Goodbye Nuclear Flowerpot

Nine seconds end Trojan era: "Under dappled skies and amid taut anticipation, the Trojan Nuclear Plant's 499-foot cooling tower flashed with explosives early Sunday morning, let off a deep farewell kaboom and collapsed.

A huge cloud of pulverized concrete settled within minutes, leveling one of the Northwest's most visible manmade landmarks and leaving only memories of Oregon's brief and troubled experience with nuclear power generation.

The implosion occurred on schedule and as planned, blasting off at 7 a.m. and ending about nine seconds later."