Pa. nuclear plant has 3rd unexpected shutdown in 1 week

But eh, all is well, according to the government.

Pa. nuclear plant has 3rd shutdown in 1 week

June 4, 2011 (WPVI) -- Reactors at an eastern Pennsylvania nuclear plant have shut down unexpectedly three times in the past week, but regulatory authorities say no safety problems have been reported.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says Unit 1 of Exelon Nuclear's Limerick Generating Station shut down at 10:15 a.m. Friday. Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said there were no complications and safety systems responded as expected.

Sheehan says investigators are trying to determine the cause of the latest shutdown, which occurred as operators were doing a test involving the turbine.

Yeah they say they KNOW all is well but DON'T KNOW WHY the reactor has shutdown THREE TIMES in the last week... Double speak is awesome isn't it?

We don't know what happened, but we know it's not bad.

I don't know what is more sad, them saying that, or the people who believe it..

Why is this in Japan section if it happened in the US?

Also should I get my radiation suit out or should I wait?

Here is the most recent report straight from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's official .gov website. NRC.gov.
Linked

Event Number: 46906
SPECIFIED SYSTEM ACTUATION - MANUAL REACTOR SCRAM DUE TO DUAL RECIRC PUMP TRIP DURING STARTUP

"Limerick Unit 2 was 'manually scrammed' from 0% power on 5/30/11 at 1150 hours in accordance with plant procedure OT-112 'Recirculation Pump Trip', when both the '2A' and '2B' Recirculation Pumps tripped. The cause of the pump trip is currently under investigation at this time.

At the time of the 'manual' SCRAM: The Reactor Mode Switch was in 'Startup' Mode 2. All control rods were inserted to 'full-in' position (00). Reactor Shutdown was in-progress in accordance with Plant procedure GP-3 'Normal Plant Shutdown'. No primary or secondary containment isolations occurred. "The plant is currently in HOT SHUTDOWN maintaining normal Reactor level with Control Rod Drive (CRD) hydraulic and Reactor Water Cleanup (RWCU) systems."

What is the difference between "Hot" and "Cold" shutdown you ask?
Apparently Hot Shutdown happens when the reactor is above 100degrees C, and is the first phase of a normal shutdown procedure. During this phase apparently the vessel is too hot and too pressurized to open and this limits the cooling options that can be applied.

When Cold shutdown is reached, engineers can open the loop and have far more options available for cooling.