A false alarm at a nuclear power plant in New Hampshire that caused panic last month was caused by “human error,” an investigation found. Beachgoers were terrified on July 12 when the Seabrook plant’s PA system sent out a verbal alarm over loudspeakers telling people to evacuate the area. A probe by NextEra Energy confirmed that a siren technician’s mistake was to blame for the false alarm, which occurred when the worker inadvertently activated the PA system during what was supposed to be a routine silent test of the plant’s emergency-siren system. The test had previously been conducted every two weeks for 30 years without incident, officials said. NextEra Energy spokesman Bill Orlove said Thursday that the plant had implemented new procedures to avoid a similar mistake in future.
