Unrelated incidents shut down Vermont, New York nuclear power plants

Unrelated incidents shut down Vermont, New York nuclear power plants

2010-11-08 10:05:50 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- Two unrelated incidents have shut down two Entergy nuclear power plants in Vermont and New York on Sunday, officials said, but there is no threat to public health.

The first incident happened at around 6.39 p.m. EST at Entergy-owned Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of New York City. It supplies around 30 percent of the electricity used by New York City and Westchester County, where it is located.

According to plant officials, a transformer explosion and fire hit Indian Point Unit 2, which was built in 1974. Although few details were released, the transformer is located outside and not near the nuclear reactor itself.

According to The Journal News, a local newspaper, the Verplanck Fire Department responded to the incident at 7.15 p.m. EST but was not allowed onto the grounds and had to wait outside the gates. Only Verplanck Assistant Fire Chief Joseph Curry was later allowed to enter, but did not release details about the incident.

"All I know is we were not needed, and that our department had no hand in any firefighting," Curry told the newspaper. "We were not needed, we were turned away."

The plant has shut down Indian Point 2 until the transformer is fixed, and agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have been notified about the incident.

At around the same time on Sunday, at around 7 p.m. EST, an unrelated radioactive water leak forced the closure of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Vernon, Vermont. It is the state's only nuclear power plant and is also owned by Entergy.

The water leak at the plant was discovered in the system pipe section in the turbine building, a problem which cannot be repaired while the plant is in operation.

"A conservative decision was made to take the plant out of service to perform the repair," said Entergy spokesman Larry Smith.

It is unclear how long the shutdown will last, but it is expected to take at least one day as it takes 13 hours for the plant to cool down. Meanwhile, officials say there is no threat to public health.

Last week, Entergy announced it is in a process to explore the potential sale of the 605-megawatt Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. The company released few details, but said it expects interest from multiple parties.

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