HOUSTON, March 31 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and three others injured Sunday in an accident at a nuclear plant in the U.S. State of Arkansas, the company said.
The company, Entergy, said in a news release that "a significant industrial accident" happened around 7:45 a.m. at its Arkansas Nuclear One plant in Russellville, when a generator stator fell as it was being moved out of a turbine building.
"There has been one confirmed fatality and three additional injuries," the company said, adding "We are deeply saddened by what has happened today," Jeff Forbes, Entergy executive vice president and chief nuclear officer, said in the news release.
"Our greatest sympathy is with the family and friends of the employee who lost his life, and with those who sustained injuries, " it added.
The injured workers have been transported to a nearby hospital, said officials. Entergy and the Arkansas Department of Health said the accident did not affect the plant's reactors. They also said radiation was not involved.
Entergy, which celebrates its 100th birthday this year, is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations.
Arkansas One, operated by Entergy, opened its first unit in 1974. Unit 2 was opened six years later in 1980. The two units combined provide around 30 percent of the state's total energy demand. Unit 1 is in a "refueling outage" and Unit 2 automatically shut down, the plant said in its news release.
The plant is in an unusual event classification, the lowest of four emergency classifications designed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The plant said both units are in a "stable shutdown condition" and pose no danger to the public.
