St Lucie Nuclear Reactor Unit 1 manually shutdown, 3 control rods drop into core
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Unit 1 at the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant was manually shut down Wednesday morning after 3 control rods dropped into the reactor core, according to a notification filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
The manual reactor trip occurred at 9:47 a.m. EDT on Aug. 13, 2026, while Unit 1 was operating at 100% power. The NRC classified the event as a non-emergency.
"At 0947 EDT on August 13, 2026, with Unit 1 in Mode 1 at 100 percent power, the reactor was manually tripped due to 3 control rods dropping into the core. The trip was uncomplicated with all systems responding normally post-trip. Operations stabilized the plant in Mode 3. Decay heat is being removed by discharging steam to the main condenser using the turbine bypass valves and main feedwater. Unit 2 is not affected," the licensee said.
Unit 2 at the Saint Lucie facility was not affected.
According to the NRC website, Unit 1 remains shut down.