Within just a few seconds, a 540-feet Hyperbolic nuclear cooling tower crumbled in to a massive cloud of dust.
The huge structure came down with explosives and turned into rubble with in seconds.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) owned by Federal Government of United States, brought down one of the massive cooling towers at the abandoned Hartsville Cooling Power Plant in a controlled explosion
According to BBC, TVA officials confirmed that the massive 540-feet tower demolition was well planned.
TVAs used more than 900 pounds of explosives which took less than 10 seconds for this huge tower’s demolition.
The iconic Hartsville cooling tower was demolished to clear space for future developments.
The planned implosion marked the end of a structure built in the 1970s for a nuclear project that was later scrapped.
According to TVA, the tower drew curious visitors and created a safety hazard for years.
Moreover, TVA’S general manager for demolition, Jayme Hobson further informs, “Removing the cooling tower not only eliminates a safety risk, it’s also part of our effort to remove obsolete infrastructure and prepare sites for any future opportunities.”
In addition to that the authorities also informed that, the crew will crush the concrete rubble while recycling the tower’s steel for utilizing it in a better way.
“Even though the cooling tower is gone, we’re preserving everything we can for other uses,” informed Hobson.
TVA refers to the largest public power supplier in the U.S., that provides electricity to the millions in the United States.
The State-owned TVA operates three power plants, Brown ferry, Sequoyah and watts bar so far.
Additionally, the nuclear operations company says the region’s rapid growth is fueling new energy demands, and clearing outdated structures helps pave the way for future projects.
Situated in the heart of Hartsville, Tennessee United States, the 540-feet cooling tower was considered as the most iconic structure in the city, few people also consider it as a monument as of its history, structure and massive appearance.
Hartsville Nuclear plant planned in 1977 was one of the Tennessee Valley Authority TVA’s most ambitious energy projects that were originally designed to house four General Electric BWR-6 Reactors, to design 1233 MWe enough electricity for nearly 4 million homes.
The plant would have been the largest nuclear facility in the world at the time.
The project was TVA’S plan to meet a growing electricity demand in 1970s and 1980s. However, after the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor accident in 1979, public opinion turned sharply against nuclear power and the Hartsville project was officially cancelled the same year.
As the project was cancelled, TVA came forward and cleared the site for future developments.