Ft. Calhoun nuclear workers carrying in fuel cans
Jun 28, 2011 16:34:26 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Jun 28, 2011 16:34:26 GMT -5
Ft. Calhoun nuclear workers carrying in fuel cans by hand in order to keep pumps running
Nuclear Plant’s Vital Equipment Dry, Officials Say
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Fort Calhoun nuclear plant, seen from a temporary catwalk across the parking lot that is the only access to the plant. More Photos »
By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: June 27, 2011
FORT CALHOUN, Neb. — When safety regulators arrive for a tour of a nuclear plant, the operators usually give the visitors a helmet, safety glasses and earplugs. When Gregory B. Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, got to the Fort Calhoun plant on Monday morning, the Omaha Public Power District offered him a life jacket.
Technically, what the plant is undergoing is not a flood but a “water event,” as the regulatory commission classifies it. But Fort Calhoun has clearly been outflanked by the Missouri River, first at its front door and now at its back door as well. The only access route to the plant is over a sinuous path of catwalks built over the submerged parking lot and walkways in recent weeks.
Vital equipment like generators, pumps and controls are dry, according to the power company and to Mr. Jaczko, who spent a couple of hours clambering over walls of sandbags and inspecting waterproof barriers, some of which were added in recent months at the commission’s insistence.
In the control room, the commission chairman stopped to look at a display that said, in huge numerals, “1006.46,” referring to how far in feet the Missouri stands above sea level. Another display, in red, showed a squiggly history of the river’s rise.
The Army Corps of Engineers and other experts say the plant is safe for up to 1,014 feet above sea level, which is higher than they expect the water to get. Despite the alarming sight of a plant surrounded by sandbag walls and a dozen pumps sucking in and spitting out water, Mr. Jaczko said later at a news conference that the operators had the situation in hand.
Among the more striking scenery at this plant a few miles north of Omaha was the floating carcass of a 2,000-foot-long rubber berm that was supposed to help protect the plant. A plant worker driving a small earth mover called a Bobcat accidentally sideswiped it early Sunday morning, pulling it open like a zipper.
More at link:
www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/us/28nuke.html?_r=3
Nuclear Plant’s Vital Equipment Dry, Officials Say
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Fort Calhoun nuclear plant, seen from a temporary catwalk across the parking lot that is the only access to the plant. More Photos »
By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: June 27, 2011
FORT CALHOUN, Neb. — When safety regulators arrive for a tour of a nuclear plant, the operators usually give the visitors a helmet, safety glasses and earplugs. When Gregory B. Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, got to the Fort Calhoun plant on Monday morning, the Omaha Public Power District offered him a life jacket.
Technically, what the plant is undergoing is not a flood but a “water event,” as the regulatory commission classifies it. But Fort Calhoun has clearly been outflanked by the Missouri River, first at its front door and now at its back door as well. The only access route to the plant is over a sinuous path of catwalks built over the submerged parking lot and walkways in recent weeks.
Vital equipment like generators, pumps and controls are dry, according to the power company and to Mr. Jaczko, who spent a couple of hours clambering over walls of sandbags and inspecting waterproof barriers, some of which were added in recent months at the commission’s insistence.
In the control room, the commission chairman stopped to look at a display that said, in huge numerals, “1006.46,” referring to how far in feet the Missouri stands above sea level. Another display, in red, showed a squiggly history of the river’s rise.
The Army Corps of Engineers and other experts say the plant is safe for up to 1,014 feet above sea level, which is higher than they expect the water to get. Despite the alarming sight of a plant surrounded by sandbag walls and a dozen pumps sucking in and spitting out water, Mr. Jaczko said later at a news conference that the operators had the situation in hand.
Among the more striking scenery at this plant a few miles north of Omaha was the floating carcass of a 2,000-foot-long rubber berm that was supposed to help protect the plant. A plant worker driving a small earth mover called a Bobcat accidentally sideswiped it early Sunday morning, pulling it open like a zipper.
More at link:
www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/us/28nuke.html?_r=3
