Watch CBS News

One Pottstown Nuclear Reactor Shut Down After Electrical Malfunction

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Officials say an electrical malfunction on the non-nuclear side of a suburban Philadelphia power plant has forced one of the two reactors to be shut down.

Exelon Corp. says the malfunction happened around 8 a.m. Thursday at the Limerick Generating Station and caused a temporary loss of power to the plant's main generator cooling pumps. Officials say those are not part of the reactor system and there was no risk to the public.

Station operators took unit 1 out of service so the problem could be fixed. Officials say the unit won't be back in service until they figure out what went wrong, perform repairs and test the system. The station's second unit is operating at full power.

The plant is about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.