Fire reported at nuclear plant

Nebraska Public Power District reported a small fire at its Cooper Nuclear Power Station near Brownville, Neb., which is shut down temporarily for refueling and maintenance work.

NPPD spokesman Mark Becker said today that at about 4 p.m. Monday, a pipe heater had been wrapped around a pipe to warm it up for welding, a practice which results in a stronger weld.

The cord to the heater failed, causing a hot ceramic pellet to fall onto a plastic sheet that had been put in place to prevent bolts or other items from dropping down during maintenance work.

The pellet ignited the plastic, causing a fire that burned a three-inch hole in the plastic sheet, Becker said.

A fire watch person put out the fire within five minutes, but by the time a fire brigade made it to the site and established that the fire was out, more than 10 minutes had elapsed, triggering an automatic report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Becker said there was no damage to the facility or its equipment. Other pipe heaters were taken out of service and examined to make sure they were not defective, he said.