CHICAGO (AP) — Officials are investigating the events surrounding a power failure at a nuclear reactor in northern Illinois.
Exelon Nuclear's Byron Generating Station shut down Monday morning after the power failure. Steam was vented to reduce pressure after it shut down.
Officials say operators began releasing steam to cool the reactor from the part of the plant where turbines are producing electricity, not from within the nuclear reactor itself. The steam contains low levels of tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen. But federal and plant officials insist the levels were safe for workers and the public.
Diesel generators were supplying the reactor with electricity, though it hasn't been generating power while the investigation continues.
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