Scary thought: FIRE at nuke plant

[Josephine96]

Vermont Nuke Plant Shuts Down After Fire

1 hour, 35 minutes ago



By DAVID GRAM, Associated Press Writer

MONTPELIER, Vt. - The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant was shut down Friday after a transformer caught fire in a non-nuclear part of the plant, officials said. The fire was put out, and no radiation was released, they said.



The operators declared an "unusual event," the lowest of four emergency classifications set by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The nuclear reactor was automatically shut down as soon as the fire was detected, plant spokesman Rob Williams said. The cause of the blaze had not been determined.

"Since the fire lasted longer than several minutes, by procedure we declared an unusual event," Williams said.

Ten to 20 gallons of oil from the transformer flowed into the Connecticut River through a storm drain, Williams said. A clean-up crew was called in to contain the spill.

The transformer is used to step up the voltage of the electricity generated at the plant so it can be transmitted more efficiently. Officials did not know how badly it was damaged, and Williams said he could not estimate when the plant might be back on line again.

Williams said the transformer was installed less than two years ago.

An anti-nuclear group, the New England Coalition, quoted what it said was a witness account that the transformer exploded before burning. Williams said he could not confirm the report.

As part of the plant's emergency procedure, officials in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts were notified. The plant is in Vernon, at Vermont's southeast tip near the other two states.

Vermont's lone nuclear plant, which began operations in 1972, is seeking permission from regulators to boost its power output.

In April, about 20 cracks were discovered in the plant's steam dryer, a component that has been prone to cracking at other plants that have increased their output.

Also that month, two fuel rod segments were discovered missing from the plant's spent fuel storage pool. Officials believe they were most likely shipped to a disposal facility.

[Brent]

I heard that on ABC News Radio this morning. Didn't think much of it, but it could have easily been a catastrophe.

[Josephine96]

Thankfully anything catastrophic was avoided..

I remember a movie on TBS called "Atomic Twister" where a plant in TN was nearly blown up by being hit by 2 tornadoes..

[GalvestonDuck]

Darn scary for any of us old enough to remember the news about Chernobyl!