LA Times: Emergency alert called off at Southern California nuclear plant

Emergency alert called off at San Onofre nuclear plant

by Andrew Blankstein and Robert J. Lopez

Los Angeles Times

November 1, 2011 |  7:09 pm

 

Photo: San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Credit: Allen J. Schaben  / Los Angeles Times

Officials ended an emergency alert at the San Onofre nuclear power plant after containing an ammonia leak that prompted the warning, a spokeswoman for Southern California Edison said Tuesday evening.

The Level Two alert at the plant was called off shortly after 6 p.m. and normal operations were resumed, the Orange County Emergency Operations center said in a statement. Utility spokeswoman Lauren Bartlett said the plant's two units were operating normally throughout the day.

Officials have set up a hotline if people have questions about the alert that was declared at the Orange County facility. People are asked to call (714) 628-7085. The hotline will be open until 9 p.m.

Bartlett said the leak occurred about 3 p.m. in a make-up water-treatment system in a non-nuclear part of the facility. As a precautionary measure, some workers were evacuated.

Under federal regulations, there are four emergency levels depending on severity. Level two involves any  "potential substandard degradation in the level of safety of the plant."

"There is no danger to the public at this time," the Orange County Emergency Operations center said.