FitzPatrick nuclear plant put off repairs, now plagued by water leaks
Tim Knauss
SCRIBA, N.Y. - An aging cooling system at the FitzPatrick nuclear plant in Oswego County is springing leaks so often that plant operators had to reduce power 11 times during the first three months of 2014 so that workers could plug the leaks.
FitzPatrick's condenser, which circulates Lake Ontario water for cooling, leaks far more any other U.S. plant, in part because FitzPatrick operators failed to repair the aging equipment, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Now the leaks cause FitzPatrick to reduce power so often that the NRC keeps the plant under heightened oversight.
Nuclear regulators say the leaky condenser does not pose a major safety issue, and the leaks are expected to be resolved by a major repair during a refueling outage later this year.
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