Ginna Officials Monitoring Nuclear Situation in Japan

By Zack Seward

Rochester, NY – As the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continues to unfold, a spokeswoman for Rochester's local nuclear plant says they are closely monitoring developments in Japan.

But Ginna Nuclear Power Plant near the town of Ontario is not without minor problems of its own.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently notified Ginna that it's one of only 15 nuclear units in the country not performing "at the highest level."

According to Ginna spokeswoman Maria Hudson, the issue stems from a back-up cooling system that failed during testing in the summer of 2009.

The NRC classified the problem as being of "low safety significance," and Hudson says it has since been fixed.

"It's completely repaired at this point," said Hudson. "The NRC came in and did an assessment to make sure that it was cleared up and they said, 'Yes, we agree this is all set.' But the way the NRC works, it doesn't roll off immediately. It won't come off until the end of this year."

Ginna is one of 104 nuclear units operating in the United States.

New York is home to six nuclear reactors located at four nuclear power plants around the state.