Tests Suspended at Seabrook Nuclear Plant

SEABROOK, N.H. — Federal regulators suspended low-power tests at the Seabrook nuclear power plant Friday, citing concerns about a reactor shutdown prompted by a malfunctioning valve, a plant spokesman said.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it wants a “thorough review of the reactor shutdown” before low-power tests resume, spokesman Ron Sher said.

The commission believes operators waited “several minutes” too long before shutting down the reactor Thursday, plant executive Edward Brown said in a statement.

“We did not strictly adhere to our test procedures” in response to temperature and pressure changes in various systems, Brown said. He said plant officials would cooperate fully with the NRC inquiry.

NRC spokesmen in Washington and a regional office in Pennsylvania said the agency had done nothing with respect to Seabrook. But Sher said the apparent discrepancy may be semantics and that plant officials were told by telephone that testing could not resume until a commission inquiry was complete.