Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: NRC Blog Update: Indian Point Transformer Fire

Indian Point Transformer Fire

4 Comments Posted by Moderator on May 12, 2015

Diane Screnci
Senior Public Affairs Officer
Region I

NRC inspectors are following up on a transformer fire at Indian Point Energy Center over the weekend. The NRC Resident Inspectors for Indian Point – who work at the plant on a daily basis – are monitoring activities at the site while plant workers are troubleshooting and looking for the cause of the fire on the Unit 3 main transformer.

The transformer fire happened at about 6 p.m. on Saturday night. A sprinkler system initially extinguished the flames, but it reignited and was put out by the onsite fire brigade and local fire departments. The fire caused the reactor to automatically shut down, as designed. All safety systems worked as designed. There was no danger to the public and no release of radiation. The reactor is stable. Unit 2 continues to operate at full power.

Plant operators declared an “unusual event” – the lowest of the emergency classifications – in accordance with plant procedures. All plants have procedures, approved by the NRC, that dictate how events are classified to ensure appropriate steps are taken to respond to the event and to communicate the event to local and state agencies and the NRC.

In addition to cooling provided by fans, the main transformer is also cooled by oil flowing through it. On Saturday, oil from the transformer spilled into the plant’s discharge canal. Entergy has been working to determine how much oil was spilled.

The transformer that failed carries electricity from the main generator to the electrical grid. The same type of equipment can be found at any plant that generates electricity. It is on the electrical generation side of the plant – not the nuclear side.

As far as next steps go, plant employees will determine what happened and why. They will repair or replace any equipment that was damaged in the fire. The plant can restart when ready. NRC inspectors will be monitoring Entergy’s actions every step of the way, ensuring workers are taking all appropriate actions.

As we do with any event at a plant, we’ll continue to review what happened and how the plant responded. If need be, we’ll send additional inspectors to the site to look further into the event and its effects.

General, Operating Reactors

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4 responses to “Indian Point Transformer Fire”

Deb Reed May 12, 2015 at 1:01 pm
This plant is unsafe and outdated…close it down!!!

Reply
Mike Mulligan May 12, 2015 at 10:16 am
Did the failed transformer have indications of the minor off gassing or contaminants in the oil indicating the transformer was failing prior to the fire? Was there other indications of maintenance problems being unaddressed prior to the fire?
Was it another run-to-failure maintenance philosophe with Entergy?
Should the plant have been shut down before the fire and they replaced the degrading transformer?
Mike Mulligan
Hinsdale, NH

Reply
- Moderator May 12, 2015 at 11:31 am
  The NRC resident inspectors are monitoring Entergy’s investigation into the cause of the transformer failure. We’ll assure their investigation is comprehensive.
  Diane Screnci, Sr. Public Affairs Officer
  
  Reply
- Paul Lindsey May 12, 2015 at 11:54 am
  “Was it another run-to-failure maintenance philosophe with Entergy?”
  What would be Entergy’s incentive to run a major piece of equipment like this until failure? It’s not like there are huge spare transformers just sitting around. Do you think Entergy is saving money with the plant not producing power?
  
  Reply