The Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky temporarily lost all power Sunday following a storm in the region.
In an occurrence report published Wednesday, DOE said “the Paducah Site experienced a total loss of site power as a result of the severe weather affecting the Shawnee-Marshall 161kV Line that feeds power to the Paducah Site.”
At that point, the shift superintendent for the facility declared an operational emergency and contacted the facility representative. “Due to the total loss of site power, Technical Safety Requirement Limiting Condition of Operation 3.1.1.B was entered due to the loss of power to all Criticality Accident Alarm Systems, resulting in a locked-in trouble alarm condition,” the notice says.
The operational emergency was lifted once power was restored to the site. The facility remained stable, with recovery operations proceeding, DOE said.
The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning Sunday prior to the power loss at Paducah.
The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant operated from the 1950s to 2013 to provide enriched uranium for defense and commercial nuclear programs. It is now being remediated by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management.
