Nuclear Plant Fires Stoke Nuclear Power Debate

LONDON - Fires in power stations are not unusual, but when they strike nuclear plants, they reignite the debate over whether they should be shut down for good.

A transformer blaze at Spain's Cofrentes nuclear plant on Thursday followed similar incidents in Germany last month and in Sweden last November, which had already alarmed the anti-nuclear lobby.

Experts say these fires posed little threat because they were well away from the reactors, but this will probably not silence nuclear's critics.

There has not been a reactor blaze since Chernobyl more than 20 years ago, although fires around power plants -- especially in transformers -- are something of an occupational hazard.

"This is a very common problem," Umberto Werdine, an operational safety specialist at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

"The situation is that when it burns in a nuclear power plant it's news, but when it burns in a coal or any other power plant there is no news."

Transformers at electricity generation units scattered around the world's power grids are vulnerable to fire because they are cooled by flammable oil as high voltage electricity courses through them. As a result, they are built far from the reactors at nuclear plants.

The Vienna-based IAEA -- which promotes safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies for the United Nations -- monitors all fires and potential safety issues across the globe.
more from Planet Ark