Oregon nuke power tower blown up
Another chapter in Oregon’s illustrious history of blowing stuff up was written at 7am on May 21, 2006 — a Sunday morning. 2,800 pounds of explosives were packed into about 3,000 separate holes drilled into the lower half of the cooling tower at the Trojan Nuclear Plant. (Yes, the plant was defunct prior to detonation!) According to Controlled Demolition Inc., which handled the implosion, the Trojan tower is the largest in the nation to be destroyed. The plant closed in 1993 for financial and safety reasons after just 17 years of service. It was Oregon’s first and only nuclear power plant.
The State of Oregon has a proud history of blowing stuff up. Of course, this website focuses on the beloved Exploding Whale of 1970. And in 1999, when the 639-foot New Carissa — loaded with 140,000 gallons of bunker oil — ran aground on the Oregon coast, part of the “solution” was to blow it up, too! (No, we are not making this up!) What will they think of blowing up next?