Vandellòs I nuclear incident
The Vandellòs I nuclear Incident was a fire that caused an interruption of the cooling system in the Vandellòs Nuclear Power Plant, Catalonia (Spain) on 19 October 1989.[2]
 Remaining facilities of the Vandellòs I Nuclear Power Plant in 2013. The blue structure, designed to blend into the background, contains the decaying nuclear reactor. | |
| Date | October 19, 1989 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°57′18″N 0°52′34″E |
| Type | INES Level 3: Serious incident. Collapse of the cooling system |
| Cause | Fire in the electric generator |
| Outcome | Nuclear decommissioning of Vandellòs I Power Plant and new safety protocols introduced (plans for the evacuation of civilians, emergency drills...) |
| Charges | 5 high ranks of Hispano Francesa de Energía Nuclear SA (Hifrensa) accused of risk of omission |
| Trial | 1999 |
| Verdict | All charges absolved alleging it was a design error[1] |
At the end of Francoist Spain, France sold Spain a UNGG reactor. This already obsolete energy technology was installed because as a by-product it provided plutonium that could be used to manufacture atomic bombs.[3] Vandellòs I Nuclear Power Plant was inaugurated in 1972 when there were only two operational nuclear power plants in Spain: Garoña and Zorita. Seventeen years after opening, the rudimentary technology produced a mechanical failure in the steam turbine which caused a fire. The cabling of the plant was not fireproof, and the control computer and the cooling system would also receive damage.[4]
A core meltdown was avoided due to the intervention of the Corps of Firefighters of Catalonia and the plant technicians, who were able to extinguish the fire and turn off the nuclear reactor manually. It continues to be one of the most significant nuclear accidents in Western Europe, classified as a serious incident according to the International Nuclear Event Scale. Consequently, the plant would be decommissioned, due to the damage in the systems, and new safety protocols were introduced because the old ones proved to be insufficient.[5]
References
- ACN/DDG, ed. (2009). "Vandellòs I, vint anys de records latents" [Vandellòs I, twenty years of latent memories]. Diari de Girona (in Catalan). Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- Redacció, ed. (19 October 2014). "Fa 25 anys del greu accident a la central nuclear Vandellòs 1" [25 years since the serious accident at Vandellòs I Nuclear Power Plant]. Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (in Catalan). Vandellòs. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- Solé, Albert (18 October 2014). "«25 anys de l'incendi de Vandellòs I: la central construïda per fer bombes nuclears franceses" [25 years since Vandellòs I fire: the power plant built to make French nuclear bombs]. Diari Ara (in Catalan). Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- Sans, Sara (20 October 2009). "Los residuos de la central nuclear Vandellòs I aún no tienen destino" [The waste of Vandellòs I nuclear power plant has not yet reached its destination]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- Pérez Pons, Mercè (18 October 2010). "La nit més llarga de Vandellòs" [The longest night in Vandellòs]. El País (in Catalan). Retrieved 20 October 2017.