Ammonia Leak At San Onofre Nuclear Plant [Updated]
[UPDATE | Nov. 2, 2011, 9:40 a.m.:
The Level Two alert at the plant was called off shortly after 6 p.m. and normal operations were resumed, the Orange County Emergency Operations center said in a statement.
A Southern California Edison spokeswoman said the leak occurred around 3 p.m. Tuesday. It happened in a make-up water-treatment system in a non-nuclear part of the San Onofre facility. Some plan workers were evacuated for precautionary purposes.
The two units in the plant were functioning normally throughout the day.]
An alarm signaling an ammonia leak went off at San Onofre Nuclear Plant at approximately 3:00 p.m. Tuesday.
The ammonia leak occurred on the non-nuclear side of the plant, in the steam system used to drive the plant's turbines.
The Orange County Emergency Operations Center has announced that the public is not at risk of radiation. Officials have opened up a Public Information Hotline to answer inquiries regarding the ammonia leak at San Onofre Nuclear Plant.
According to the Orange County Sheriff's Dept., there have been no injuries of employees and the leak is currently being contained.
The Sheriff's Dept. is also reporting that they do not believe that any nuclear material has been released.
The emergency operation center has been activated at the nuclear plant, but Southern California Edison stated that there is no immediate danger to the public.
The company evacuated employees in the area near the leak, but other employees remain in other areas of the plant.