Control rod power loss spurs Indian Point reactor shutdown

No radioactivity was released into the environment, the company says.

Control room operators shut down the Indian Point 2 reactor around 5:30 p.m. on December 5, owner Entergy Corp. said in a statement, adding the reactor did what it’s meant to do if control rods lose electricity.

A reported power loss to several control rods forced the Unit 2 reactor at the Indian Point Nuclear Facility to shut down Saturday evening. “I have directed the Department of Public Service to investigate and monitor the situation and a team is now en route to Indian Point to begin its work”. Together, the two reactors supply about one-quarter of the power used in New York City and Westchester County.

The company said it’s not yet clear what caused the power problem. This year so far has not been good for Entergy Corporation’s Indian Point power plant.

Despite all these concerns, Entergy Corporation has continued its operations in Indian Point Energy Center, claiming that the nuclear power plant emits fewer gases into the air and contributes less to pollution and global warming. The Associated Press reports Reactor 3 was also shut down in July due to a water pump problem, and the unit’s transformers caught fire in 2007 and 2010.

Dating to the 1970s, both of Indian Point’s reactors are up for relicensing. When a malfunctioning roof fan caused a short circuit, the magnets lost power, and control rods were released into the reactor. The company announced last month that it planned to to lay off half of the 615 employees when the plant shuts down, sometime late next year or early in 2017.