HARTSVILLE, Tennessee — An iconic Tennessee Valley Authority structure is gone, but video of the implosion of the 540-foot-tall cooling tower, at least, provides a final glimpse of it and an impressive peek into the orderly way big things can be demolished.
The tower in Hartsville, Tennessee — dating to the 1970s, according to Nuclear Newswire, an industry publication — was to have been part of a nuclear power plant that never fully materialized. The tower remained, however, and became a landmark in central Tennessee, according to WTVF, a Nashville television station.
"Some people are upset because they hate to see it go. It's an iconic landmark," Hartsville Mayor Jack McCall told the TV station.
What goes up eventually must come down, though, and officials from the Tennessee Valley Authority imploded the cooling tower on Sept. 18.
"The iconic structure was removed to make the Hartsville site safer and ready for tomorrow's potential opportunities," reads a post on the Facebook page of the federally owned public power provider. Plans for the Hartsville nuclear power facility were scuttled in the 1980s, according to Nuclear Newswire.
The Tennessee Valley Authority prepared a video of the destruction, which offers a look at the implosion from various angles. Impressively, the tall structure — sitting amid a verdant backdrop — falls straight down after the explosives are detonated, creating a cloud of gray dust.
Nuclear Newswire says the concrete and steel from the rubble will be recycled and reused.
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