Leaky Water Seals: Indian Point 3 To Begin Maintenance Shutdown Sunday

CORTLANDT, NY — Slight water leakages between the reactor vessel and lid are leading to a maintenance shutdown at Indian Point. Control room operators are scheduled to remove the Unit 3 nuclear power plant from service Sunday night to replace two water seals that sit between the lid of the reactor and the reactor vessel, according to Entergy officials.

Operators have been monitoring slight water leakage past the seals during the last few weeks and are acting conservatively and proactively to replace the seals out of an abundance of caution.

There was no threat of release of radiation to the environment and no threat to public or worker health or safety as a result of this issue.

The plant will return to service when the maintenance is complete.

Unit 2 is currently operating at full power and has been online for 338 continuous days.

Unit 3 has been online since returning to service on May 18 from its refueling and maintenance outage.

Indian Point Energy Center, in Buchanan, N.Y., is home to two operating nuclear power plants, unit 2 and unit 3, which generate approximately 2000 megawatts of electricity for homes, business and public facilities in New York City and Westchester County.

The plant is scheduled to shut down completely by 2021.

SEE ALSO:

• Indian Point Closure: Westchester County Exec Sues
  
• NRC Sets Public Meeting On Indian Point's Safety Performance
  
• Indian Point Bolt Replacement, Refueling Done: Unit 3 Reactor Back In Service