking into it. Could that be the source of the extremely high radiation found in Toronto area rainwater?
(WSYR-TV) -- The Nine Mile Nuclear Plant's unit two is back up and running. The plant needed to be shut down twice this week because of leaks, but Friday night all the repairs were complete.
Inspections have assured that there are no other issues and the unit is back up to about 24 percent power.
It will take a little more time to get the unit back up to 100 percent.
Representatives say the leaks were never a risk to the public, or to plant employees.
August 11, 2011
Scriba (WSYR-TV) - For the second time in a week, workers at Nine Mile Point 2 nuclear facility had to shut down a reactor due to a leak.
The leak occurred in a line associated with a feedwater pump. The reactor was at about 15 percent power at the time and was being returned to service after a Saturday shutdown.
A spokesperson for the facility said that a resident inspector was on-site observing the plant start-up in the wake of the Saturday shutdown. According to the spokesperson, the inspector confirmed that the operators responded appropriately and that safety systems functioned properly.
“At this point in time we don't know what caused the leak. We're going to be investigating that. The repairs are in progress. And as we did in the last instance, we're looking at all similar piping associated with this system to make sure their aren't any other issues before we return the unit to service,” said Constellation Energy Nuclear Group spokesperson Jill Lyon.
Nuke plant officials investigate leak
Aug. 8, 2011
(WSYR-TV/AP) - Officials at Constellation Energy are investigating a leakage in a containment structure that caused the shutdown of the Nine Mile Point Unit 2 reactor on Lake Ontario over the weekend.
The reactor remained shut down yesterday after a "higher-than-normal leakage" was discovered in the drywell. The incident was classified as an "unusual event," the lowest level of nuclear power plant emergencies.
Constellation Energy Nuclear Group spokeswoman Jill Lyon says the drywell is the containment structure surrounding the reactor vessel and associated piping. She says the reactor will remain shut down until the necessary repairs and post maintenance testing are finished.
Neil Sheehan of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it appears the source of the leakage is a valve on a recirculation pump.
Direct evidence of (20,000 CPM) radiation falling on Canada in the rain, as far east as Toronto.
20,000 CPM equals about 200 μSv, per hour of exposure
What Types of Radiation are There?
The radiation one typically encounters is one of four types: alpha radiation, beta radiation, gamma radiation, and x radiation. Neutron radiation is also encountered in nuclear power plants and high-altitude flight and is emitted from some industrial radioactive sources.
Alpha Radiation
Alpha radiation is a heavy, very short-range particle and is actually an ejected helium nucleus. Some characteristics of alpha radiation are:
Most alpha radiation is not able to penetrate human skin.
Alpha-emitting materials can be harmful to humans if the materials are inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through open wounds.
A variety of instruments has been designed to measure alpha radiation. Special training in the use of these instruments is essential for making accurate measurements.
A thin-window Geiger-Mueller (GM) probe can detect the presence of alpha radiation.
Instruments cannot detect alpha radiation through even a thin layer of water, dust, paper, or other material, because alpha radiation is not penetrating.
Alpha radiation travels only a short distance (a few inches) in air, but is not an external hazard.
Alpha radiation is not able to penetrate clothing.
Examples of some alpha emitters: radium, radon, uranium, thorium.
