NRC: 'Unusual Event' At Oyster Creek Is Over

LACEY TOWNSHIP, NJ - Resident inspectors from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission say the "unusual event" at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant is over, an NRC spokesman said.

The event ended at 11:08 p.m. on Saturday night, after water intake levels were determined to be at acceptable level, spokesman Neil Sheehan said.

Control room operators at the plant declared an unusual event early Saturday morning when water levels in the plant's water intakes dipped too low. The reactor power was reduced to a roughly 70 percent, he has said.

An "unusual event" is the lowest of the NRC's four levels of emergency classification, he said.

Recent weather conditions are thought to have caused the low water intake levels, Exelon spokesperson Suzanne D'Ambrosio said.

Unusually low tides and high winds impacted the water levels in Barnegat Bay and the plant's intake canal, she said.

Plant operators will continue to monitor environmental conditions and make power level adjustments to ensure safety and minimize any impact on aquatic life, she said.

Oyster Creek is the oldest nuclear plant in the United States. It went online on Dec. 23, 1969

Photo: Courtesy of Exelon Corporation