Feb 21 - Associated Press/AP Online

Federal regulators have ordered inspections of all Illinois nuclear power plants following a brief emergency and a series of radioactive leaks at Exelon Corp. plants.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered the inspections Monday after Exelon declared an emergency at its LaSalle Generating Station in rural Brookfield Township, about 55 miles southwest of Chicago.

There were no injuries and no radiation was released, federal and state officials said. But the nature of the incident - an initial reading that three control rods did not go into the reactor - automatically triggered a "site area emergency," which is the second-highest of the four categories in the NRC's emergency response system.

Chicago-based Exelon has come under fire for a series of tritium leaks at three of its plants, some dating back to 1996. The company only recently disclosed the leaks. Exelon says none of the leaks posed a health or safety threat.

Tritium is commonly found in surface water but is more concentrated in water used in nuclear reactors. Studies have shown long-term exposure to high concentrations can lead to cancer and birth defects.