Indian Point 2 Nuclear Plant Explosion

Here's a good Monday morning pick me up.

There was a fire and explosion at the Indian Point 2 nuclear power plant along the Hudson in Westchester county about 25 miles north of New York city. The explosion is said by local media to have involved a primary transformer that converts high voltage generated by the nuclear plant to a lower level for distribution of power to area transmission lines. The Indian Point 2 reactor will remain shutdown while the transformer is repaired,

No release of radiation was reported by plant operator Entergy Corp (ETR). A spokesman quoted by Lohud.com said  "It's a major piece of equipment, and it'll take some time to understand what happened.".

Your blogger lives not far from this plant. As usual everything is a big secret. A reporter who tried to gain access to the plant was told by an Indian Point security worker to leave the area. The local fire department near the plant responded, but arrived to locked gates and were not permitted access. By that point the fire was said to have been contained by the plant's operator.

Indian Point 3, another reactor on the site, remains operational. Indian Point 1 has been offline and mothballed for years.

Indian Point generates a good chunk of electricity for Westchester and New York city. Its foes have tried for years to have it shutdown due to its close proximity to major population centers and its location over an earthquake fault line.