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Wednesday, February 26, 1997 Page:
SALEM TWP. — A nuclear reactor at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station
was shut down Tuesday after operators discovered a problem with the unit’s
main condenser, said a Pennsylvania Power & Light Company official.
The Unit 1 reactor was shut down around 5:30 p.m. and will remain out of
commission for about a week while plant personnel make any necessary repairs,
said Herbert D. Woodeshick, special assistant to the president.
The incident at the plant near Berwick did not cause any threat to the
public or the plant, he said. “There is no emergency, no safety concern,” he
said. “`The plant operated as designed.”
The reactor was shut down after operators noticed that “fluctuations in a
system that removes gases from the condenser caused a reduction in vacuum,” he
said. The condenser removes heat from steam leaving the unit’s main turbine.
The Unit 2 reactor remains in service.
The plant is jointly owned by PP&L and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc.