Oil leaked into Hudson River after fire at nuclear reactor near NYC

[Ichingcarpenter]

Oil leaked into the Hudson River on Sunday after a transformer fire and explosion a day earlier at the Indian Point nuclear plant north of New York City, and Governor Andrew Cuomo said he was concerned about environmental damage.

Cuomo visited the plant for a briefing on Sunday. The governor, who in the past has called for the plant to be shut down because of its proximity to densely populated New York City, also visited the plant on Saturday.

When the transformer exploded, it released oil into a holding tank, which then overflowed, sending oil onto the ground and into the river, Cuomo told reporters on Sunday after he was briefed by emergency and plant officials.

He said crews were working to contain and clean up the oil spill but it was not clear yet how much oil had been released.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/oil-leaked-into-hudson-river-after-fire-at-nuclear-reactor-near-nyc/ar-BBjyYCa?ocid=ansnewsreu11

[mackdaddy]

1. I wonder how old the transformer was? Older ones used PCB oils.

these are a big problem, and a know carcinogen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychlorinated_biphenyl

[madokie]

2. I do believe that the older pcb filled transformers have been phased out

a long time ago. I don't have a link to that but I do know its been decades since they've used pcb's in the transformers

[mackdaddy]

3. That is true, but I think many of these transformers last for many decades.

The pole mounted one at my parents house is 45 years old.

[madokie]

4. That seems a little far fetched to me

[mackdaddy]

5. From the Manufacturers specs most Utility transformers have an expected service life of 30 years +

My Dad built their house about 1967, and they are still there (dad is 83 now). I am pretty sure the transformer that was installed at that time is still on the pole. It could have been replace, but I do not think so. Since they are in a rural area, and the transformer only services their house so it would not be stressed and be used below its capacity. It could therefore still be their original transformer.

From what I can tell, they stopped putting PCB oil in transformers about 1979 in the US, after it was shown how toxic it was.

[FBaggins]

6. It was installed in 2007

When the previous unit in that same location failed.

http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML0716/ML071620122.pdf

[mackdaddy]

7. Good, at least there would be no PCBs in the oil.

They stopped using the PCB stuff by 1980 in new units.