Pump woes cause shutdown of 1 N.J. nuclear reactor, power cut at another

The shutdown of one of four reactor coolant pumps caused the Salem 2 reactor to automatically trip off-line, an official says.

LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK TWP. -- Pump problems have caused the shutdown of one of PSEG Nuclear's reactors and a cut in electrical production at another, an official says.

Both of the reactors are located at PSEG Nuclear's generating complex on Artificial Island in Lower Alloways Creek Township.

Salem 2 automatically shut down Wednesday at 3:13 p.m. after one of the reactor coolant pumps tripped offline according to Joe Delmar, spokesman for PSEG Nuclear.

The reactor has four of the pumps which circulate water to cool the nuclear reactor. All four must be in service for the reactor to run.

Officials from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees the operations of the nation's nuclear reactors, are monitoring the situation according to NRC Spokesman Neil Sheehan.

He said it appears that the pump shutdown may have been caused by water leaking onto the pump's electrical system from a cooling unit inside the reactor containment building.

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The Salem 2 reactor is already under heightened NRC scrutiny because of a number of unplanned shutdowns in the past year.

Meanwhile, the neighboring Salem 1 reactor was operating at around 47 percent power Thursday because of an issue with one of the feed pumps on the unit's steam generator.

The unit has two feed pumps which pump water from the condenser back to the steam generator. The plant can continue to operate with just one of those pumps in service.

Delmar said technicians were working to determine the cause of the problem and fix it.

He said there was no estimate when Salem 1 could be ramped back up to full power.

A third reactor operated by PSEG Nuclear at Artificial Island, Hope Creek, remains at full power Thursday, Delmar said.