Allison M. Macfarlane, the chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, talks about her tour of the troubled San Onofre Nuclear Power Station on Monday Jan. 14, 2013 in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The plant located between Los Angeles and San Diego hasn't produced electricity in nearly a year, after a tiny radiation leak led to the discovery of excessive wear on hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
Mass. nuclear plant shuts down during snowstorm
Published: 06:01:35 AM, Sat 09 February 2013 UTC
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says a power plant in Massachusetts has lost power and shut down during a massive snowstorm.
The NRC says the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth experienced an automatic shutdown at around 9:15 p.m. Friday after losing off-site power. Spokesman Neil Sheehan says the plant has declared an unusual event, which is the lowest level of emergency classification.
Sheehan says that the reactor shut down without any problems and that backup generators are powering plant equipment.
The NRC says there's no threat to public safety.
The shutdown came as a major snowstorm began clobbering the New York-to-Boston corridor, knocking out power to more than 300,000 customers in Massachusetts.
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