There are no on-site safety threats at the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in upstate New York, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined following last month’s leak from the facility that created an oil sheen in Lake Ontario.
NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said Monday via email that the oil originated from a vent in the facility’s hydrogen seal system, which drained through the plant’s discharge drain system to the lake. The leak prompted the Coast Guard to shut down a large area of the waterfront on June 26, after the sheen was discovered, according to the Associated Press, which reported that 20 to 30 gallons of oil leaked from the plant.
Citing poor market conditions, plant owner Entergy has stated that it will shut the Oswego County facility down by early 2017. However, utility Exelon is making a push to purchase the plant and continue operation, as the New York Public Service Commission moves forward with clean-energy credits it has proposed for upstate nuclear facilities. If approved, the plan could potentially save FitzPatrick, as well as Exelon’s R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant and Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station.
“Our preliminary assessment was that there were no (on-site) impacts (from the leak), and that the company took timely steps to halt the leakage and then mitigate any off-site impacts,” Sheehan stated, adding that the impact on the aquatic environment is more of an issue for the state and Coast Guard.
