RICHLAND, Wash. — A small amount of hydrogen gas ignited in a six-inch flame at a Washington nuclear power plant Thursday when workers cut into a pipe, a spokesman said.
...Columbia Generating Station declared an "unusual event," evacuated plant areas near the pipe for about 90 minutes, and notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
No one was injured in the one second-long "puff" of gas that had been trapped in the pipe in the plant's non-nuclear turbine building, Energy Northwest spokesman Mike Paoli said.
Story: What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk
Paoli said there was "no association whatsoever with the reactor building or radiation."
Workers had shut the reactor down on Saturday to begin the process of changing out the fuel rods, KIRO-TV reported. The bi-annual process takes about 30 to 45 days to complete, the station said.
Story: NRC to review safety of all US nuclear plants
The pipe that released the gas is typically filled with water and hydrogen, which are used to cool the generator, The Olympian reported. Paoli told the newspaper the pipe had been closed and cleaned out — "or so they thought" — at the time of the incident.
An "unusual event" describes a condition that could potentially compromise normal safety levels, the least serious of four NRC emergency classifications.
Video on link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42488215/ns/us_news-environment/
There are 104 nuclear power plants in the continental United States, two of which operate in quake-prone areas and others that are in need of major upgrades. NBC’s Lisa Meyers reports.
...Columbia Generating Station declared an "unusual event," evacuated plant areas near the pipe for about 90 minutes, and notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
No one was injured in the one second-long "puff" of gas that had been trapped in the pipe in the plant's non-nuclear turbine building, Energy Northwest spokesman Mike Paoli said.
Story: What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk
Paoli said there was "no association whatsoever with the reactor building or radiation."
Workers had shut the reactor down on Saturday to begin the process of changing out the fuel rods, KIRO-TV reported. The bi-annual process takes about 30 to 45 days to complete, the station said.
Story: NRC to review safety of all US nuclear plants
The pipe that released the gas is typically filled with water and hydrogen, which are used to cool the generator, The Olympian reported. Paoli told the newspaper the pipe had been closed and cleaned out — "or so they thought" — at the time of the incident.
An "unusual event" describes a condition that could potentially compromise normal safety levels, the least serious of four NRC emergency classifications.
Video on link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42488215/ns/us_news-environment/
There are 104 nuclear power plants in the continental United States, two of which operate in quake-prone areas and others that are in need of major upgrades. NBC’s Lisa Meyers reports.
this is the six nuclear incident in one month: