By Charlotte Huffman
NEW HILL, N.C. – Small marks of corrosion and cracking in one of the reactors at the Harris nuclear plant forced Duke Energy Progress to shut the reactor down.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the health and safety of employees or the public are not affected.
NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said Thursday the quarter-inch flaw found at the Harris plant did not penetrate the retaining wall and there is no evidence of radiation leakage.
“It’s premature for the company to assure the public that there was no safety hazard at this point. This is a reactor vessel that has very high pressures pushing outward,” said NC WARN’s Jim Warren.
Warren said the plant being shut down could cost Duke Energy $1 million a day. Warren believes Duke Energy will put the bill on its customers.
