http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index.php?smp=&lang=engA water leak in the purification system inside the auxiliary building of the Callaway nuclear plant led the utility to declare an "unusual event" around noon on Tuesday. An unusual event is designated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission the lowest of four emergency classifications. It is declared when events that could reduce the level of safety of the plant. AmerenUE said the leak was discovered during normal maintenance operations at the plant, just outside Fulton. There were no injuries and no release of radioactivity above normal operating limits, the St. Louis-based utility said in a statement. The Callaway plant continued to operate normally despite the leak and all federal, state and local agencies have been notified, AmerenUE said. The leak was traced to a valve in a system that processes and purifies water used in certain plant systems. Leakage was captured and contained within water system as designed, the company said.
Situation Update No. 1
On 14.04.2010 at 03:33 GMT+2
No injuries were reported after a radioactive water leak at the Ameren Nuclear Plant in Callaway County, Missouri. A company spokesperson calls it an 'unusual event' and said neither the public nor anyone inside the plant was in danger. The plant is about 100 miles west of downtown St. Louis. The leak was captured by a back-up system and Ameren said the plant is running normally. News 4 dug into company records and found this was the third "unusual event" at Callaway within the last 2 1/2 years. Last February, a hydrogen leak was detected in the turbine building. The building was evacuated as a precaution, but AmerenUE said there was no danger to plant workers or the public. In 2007, the plant also issued the next highest level of public notice an "alert" when a small fire occurred in a transformer. Unusual Event is a term established by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to describe a relatively minor occurrence at a nuclear power plant that could reduce the overall level of safety. At an Unusual Event, no action by the public is advised.
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