Nation IN BRIEF : NEW YORK : Power Lapse Stirs Reactor Emergency

Loss of power to a warning system at the Nine Mile Point 2 nuclear generator, on Lake Ontario near Oswego, led to the second-highest emergency declaration under federal guidelines. Robert Burtch, speaking for Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., said no siren was sounded and there was no need to evacuate employees or area residents. The reactor was shut down after the 6 a.m. incident and no radiation escaped, officials said. Burtch said a preliminary investigation linked the failure to a malfunction in one of the plant’s 25,000-volt transformers.