'Unusual Event' terminated at Vermont Yankee

The "Unusual Event" declared yesterday afternoon at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon was terminated at 5:25 Wednesday evening. The plant continues to operate safely and does not pose any threat to the health and safety of the public, according to a VY statement. A walk down of the plant was conducted and there was no evidence of any impact to components, systems or structures as a result of the sensed seismic event that had its epicenter in Canada.

The unusual event was declared at 2:25 pm Wednesday. The declaration was made after a seismic event was felt at the site. Per the US Geological Survey, the seismic epicenter was located 33 miles north of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It was also felt in the Burlington area as a slight shaking.

Surrounding states were notified of the Vermont Yankee declaration at 2:39 pm. There has been no radioactivity released, related to this event. The plant did not shut down and continued to run normally at 100 percent power.

An unusual event is the lowest of four emergency classifications of events that apply to nuclear power plants as defined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Source: Vermont Yankee. 6.23.2010