ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — Unit 1 at the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant was manually shut down last week after three control rods fell into the reactor's core.
Florida Power & Light says Unit 1 at the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant is back at 100% power after being manually shut down Wednesday following what the company called "an equipment issue."
WATCH BELOW: 'No cause for worry': Professor shares thoughts on nuclear reactor shutdown
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, three control rods dropped into the reactor's core, prompting crews to shut the unit down for repairs. FPL says there was no danger to the public or staff, and no customers lost power.
Forrest Blanton lives on the Indian River Lagoon in St. Lucie County, where the plant's towering concrete structures are visible across the water. He said he was relieved by how the situation was handled.
"I was really glad that there were people there to watch that and take care of it," Blanton said.
Blanton also praised the company's openness about the incident.
"They didn't hide it; they're open about it, and so I think they've done a pretty good job," Blanton said.
Dr. Donald Wall, a nuclear engineering professor at the University of Florida, said residents living nearby had no reason to be alarmed.
"There's no cause for worry at all," Wall said.
Wall said staff followed correct safety procedures by shutting the reactor down, comparing the decision to a familiar experience for drivers.
"You might think about it as you're driving down the road, and the check engine light comes on, and so the prudent thing to do is to pull off and stop, because it might just be a burned-out light bulb, and the check engine light just doesn't tell you more than that," Wall said. "Our normal procedure under such circumstances is to just shut down."
Wall also noted the plant has multiple layers of protection built in.
"There's backup after backup after backup," Wall said.
However, Wall pointed to an NRC report of a similar incident in November 2024, in which Unit 1 was also manually shut down after three rods dropped during rod control maintenance. He raised questions about what the two events may have in common.
"What kind of commonality is there between the two?" Wall asked. "What degree of unexpected behavior caused this?"
FPL has not said what caused the recent equipment issue, as the investigation is ongoing.
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