A transformer caught fire in the non-nuclear part of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear power plant, causing officials to shut it down this morning. The fire
was detected early this morning and the nuclear reactor automatically shut down. There was no release of radiation.
Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant Declares 'unusual Event' After Transformer Catches
Fire
The operators declared an "unusual event," the lowest of four emergency classifications set by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
"There is a deluge system that activated and the local fire departments were called in," Williams said. "Since the fire lasted longer than several
minutes, by procedure we declared an unusual event."
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Transformer fires are nasty - don't want to be caught anywhere near one of those. One of the main transformers at the plant I worked at blew,
sending burning oil 20-30 yards. Not pretty. Those things are a pain to put out, too.
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wasn't there another recent incident at a new mexico nuclear plant??? or was it a power plant? can't remember, but i always pay attention to
incidents like this
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Palo Verde in Arizona recently shut down all three units due to loss of offsite power
[ more]. Things like this actually happen on a rather frequent basis, but it's nothing
to get worried about. Just relatively minor industrial incidents.
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Yeah, but the problem is that last year when he had a streak of chemical and refinery fires, the same statement "things like this are rather
frequent" was made then, and it still didn't make us feel much better...lol.
It's just kind of freaky when a sector starts getting a series of "industrial accidents" all clustered together.
I'll try to take comfort in your statement...but I'm going to keep a look-out too.
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I doubt that a transformer failure could be the result of any terrorism. The oil coolant in them is very flammable when a failure occurs in the sealed
unit itself.
And they do fail.
I had the opportunity to watch an industrial transformer fail at night years ago, and it was like a huge arc welder, visable for many miles away.
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