U.S. investigates elevated radiation readings at Ohio nuclear power plant

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U.S. investigates elevated radiation readings at Ohio nuclear power plant

2011-04-27 06:59:17 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has launched an investigation into an incident at a nuclear power plant in Ohio on Friday in which elevated radiation readings were detected.

The incident happened on Friday at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, Ohio, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northeast of Cleveland. Details of the incident were not publicly disclosed until Tuesday afternoon.

According to the NRC, the issue involved the removal of a source range monitor from the reactor core while the plant was shut down for a refueling outage. A source range monitor measures nuclear reactions during start up, low power operations and shutdown conditions.

"While performing the activities to remove the monitor, workers at the plant identified an increase in radiation levels in their work area," the NRC said in a statement. "The workers stopped and immediately left the area when the higher than expected levels were identified."

While officials do not believe the workers received radiation in excess of NRC limits, the level was higher than normal. Nonetheless, the NRC said the plant is in a safe condition and there has been no impact to workers at the plant or members of the public.

The special inspection team began work on Monday and will review the circumstances surrounding the elevated radiation levels in the work area. The team will gather data to establish a sequence of events, review the utility's work planning and engineering actions, determine if there were human performance factors that may have contributed to the event and evaluate the actual radiological consequences including exposure to the workers.

It is expected that details of the outcome of the investigation will be released within 45 days.

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