San Onofre
A nuclear reactor at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station automatically shut itself down because of a mechanical failure, Southern California Edison reported Monday.
Nobody was injured or endangered by the 1 p.m. Sunday shutdown, and radiation was not released into the environment, SCE spokesman David Barron said.
The shutdown occurred when a motor generator failed, cutting off power to electromagnets used to raise and lower the reactor’s control rods, Barron said. Without magnetism to suspend them, the rods lowered themselves into the reactor vessel and halted the reaction process.
The shutdown was the first of the year, Barron said. Last year, the station had three shutdowns, one for each of the three reactors at the station.
Workers have repaired the motor generator and will perform routine maintenance before starting the reactor up again today, Barron said.
San Diego Gas & Electric, which supplies the county with electricity, buys about 25% of its power from the nuclear station, SDG&E; spokesman John Pruyn said. Service was unaffected.
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