Electrical Fault At Oyster Creek Leads To Loss Of Fish

More than 300 fish have died at Oyster Creek due to a fault on an offsite breaker, which led to a power loss at the dilution structure at Oyster Creek Generating Station, said Suzanne D’Ambrosio, spokesperson for Oyster Creek.

The dilution system mixes cool water with clean, warm water, which is then discharged from the plant. The system lost power at about 8 p.m. on Thursday when a JCP&L breaker that feeds the system faulted, D'Ambrosio said.

According to plant procedures, operators immediately responded by reducing reactor power to stabilize water temperatures. Oyster Creek’s Environmental staff also responded to the scene to take action to mitigate the loss of fish, she said.

“Exelon operators and staff immediately took action to make sure the plant continued operating safely and reliably and that environmental impact was minimal,” said Oyster Creek Site Vice President Mike Massaro.

The environmental staff ensures that plant procedures are being followed so that marine life losses are kept to a minimum. They also test the water chemistry and temperature, D’Ambrosio said.

“Although power to the dilution pumps has been restored and the reactor is returning to full power, it will be some time before environmental crews will have confirmed totals of lost fish,” Massaro said.

Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey Sierra Club said this is just one of the examples of the effect that the plant will have on the Barnegat Bay without cooling towers.

“This is another example why this site should have cooling towers or a closed loop system. For the next nine years without a closed loop system or any litigation measures you are going to see more fish kills, an impact on the bay, and the plant causing more environmental damage,” Tittel said.

The Sierra Club has been advocating for the plant to install cooling towers for some time. The Department of Environmental Protection issued Oyster Creek a permit allowing them to operate until the plant closes in 2019 without cooling towers, Tittel said.

“I think this might be unfortunately the first of many more. For the next nine years they get to pollute all they want. Without any litigation measures or a change in their system, there may not be a bay left in nine years,” Tittel said.

Ron Marano, spokesperson for JCP&L, confirmed that a 34,500-volt power line in Lacey Township was damaged at 8:02 p.m. on Thursday after a large bird made contact with it. A substation that provides service to Oyster Creek was impacted.

Approximately 16,000 customers throughout the Lacey and Waretown area were affected, Marano said. All but 2,000 customers had their power restored by 8:25 p.m. The remaining 2,000 had power restored by 10:45 p.m.

JCP&L worked with Oyster Creek throughout last night and today to keep them apprised of any system operations and issues. JCP&L continues to investigate last night’s events and are evaluating the equipment involved, Marano said.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission were notified of the incident.

Oyster Creek is the oldest nuclear plant in the United States, beginning commercial operations on Dec. 23, 1969. The plant is set to close by the end of 2019, 10 years before the plant’s federal operating license expires.

Oyster Creek employs nearly 700 workers and has a 636-megawatt boiling water reactor that provides enough electricity for 600,000 New Jersey homes.