Sea water temperature
drops enough to allow reactor re-start
By Will Collette
The Associated
Press reports today that the Millstone nuclear power plant, just 20 miles
due west of Charlestown, has re-started its Unit #2 reactor, which has been
shut down since August 12.
The re-start took place on Saturday, according to a
spokesperson for Millstone’s operator, Virginia-based Dominion Power.
Water temperature in Long Island Sound has dropped to 72
degrees. The power plant had been shut-down when average temperatures exceeded
the 75 degree maximum allowed under Millstone’s license by 1.7 degrees.
Millstone draws ocean water directly from the sound to cool
its reactors and then discharges the hot water back into the Sound.
According to the AP report, Dominion Power believes the
problem of warmer waters is going to be the new normal due to climate change.
Dominion plans to conduct an engineering study in the hopes of convincing the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission to allow them to operate using much warmer sea
water to cool its reactors.
Click
here for my earlier story on Millstone’s shut-down. Click
here for my earlier story on Millstone’s plan to dramatically increase the
amount of high-level radioactive waste held in permanent storage on site. Click
here for my earlier article on safety violations at Millstone.
