Unit 1 of the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley, Ga., was shut down Oct. 29 because of a fire in a transformer outside the turbine building. The reactor was not affected by the fire and the plant is stable.

The company declared a Notification of Unusual Event, the lowest of four emergency classifications, at 1:40 p.m. EDT on the 29th. An NUE is called as a precautionary measure to get emergency personnel prepared to respond should an event escalate. The NUE was terminated at 12:50 a.m. EDT Oct. 30.

The unit automatically shut down in response to the transformer fire and all plant systems functioned as expected. Using plant procedures, operators have placed the unit in a shutdown condition.

Site personnel and the transformer’s automatic fire-suppression system extinguished the fire. Firefighters from the Appling County Fire Department were requested as backup for site personnel and have since been released.

Damage was confined to the immediate vicinity of the transformer, which is not located near the reactor building. There were no threats to other areas of the plant. The transformer is located in an outdoor area where electricity leaving the plant is sent out to the electrical grid.

“Plant operators responded very well to this situation and plant systems functioned as expected,” said Lewis Sumner, Hatch Vice President. “We’re now assessing conditions and developing our repair plan to restore the unit to service.”

Appropriate federal, state and local agencies were notified of the event. This included the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Georgia Emergency Management Agency; Appling, Jeff Davis, Tattnall and Toombs county emergency management agencies; Georgia Environmental Protection Division; U. S. Coast Guard National Response Center and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Some amount of mineral oil from the transformer went into the Altamaha River through the plant’s storm water drainage system as a result of fire suppression activities. Site personnel placed absorption booms in the river to help prevent the mineral oil and water mixture from spreading. The company’s environmental specialists are working with state and federal agencies. No adverse environmental impacts are expected.

Plant Hatch is operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Company, which is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., and is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company. The plant is owned jointly by Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and the City of Dalton.