WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D, NY17) called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to conduct an investigation into the transformer fire at the Indian Point nuclear power plant last Saturday evening. She also called for a release of information pertaining to fire safety exemptions that have been provided.
Lowey said on Wednesday the NRC “must conduct its own thorough
investigation” into the factors that led to the most recent fire,
and she wants other information as well.
“I am requesting that the NRC release information pertaining to safety exemptions it has granted the plant, particularly those related to fire suppression,” she said. “It is outrageous that Indian Point would receive any safety exemptions when fires have been a reoccurring problem.”
The transformer fire resulted in the leakage of transformer oil that then overflowed its containment unit and ran into the Hudson River creating a sheen that was expected to dissipate. Environmental remediation was being conducted on the river to contain any potential contamination.
In a letter to the NRC, Lowey said this incident is the latest in a “long history of safety lapses.”
William Mohl, president of Entergy Wholesale Commodities, said “onsite personnel moved aggressively to mitigate any potential condition and began an analysis of the failure.” He said the company takes “our commitment to the environment seriously, and any potential spill of transformer oil into the environment is not in accordance with our standards.”
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