An Alert at the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant

Late Wednesday evening the Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency and P-P-L issued an alert at the Susquehanna Power Plant at Salem Township. They say residents are not in any immediate danger at this time.. Residents who have any questions can call the Luzerne County Rumor Control 1-800-821-3716 or Columbia County Rumor Control 570-389-5738. P-P-L just released a statement concerning the situation. PPL STATEMENT: FROM PPL WEBSITE: Activation of Fire Protection System Requires Evacuation of Security Building at Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant The activation of a fire protection system required evacuation of a security control building at PPLs Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Luzerne County, Pa., Wednesday night (3/1). The building is in a non-nuclear area of the plant, and is located about 100 yards from the buildings that house the plants two nuclear reactors. "One security officer was in the building at the time," said Miriam Mylin, public information manager for PPL Susquehanna. "The officer was able to leave safely and no other plant employees were affected." The plants fire brigade responded to the security control structure and found no fire in the building. PPL is investigating why the fire protection system activated, releasing halon and carbon dioxide gas. The event did not require any action by the public, but the evacuation of a security building required the plant to declare an "alert" at 9:27 p.m. An "alert" is the second lowest of four emergency classifications for U.S. nuclear power plants established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Susquehanna plant, located about seven miles north of Berwick, is owned jointly by PPL Susquehanna LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc. and is operated by PPL Susquehanna. PPL Susquehanna LLC is a member of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies. Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation controls about 11,500 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.