May 29 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Rusty Dennen The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.



Storms that rolled through the Fredericksburg area early yesterday may have triggered the shutdown of one of North Anna Power Station's two nuclear reactors.

"The shutdown occurred during a lightning storm," said Richard Zuercher, spokesman for Dominion power's nuclear operations.

Workers at the plant, near Mineral on Lake Anna, "are evaluating whether lightning may have been a factor," Zuercher said. Unit 2, which recently completed a scheduled refueling, is expected to return to service soon.

According to a report on the incident by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Unit 2 automatically shut down shortly before 4 a.m., after the loss of a station electrical component.

 "This power loss ultimately resulted in one of three pumps used to move cooling water through the reactor core to shut down, which caused the unit to come off line" for safety reasons, Zuercher said.

During the refueling -- done every 18 months and completed last month -- workers replaced about a third of the uranium fuel and installed new turbines.

Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431

Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com

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