Radiation safety

Nuclear plant shuts down unexpectedly in Washington state

A nuclear power plant in southeastern Washington shut down unexpectedly Friday.
The Tri-City Herald reports the Columbia Generating Station's systems detected a problem having to do with electrical distribution and automatically shut the plant down at 6:51 a.m.
Authorities said there is no risk to the public.
The 1,207-megawatt plant is the only commercially operated nuclear power plant in the Pacific Northwest and produces enough electricity to power a city the size of Seattle.
Plant officials are investigating the issue, which involved the main transformer and the electricity distribution system, John Dobken said, spokesman for Energy Northwest.