Staff
An ongoing investigation into a blast that rocked the Atikokan generating station last week doesn’t appear to have caused any major damage, according to Ontario Power Generation spokesman Ted Gruetzner.
“It doesn’t appear that there’s been any major damage,” he said of the plant.
The initial investigation found some electrical damage, but no structural damage has been uncovered so far.
The incident last Monday morning (Dec. 1) was sparked by a fire in the coal gallery near the roof of the building. The blaze, in turn, caused a small explosion that blew off some of the building’s outside panels.
Gruetzner also disputed rumours that the plant has made layoffs. “Everyone’s still on the job,” he said.
In fact, Gruetzner said the generating station could be back in operation in a matter of weeks, following the investigation and some repairs.
Roughly 40-50 workers were on site at the time of the blast but no injuries were reported.
Opening in 1985, the Atikokan generating station employs about 90 people, and additional occasional contract workers.
It has one coal-fuelled generating unit with low nitrogen oxide burners, which annually produce enough electricity to supply about 70,000 households.
The generating station temporarily postponed a major overhaul in 2003 to help supply electricity during the blackout of northeastern North America in August of that year.
