New York: A nuclear power reactor 40 miles (64 kilometers) to the north of New York City was shut down on Saturday (May 9) after a transformer fire, but officials said the plant was stable and there was no threat to area residents.
“Luckily this was not a major situation but the emergency protocols are important,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said during a brief news conference.
“This was a relatively minor situation but when you’re talking about a nuclear power plant there are no really minor situations,” he said.
People in the area reported an explosion and smoke coming from the plant at Buchanan in New York state. But the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said that the fire had been quickly extinguished.
An NRC spokesman said in a statement that the fire occurred at 5:50 p.m. (2150 GMT) and was put out 25 minutes later.
Entergy Corp, the company that operates the facility, also said the plant was stable and there was no danger to the public or to employees.
Several emergency calls earlier reported a loud noise at the plant, which is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, a New York State police spokesman said. He said no injuries were reported.
The transformer fire which triggered the closure of the plant’s Unit 3 reactor was extinguished with no damage to the unit, an Entergy spokesman said. The other Unit 2 reactor continues to operate, spokesman Jerry Nappi said.
He said there was no information yet as to what caused the transformer failure.
The fire was put out by the sprinkler system at the transformer and on-site personnel, he said. The transformers are located around 300-400 feet (90-120 meters) away from the reactor.
Emergency sirens in the area did not sound following the incident, Nicholas Zachary, a governing trustee in the village of Buchanan, said in a phone interview.
The plant, whose origin dates back to the 1960s, has long been controversial because of its proximity to the United States’ largest city. It has 1,050 employees, according to Entergy.
Indian Point is one of 99 nuclear power plants licensed to operate in the United States and which generate about 20 percent of U.S. electricity use, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission website.
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