1 Killed, 3 Hurt Accident at Ark. Nuclear Plant

[jsr]

Source: Associated Press

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. March 31, 2013 (AP) - One worker died and three others were injured Sunday morning when a heavy piece of equipment fell on them at an Arkansas nuclear plant, officials said.

The workers were moving the equipment from the turbine building at an Entergy Arkansas plant in Russellville, about 70 miles northwest of Little Rock. The three injured workers were taken to a hospital. The company stressed that there is no danger to the public.

The Arkansas Nuclear One plant provides about 30 percent of the state's energy demand, according to Entergy.

"We are deeply saddened by what has happened today," said Jeff Forbes, Entergy's chief nuclear officer. "Our greatest sympathy is with the family and friends of the employee who lost his life, and with those who sustained injuries."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/killed-hurt-accident-ark-nuclear-plant-18850328

[TwilightGardener]

1. Sad--but kind of a relief once you read past the title.

I hear "accident at nuclear plant" and think Homer Simpson and Three Mile Island.

[wordpix]

2. you may feel relief but "unusual event classification" & shut down does not relieve me

Whatever happened, it's indicative of ANYTHING that can happen at a nuke plant, whether human-caused or natural disaster like at Fuku.

The "nuclear renaissance" idea needs to be nipped in the bud before the taxpayers are squeezed for billions in guaranteed loans for new nukes.

[NutmegYankee]

3. What happened there can happen at any large industrial site.

And it can certainly happen at any power plant in the country. All have large generators for producing power.

And none of it had anything to do with the heat source for boiling water.

[PolitFreak]

4. ?

Your last sentence.

[NutmegYankee]

5. All thermal power stations use a fuel source to heat water to steam.

And that steam then is used to drive the turbines that spin the generators. Whether Nuclear, Coal, Natural gas, or Oil, all are heating water. The large Solar plants that focus the sun's rays also heat water to steam.

[RobertEarl]

6. Yeah, but

When any of the others gets over heated the problems are pretty limited in comparison to a nuke plant getting too hot.

None of the others sends plumes of radiation around the world like a nuke plant can and has done. All a nuke plant has to do is lose grid power and it can blow sky high.

Downplaying what nukes can do when mistakes happen is really pretty damn lame.