Scary reports out of New York this morning show that America, just like Japan, could be vulnerable to a large scale nuclear disaster.
New York’s Indian Point nuclear power plant was rocked by fire and an explosion on Saturday evening, sending thick black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles.
Fortunately the fire occurred at the non-nuclear side of the plant, some 200 yards away from the reactor building.
“The fire is out and the plant is safe and stable,” Entegy, who runs the plant, said via a spokesperson.
While not on the nuclear side of the plant, one reactor unit did automatically shut down.
No one was injured in the blaze according to federal officials.
While the company claims that there was “no threat to public safety at any time,” and that “all Indian Point emergency systems worked as designed”, fires such as this can lead to a cascading series of failure, as all parts of the plant – nuclear or not – are inter-related.
The issue highlights America’s ageing fleet of nuclear reactors. As the powerplants age they become more prone to failures which could lead to a Fukushima grade catastrophe.
The Indian Point plant houses two nuclear reactors and produces approximately 25% of the electricity for New York City and Westchester County.
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