Accident at Indian Point NPP

Indian Point Transformer Fire Causes Hudson River Oil Spill

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo briefed the press after he was briefed by officials at the nuclear power plants in Cortlandt

PHOTO: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo briefs reporters Sunday May 10, 2015 the days after a small fire broke out at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, NY. Joining the Governor are Joseph Martens, Commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Captain Douglas A. Larkin of the New York State Police. On Saturday evening, May 9, 2015, a transformer failed at Indian Point 3, causing the automated shutdown of reactor 3. The fire was quickly extinguished, and the reactor was found to be “safe and stable.” (Office of the Governor - Kevin P. Coughlin)

Patch,

10 May, 2015

A transformer explosion and fire at the Indian Point nuclear power plant yesterday resulted in an oil spill of undetermined size into the Hudson River in Montrose.

SEE: Transformer Fire Shut Down Indian Point Reactor

The transformer actually caught fire twice, according to New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

In addition, the oil in the transformer spilled out, as it was inundated with water by the firefighters and sprinkler system. That oil ended up in the river. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is investigating and will monitor cleanup.

Earlier today, Cuomo received a briefing at the plant on the incident status of the power plant in Cortlandt. Following that briefing, the Governor spoke to the media.

Here is a transcript of his remarks:

Anything that happens at this plant obviously raises concerns. A transformer fire in and of itself was not dangerous, but the fear is always that one situation is going to trigger another, and again there has been a repetition in the number of transformer fires that have happened. The fire was started, they believed the fire had been put out; the heat from the transformer actually reignited, so the transformer went on fire a second time, and it had to be put out a second time.

This plant is the nuclear plant that is closest to the most densely populated area on the globe. If something goes wrong here, it can go very wrong for a lot of people. So it’s always been a priority for us. I was the Attorney General before I was Governor and at that time I was very concerned about the plant. I had serious misgivings, and I made it clear at that time. So now, from an emergency management point of view, if there is any issue we want to make sure we know exactly what it was, what it is, were all the protocols followed, etc.

So you have that issue of safety and security. And then you have a secondary issue, which is the impact on the environment. The transformer is filled with oil. And in the process of putting out the fire, the transformer basically ruptured, discharging oil onto the ground. The oil then goes into a holding tank. In this case it appears that the volume of oil and water exceeded the capacity of the holding tank, and then spilled out onto the ground. The ground empties into the drain system, the drain system goes right into the Hudson River. So you then have a secondary set of concerns about environmental damage from the fire itself.

There is no doubt but that oil did escape from the transformer, there is no doubt that oil did go into the holding tank and exceeded the capacity of the holding tank, and there is no doubt that oil was discharged into the Hudson River. Exactly how much, we don’t know. That will be part of an ongoing investigation. DEC was on site last night and we want to thank them very much for their expeditious service. We have booms in the water now around the discharged pipe to collect any oil that may be in the river. DEC is on site and DEC is also on the river, monitoring this situation.