End of an era(s)
Trojan Cooling Tower Toppled
Over a Ton of Explosives Used to Drop Tower
RAINIER, Ore. -- The cooling tower at the Trojan nuclear plant is gone. Demolition crews destroyed the 499-foot cooling tower at Oregon's only commercial nuclear power plant just after seven Sunday morning. With a rumble, the tower leaned to the side and collapsed upon itself - leaving a cloud of dust and a pile of rubble. It took less than ten seconds and roughly a ton of explosives to complete. Portland General Electric ordered the tower destroyed as part of the Trojan decommissioning. The only nuclear plant in Oregon is located about 40 miles north of Portland along the Columbia River.
Yes, I watched them build it, so it was fitting that at 7am, Sunday, I watched them (via TV) destroy it. I remember camping near it in the 70's in the Boy Scouts (that might explain my mutation). Hiking up to the fences to see it up close. I remember the fears in later years about what if Chernobyl happened here, and I remember all the voting to close it for good, to remove the waste producer from 'green' Oregon (well, we did ship the waste WA, and now the rest is bound for NV).
Did you know the tower was built 499 feet tall? Because at 500 feet they would have had to paint it, hence the reason for 499 and budget restrictions.
Homer Simpson works at a nuclear plant (what a happy coincedence) and MANY Simpson references can be found throughout Portland. Ain't it great to have the creator from here?
Live well Portlanders, we now can focus on more pertinent issues...like why DIDN'T the McMenamins buy Trojan and turn it into a brewpub?
Over a Ton of Explosives Used to Drop Tower
RAINIER, Ore. -- The cooling tower at the Trojan nuclear plant is gone. Demolition crews destroyed the 499-foot cooling tower at Oregon's only commercial nuclear power plant just after seven Sunday morning. With a rumble, the tower leaned to the side and collapsed upon itself - leaving a cloud of dust and a pile of rubble. It took less than ten seconds and roughly a ton of explosives to complete. Portland General Electric ordered the tower destroyed as part of the Trojan decommissioning. The only nuclear plant in Oregon is located about 40 miles north of Portland along the Columbia River.
Yes, I watched them build it, so it was fitting that at 7am, Sunday, I watched them (via TV) destroy it. I remember camping near it in the 70's in the Boy Scouts (that might explain my mutation). Hiking up to the fences to see it up close. I remember the fears in later years about what if Chernobyl happened here, and I remember all the voting to close it for good, to remove the waste producer from 'green' Oregon (well, we did ship the waste WA, and now the rest is bound for NV).
Did you know the tower was built 499 feet tall? Because at 500 feet they would have had to paint it, hence the reason for 499 and budget restrictions.
Homer Simpson works at a nuclear plant (what a happy coincedence) and MANY Simpson references can be found throughout Portland. Ain't it great to have the creator from here?
Live well Portlanders, we now can focus on more pertinent issues...like why DIDN'T the McMenamins buy Trojan and turn it into a brewpub?
posted by Homer at 8:09 AM
2 Comments:
Ironic, isn't it, that Oregon leaves the atomic age just as everyone else is scrambling to build more nuclear plants. The media still celebrates the enviros who helped shut Trojan down, even though the environmental community is now pushing nuclear energy because it's cleaner and produces fewer greenhouse gases than carbon-based fuels.
Great site loved it alot, will come back and visit again.
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