Eight Burned as Nuclear Plant Pipe Bursts
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SURRY, Va. — A pipe ruptured and released hot water and steam Tuesday at Virginia Power’s Surry nuclear power plant, injuring eight construction workers, authorities said. Five workers were critically burned.
The 2:21 p.m. accident in the plant’s turbine building did not involve radioactive material, although the reactor, Unit No. 2, automatically shut down when the accident occurred, said Mark G. Lazenby, a Virginia Power spokesman.
The pipe, about 18 inches in diameter, carries heated water to one of two main pumps that deliver it to three steam generators, which produce electricity, Lazenby said. Another spokesman said the injured were working on the pipe that ruptured.
Ken Clark, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regional office in Atlanta, said the NRC was sending a team of inspectors to the Surry station, about 40 miles northwest of Norfolk.
Both reactors at Surry were running at 100% power when the accident occurred, Clark said. Unit No. 1 remained in operation, he said.
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