Six nuclear power plants are in Hurricane Florence's path, officials say
Source: CNN
Federal officials expressed confidence the six nuclear power plants in Hurricane Florence's path are safe, but some experts aren't so sure, warning that flooding and torrential rains could overwhelm their defenses.
The six nuclear power plants in North and South Carolina sit directly in the storm's projected path, according to Mary Catherine Green, spokeswoman for Duke Energy, which owns all six. Duke's Brunswick Nuclear Plant and its Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant near Raleigh, both in North Carolina, are the closest to where the hurricane is forecast to make landfall, Green said.
In a press briefing, Jeff Byard, associate administrator for the FEMA Office of Response and Recovery, said the agency was not concerned about the power plants in the storm's path "at this time." "Those power plants are, one, obviously hardened. Two, they have backup generators for power and we will rapidly assess any impacts to a nuclear power plant post-storm," Byard said in a call with media. "Obviously, it's something that we track and monitor but at this time we're not concerned with any issues pertaining to the nuclear power plants."
However, The Union of Concerned Scientists, a science-oriented public policy organization, is concerned about the Brunswick plant's ability to withstand the storm, because of what the group says is a lack of publicly available information about the plant's readiness. According to the group, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not released public information validating that the plant has been properly updated to protect against flooding.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/12/us/nuclear-plants-hurricane/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_content=2018-09-13T00%3A11%3A05&utm_term=image&utm_medium=social
milestogo
(16,829 posts)Not.
GemDigger
(4,305 posts)diva77
(7,605 posts)This is beyond scary.
saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)It amazes me, don't know why it still should, that so few news outlets even mention this danger. Then again, there really is nothing to be done if the private or public owners have not prepared for this potential disaster.
I think (hope) we will dodge this bullet, but the loss of lives from flooding and other storm related deaths will be heart breaking. imo
rpannier
(24,304 posts)More destructive the second time
Cold War Spook
(1,279 posts)What, do they send everyone home before the hurricane hits so they can board up their windows?
ROB-ROX
(767 posts)I worked at a nuclear reactor. The containment dome is designed to withstand a great force. What is not save is emergency power to run the reactor. I hope they scheduled extra workers to work during the storm? Extra people may be required to provide safety support. Maybe we should just write off these states now???
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)Let's hope none of these plants lose cooling water pumps and that their backup generators are reliable. I am grateful the NRC requires extraordinary procedures in preparation for these events, and that tRump's people don't have their fingers in that pie.
Thank goodness they have plenty of time to prepare and I hope they're ready for a long ordeal.