A radioactive leak at Oconee nuclear power plant has forced the shutdown of one of its reactors.
Emergency officials say the leak was detected Sunday night at the Oconee Nuclear Station in Seneca. The leak occurred in a containment building at a rate of 1/10 of a gallon per minute.
According to Scott Kern with the Oconee County Emergency Management Agency, the incident was small and under control. He also says there are no immediate threats and that the public is not in any danger.
The reactor will remain offline as crews work to fix the leak. One reactor was already shut down for repairs. This leaves one functioning reactor at the plant.
Duke Energy will continue to monitor the situation. They say they don’t anticipate any delays in meeting the needs of customers as a result of the shutdown.
Oconee Nuclear Plant has 177 safety violations since 2000.
