TMI Reactor Releases Radioactive Steam

A reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant shut down automatically, releasing a small amount of radioactive steam, when a drain valve in a steam turbine failed to open, officials said.

The Unit One reactor was restarted eight hours later and reached 91% of power Saturday night after the valve was repaired, said Doug Bedell, spokesman for GPU Nuclear Corp., which owns the plant.

No emergency was declared, although a small amount of steam containing traces of radioactivity was released into the atmosphere, Bedell said.