I have seen them ramp down on quite short notice... like the time someone hit a seismic monitor with a ball of tape...
That must have been some time ago, I remember instrument panels with no cages or barriers protecting them around the reactor building but that was a while back. That was also back when shielding was done by the RadTech covering the job. Some people would cringe at that now, throwing lead blankets on piping without a shielding package or oversight by operations. A lot has changed in this industry for the good.
To stay on topic at least a little bit in the 70s we were just getting past "Nuclear Power Too Cheap to Meter", "Global Cooling" alarmism, and nuclear plant operators settling law suits out of court for damage caused by an individual stung by an ionized bee from a nuclear power plant. Where will be be in another decade or two?
Time magazine 1977