Junk Plant Cook: "There were a few fires"

Transformer fails, oil spills at Cook

Posted: Sunday, April 10, 2016 6:00 am

Transformer fails, oil spills at Cook By HP Staff The Herald-Palladium | 0 comments

BRIDGMAN — Crews are cleaning up oil at the Cook Nuclear Plant after 2,000 gallons overflowed a berm after a transformer failure, plant officials reported Saturday. Plant spokesman Bill Schalk said there is no impact on production, the transmission grid or customers. Unit 1 is in a scheduled refueling outage and Unit 2 is continuing to produce at full capacity.

The large transformer, which failed Friday afternoon, is stationed between two transmission switchyards and holds 30,000 gallons of cooling oil, Schalk reported. Most of the spill was contained in the berm.

Cook Environmental Manager Jon Harner stated in the news release that none of the oil reached storm drains or Lake Michigan.

“We fully expect to recapture all of the oil and fully restore the area,” he said.

The Cook Fire Brigade, Indiana & Michigan Power Co. transmission workers and local fire departments monitored the transformer overnight as cleanup began, the plant reported. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Berrien County Emergency Management was notified.

“There were a few fires that were quickly extinguished as the transformer drained and cooled,” plant officials stated in a news release.


What caused the transformer failure has not been determined, the plant reported.