Hope Creek Nuclear Unit Declares Unusual Event Due to Freon Leak in an HVAC Unit in Security Center
29 October 2004 - 5:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
Hope Creek Nuclear Unit Declares Unusual Event Due to Freon Leak in
an HVAC Unit in Security Center No Injuries, No Release of
Radiation, and No Impact on Security LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK, N.J.,
Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PSEG Nuclear said today that an
unusual event was declared today at its Hope Creek generating
station. The unusual event occurred at 10:03 a.m. due to a freon
leak in an HVAC unit in the station security center. The leak
resulted in restricted access to the second floor. Anytime access
restrictions that impact routine plant operations are caused by an
uncontrolled toxic gas release, the requirements for an unusual
event are met. The unusual event was terminated at 1:16 p.m. Hope
Creek has been shut down for refueling and maintenance. However, no
maintenance was being performed when the chiller failed, and no
personnel were in the area. No injuries resulted, and there was no
release of radiation related to the event. Also, there was no
impact on security. The HVAC unit is located on the second floor in
a ventilation room that is normally secured. When the freon leak
occurred, it activated the smoke detector in the ventilation room,
which prompted the control room to contact fire protection to
investigate. Fire protection responded and identified the cause to
be the freon leak. Fire protection personnel proceeded to limit
access to the area, isolated power to the chiller that ended the
leak, and monitored the remainder of the area to ensure personnel
safety. Shortly after the incident, fire protection confirmed the
freon had dissipated and the work environment was safe to enter.
Access restrictions have been lifted and a team will now determine
the cause of the leak and commence repairs. Overall plant security
was not impacted by the unusual event. All local, state and federal
agencies were notified. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT Readers are
cautioned that statements contained in this press release about our
and our subsidiaries' future performance, including future
revenues, earnings, strategies, prospects and all other statements
that are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements for
purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although we believe that our
expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no
assurance they will be achieved. The results or events predicted in
these statements may differ materially from actual results or
events. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from
current expectations include, among other things: the effects of
weather; the performance of generating units and transmission
systems; the availability and prices for oil, gas, coal, nuclear
fuel, capacity and electricity; changes in the markets for
electricity and other energy-related commodities; changes in the
number of participants and the risk profile of such participants in
the energy marketing and trading business; the effectiveness of our
risk management and internal controls systems; the effects of
regulatory decisions and changes in law; changes in competition in
the markets we serve; the ability to recover regulatory assets and
other potential stranded costs; the outcomes of litigation and
regulatory proceedings or inquiries; the timing and success of
efforts to develop domestic and international power projects;
conditions of the capital markets and equity markets; advances in
technology; changes in accounting standards; changes in interest
rates and in financial and foreign currency markets generally; the
economic and political climate and growth in the areas in which we
conduct our activities; and changes in corporate strategies. For
further information, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K
and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. These documents address in
further detail our business, industry issues and other factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated in this release. In addition, any forward-looking
statements included herein represent our estimates only as of today
and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of
any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking
statements from time to time, we specifically disclaim any
obligation to do so, even if our estimates change, unless otherwise
required by applicable securities laws. DATASOURCE: PSEG CONTACT:
Skip Sindoni, +1-856-339-1111, for PSEG Web site:
http://www.pseg.com/
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