02.05.09
The nation's oldest commercial nuclear power plant is back online after a fire over the weekend forced it to shut down.
The owners of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station said Thursday that it was restarted early the day before but will operate at 60 percent of capacity for the time being.
David Benson, a spokesman for the plant's owners, Chicago-based Exelon Corp.A thin coat of oil caused by the fire has been cleaned up from the plant grounds and a nearby canal, Benson said. No fish were killed, he said.
Federal regulators had been poised Wednesday to clear away the last obstacles to the plant getting a new 20-year license but canceled a vote without explanation.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission had scheduled an "affirmation session" for Wednesday afternoon, when it was expected to uphold the findings of an atomic safety panel that found that the steel liner surrounding the nuclear reactor was thick enough to withstand an accident.
Oyster Creek is in the Forked River section of Lacey Township, about 60 miles east of Philadelphia.
The Nine Mile Point Nuclear generating Station near Oswego, N.Y., went online Dec. 1, 1969 - the same day as Oyster Creek - and has already gotten a new 20-year license. But Oyster Creek's license was granted first, technically making it the oldest of the nation's 104 commercial nuclear reactors that are still operating.
It would be 60 years old at the end of the license it is currently seeking.
The plant generates 636 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 600,000 homes a year. It provides 9 percent of New Jersey's electricity.
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