Unit 3 at the Oconee nuclear plant in South Carolina shut down Thursday after its feedwater system began to malfunction. Small oscillations in the feedwater system emerged just before 6 a.m. and began to grow in magnitude. After manual attempts to stabilize them, operators shut the unit down from full power to prevent an automatic reactor trip, according to a report filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.Afterward, four of the main steam relief valves failed to reseat, according to the report. The plant reduced the main steam system pressure, the valves reseated, and all other systems performed as designed. The plant initiated a post-trip investigation and remained offline Friday. Unit 1 continued to operate at full power, while unit 2 was offline for a refueling outage.In an interview with the Greenville News, an NRC spokesman emphasized that the shutdown at unit 3 did not pose a threat to public safety, and the malfunction occurred on the non-nuclear side of the plant. Oconee 3 is an 846 megawatt Babcock & Wilcox lowered-loop pressurized water reactor first licensed in 1974.
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