Oyster Creek Taken Offline For Refueling Replacement, Maintenance

by Patricia A. Miller

More than a thousand supplemental workers will be in town for the next several weeks to help with refueling and maintenance work at the Oyster Creek Generating Station on Route 9 South in Lacey Township.

Oyster Creek was taken offline at midnight Monday to begin the planned work, said Exelon spokesperson Suzanne D’Ambrosio.

“During the outage, Exelon employees and supplemental workers will perform maintenance activities and replace nearly one-third of the reactor’s fuel to keep the unit running safely and efficiently for another two-year cycle,” she said.

The additional workers - many from out of state - should provide a “significant boost” to the local economy, D’Ambrosio said.

“This refueling outage represents Exelon’s commitment to the safe, reliable operation of Oyster Creek through 2019,” said Site Vice President Garey L. Stathes. “Our workforce nearly triples with experts and professionals who all share our organization’s commitment to safety and environmental stewardship.”

Technicians will also complete testing, maintenance and modifications during the outage that can only be done when the station is not generating electricity, D’Ambrosio said.

Township Committeeman David Most said at the Sept. 11 Township Committee meeting that residents should use extra caution when traveling near the plant for the next few weeks, because of more parked cars and traffic in the area.

Oyster Creek is slated to close in 2019. It is the oldest nuclear plant in the United States. It went online on Dec. 23, 1969.