PITTSBURGH (AP) — The number of safety violations at Pennsylvania nuclear power plants varies, according to a congressional study awaiting release. The Government Accountability Office report obtained by The Associated Press shows that Exelon Corporation's Limerick plant near Philadelphia had four high-level and 110 low-level violations from 2000 to 2012, while the Beaver Valley plant north of Pittsburgh had three high-level and 113 low-level.
The Susquehanna plant north of Allentown, which is majority-owned by PPL Corp., had the highest numbers: five high-level and 175 low-level. The Peach Bottom plant southeast of Harrisburg, which is owned by Exelon and Public Service Enterprise Group had four high-level and 131 low-level, while Exelon's Three Mile Island in Middletown had two high-level and 126 low-level.
Lower-level violations pose very low risk, such as improper upkeep of a transformer, while higher-level violations range in significance, such as an electrical system that caused a fire.