By Amie Shak
Chicago Daily Herald
Copyright 2006 Paddock Publications, Inc.
Electrical equipment at the Exelon nuclear power plant in Zion failed Tuesday, causing a loud noise and prompting a call to firefighters.
“It has no power now but still made quite a bang,” Zion fire department Battalion Chief Gregory Friedrich said.
Company spokesman Craig Nesbit said the failure did not endanger the spent fuel storage pool at the plant. The plant has not been in use for years but still houses used nuclear fuel.
Nesbit said a lightning arrester failed, which in turn destroyed a transformer. The failure caused a loud sound but there was no fire, he added.
He said the company did not know why the equipment failed.
The plant needs power to maintain the facility. In addition, the equipment is sometimes used as support for the region’s normal electrical grid, and it was being used for that purpose Tuesday.
Electrical demand was high Tuesday because of the soaring heat.
Nesbit said the equipment failure did not affect the main electrical grid or the ability of the plant to maintain itself.
Nesbit said it’s normal procedure to call firefighters in such an incident.
A person who works in the plant was outside the building at the time, and there were no injuries, Friedrich said.