ATHENS - Operators had to shut down the newly-restarted Unit 1 nuclear reactor at TVA's Browns Ferry power plant early this morning after a hydraulic fluid leak caused by a loose fitting.

The shutdown was performed at just after 2 a.m., according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Workers were trying to repair a small leak in the electro-hydraulic control system, when "piping separated" and about 600 gallons of hydraulic fluid "discharged" onto the plant's turbine building floor, according to the NRC.

Craig Beasley, a spokesman for Browns Ferry, said two workers came in contact with the non-radioactive fluid and were taken to a local hospital. Both workers are back at work, he said.

The Unit 1 reactor was restarted early Tuesday morning after 22 years and a five-year, $1.8 billion restart program. Beasley said cleanup of the fluid is ongoing and TVA has not determined when it will restart the reactor.

Beasley said the electro-hydraulic system balances the flow of water into the reactor and the flow of steam and condensation. He said the utility's power ascension testing program - gradually raising power in the reactor and monitoring how it operates - is designed to uncover and address these kinds of problems.

In announcing the Unit 1 restart, TVA said the gradual return of the unit to service will take several weeks, while it undergoes extensive testing.

Posted by Brian Lawson

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2007/05/newly_restarted_nuclear_reacto.html