No Radiation Involved in Nuclear Plant Fire
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ATHENS, Ala. — A fire that destroyed a cooling tower at the nation’s largest nuclear power plant did not involve radiation, a spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority said Sunday as officials arrived to investigate the cause of the blaze.
TVA spokesman Craig Beasley said a team of TVA management officials was starting its investigation of the Saturday fire, which swept through a four-story tower at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant.
No injuries were reported in the blaze at the three-reactor facility.
The Browns Ferry plant, which has a maximum output capacity of 3 million kilowatts, has been shut down since March, 1985, while the TVA improves its safety systems.
The blaze at the north end of the tower--one of six used to cool water when the plant is operating--was reported by guards.
Beasley estimated the loss at about $1 million.
“This was an industrial fire. It was not a radiological event,” he said.
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