Hydrogen-gas leak shuts Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant
11/9/2012MONROE — DTE Energy's Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant is shut down for an indefinite period because of a hydrogen gas leak in the plant’s water cooling system.
The cause is under investigation, Guy Cerullo, a DTE Energy spokesman, said Thursday. The utility will receive power from other plants until the problem is resolved, he said, adding, “There was no safety issue.” Officials shut down the plant at 9:21 a.m. Wednesday as a precautionary step to keep equipment from overheating.
The plant’s main generator is on the non-nuclear side of the plant and has two separate cooling systems — one uses water and the other uses hydrogen, Mr. Cerullo said. The problem is that a higher-than-normal level of hydrogen gas was leaking into the water cooling system and decreasing its effectiveness.
Viktoria Mitlyng, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the situation is “not a safety concern for the public as far as nuclear energy goes.”