Vermont’s congressional delegation has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an investigation into Friday morning’s transformer fire at the Vermont Yankee Plant in Vernon.
The fire was detected shortly before 7:00 a.m. and was declared out an hour-and-a-half later. It was picked up by sensors, which automatically shut the reactor down.
The incident prompted a letter to the chairman of the NRC from Senators Jim Jeffords and Patrick Leahy and Congressman Bernie Sanders. The delegation wrote in their letter,”We believe a fire at the exterior of the plant lasting approximately an hour is a significant event warranting the commission’s full attention and response.”
State and plant officials say there was no release of radioactivity and that no one was injured in the fire, which occurred about 75 yards from the plant. Friday, Vermont Yankee said the low-level emergency was considered to be over.