SHIPPINGPORT, Pa. -- A leak in a valve at a nuclear reactor in Shippingport, Beaver County, has been resolved and no radioactive release was reported.

The leak in the Beaver Valley Power Station's No. 2 nuclear reactor was discovered at about 3 a.m. Tuesday. It was resolved within an hour.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared the incident an "unusual event," the least of four emergency classifications.

A spokesman for the NRC told Channel 4 Action News that the plant has been shut down for maintenance since October, and a valve was accidentally left open while the cooling system was being taken out of service, which caused water to flow into the pressurized relief tank.

Some 800 gallons of water flowed into the tank -- not enough water to cause any overflow, the spokesman said. Had the water flooded the tank and caused overflow, there would have been a serious problem.

The cause of the problem was determined to be human error, but the plant followed all the correct safety procedures and the situation was fixed quickly, the spokesman said.

Earlier this month, the NRC renewed the licenses for both Beaver Valley reactors for an additional 20 years after finding no safety concerns.

Team 4 found that the most recent inspection report for Beaver Valley shows only a few minor violations.

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