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Air Conditioning Failures Plague Wolf Creek Power Plant

The Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station, the only nuclear power plant in Kansas, remains shut down due to problems with an air conditioning compressor. The unit is needed to cool safety-related equipment.

Operators shut down the reactor late Wednesday afternoon when they noticed abnormal vibration in the compressor while doing maintenance work.

“We have been faced with some issues this year with our air conditioning unit system," said Cassie Bailey, a Wolf Creek spokeswoman. "This is actually a new compressor that we put into this air conditioning unit earlier this summer.”

Bailey says the plant will likely remain shut down for several days, as workers take an in-depth look at the ongoing problems.

“We’re still doing some troubleshooting on the unit itself to determine what the exact cause is," she said. "The time frame for when the plant will be back online will really depend on the extent of repairs, and the additional investigations that we need to do to make sure there’s no similar issues in the other side of the plant.”

Nuclear Regulatory Commission records show that Wolf Creek shut down last May, and again in June, due to complications with an air conditioning compressor needed to cool safety-related equipment.