Alert Declared at N.Y. Nuclear Plant

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Alert Declared at N.Y. Nuclear Plant

BUCHANAN, N.Y. (Feb. 16) - A leak in a steam generator at a 
Hudson River nuclear power plant resulted in a brief release of 
radioactive steam but it was below dangerous levels, power 
company officials said.

Consolidated Edison, which owns and operates the Indian Point 2 
plant in northern Westchester County, declared an alert, the 
second of four increasingly serious emergency classifications, 
company spokesman Michael Spall said.

There were no evacuations, Spall said. Buchanan is about 35 miles 
north of New York City.

Officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission were monitoring 
the scene. The air around the plant was measured for radiation, 
and results showed nothing above normal levels, Con Edison said.

The size and duration of the leak had not been measured.

Spall said the plant was shut down, but there had been ''a 
momentary release of radioactive material to the environment, 
below any level that poses a threat to the safety of plant personnel 
or the public.''

Radioactive steam was released for ''a few seconds'' and initially 
was held within the plant's containment building, the sealed 
concrete building that holds the reactor, Spall said. Later it was 
determined that some steam also was released into the air 
surrounding the plant, Spall said.

He described the plant as stable but said the alert would last 
several hours overnight as the shutoff reactor is cooled.

Although county officials activated the emergency operations 
center in White Plains, they were ''confident the situation is under 
control,'' county spokeswoman Adele Dowling said.

The accident occurred at 7:29 p.m. in a tube used to carry hot, 
radioactive, high-pressure water to a pool of cool, non-radioactive 
water, Spall said. When the hot water hits the cool water, steam is 
produced, which turns a turbine and generates electricity.

Federal, state and local authorities were notified, Spall said.

The alert was the first in the plant's 16-year history, Spall said.
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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
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Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/scperle
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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