US Nuclear plant and a possible meltdown?

[GostHacked]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304778304576374011963022284.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

WASHINGTON—A nuclear power plant north of Omaha, Neb., on Tuesday briefly lost the ability to cool a pool of used nuclear fuel after a fire at the site, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.

The NRC said the plant recovered cooling ability without activating backup systems and "temperatures in the pool remained at safe levels." The public was not in danger because the plant has been shut down since early April for a refueling outage, the agency said.

Well, seems like they have it under control. But this is the first I hear of it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43450604/ns/local_news-omaha_ne/t/oppd-dispels-nuclear-meltdown-rumors-ft-calhoun/

And judging by how late we got the real info from Japan regarding Fukushima, can we be sure that the media is giving us the truth in this case as well? How often does this stuff happen?

[Topaz]

Here's more on the story and they say its because of the flooding there and its for safety reasons. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/17/us-flooding-nuclear-idUSTRE75G4Z120110617

[Guest American Woman]

....judging by how late we got the real info from Japan regarding Fukushima, can we be sure that the media is giving us the truth in this case as well? How often does this stuff happen?

According to Russia, the "Obama regime" has ordered a "'total and complete' news blackout relating to any information regarding the near catastrophic meltdown of the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant located in Nebraska."

US Orders News Blackout Over Crippled Nebraska Nuclear Plant

If Russia says so, it must be true......

[bloodyminded]

Fortunately, US presidents simply do not have the power to order "news blackouts." It simply doesn't work that way.

I have read and written a lot about Western propaganda generally, and in fact it doesn't work that way. (If it did, it would cease to be effective, actually, as our propaganda depends to an important degree upon press freedoms for its effectiveness.)

[bush_cheney2004]

According to Russia, the "Obama regime" has ordered a "'total and complete' news blackout relating to any information regarding the near catastrophic meltdown of the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant located in Nebraska."

My cousin who lives near Lincoln says that she heard about FEMA death trains being moved into the area.

[Guest American Woman]

My cousin who lives near Lincoln says that she heard about FEMA death trains being moved into the area.

If she heard it from a Russian source, then that, too, must be true - and we should all be very afraid!

[Topaz]

The Japanese reactor, I remember hearing on the news that it was made by a US company and there are still some in the US, I wonder if this was one IF there is anything to the story.

[Guest American Woman]

The Japanese reactor, I remember hearing on the news that it was made by a US company and there are still some in the US, I wonder if this was one IF there is anything to the story.

I doubt if it was "made" by a U.S. company; it sounds as if it was designed by a U.S. Company - GE.

Design of G.E.’s Mark 1 Nuclear Reactors Shows Weaknesses - NYTimes.com

I think the article will answer your questions.

[GostHacked]

I doubt if it was "made" by a U.S. company; it sounds as if it was designed by a U.S. Company - GE.

Design of G.E.’s Mark 1 Nuclear Reactors Shows Weaknesses - NYTimes.com

I think the article will answer your questions.

Well, no matter who builds it, if the plans are not very good, or the design is not very good, then you are going to have problems down the road. They already modified the Mark 1 a couple times as well, because they found out other problems only after a working reactor was built.

But if it is the same design, that could mean very bad things, if it's not under control.

[Shady]

Well, no matter who builds it, if the plans are not very good, or the design is not very good, then you are going to have problems down the road. They already modified the Mark 1 a couple times as well, because they found out other problems only after a working reactor was built.

But if it is the same design, that could mean very bad things, if it's not under control.

It wasn't the design that was the problem. It was Japan's decision to house the cooling generators below sea level, on the bottom floor of the plant. That was not G.E.'s plan or design.

Anyways, I'm not sure, but I think Omaha isn't going to have to worry about tsunamis.

[GostHacked]

It wasn't the design that was the problem. It was Japan's decision to house the cooling generators below sea level, on the bottom floor of the plant. That was not G.E.'s plan or design.

Anyways, I'm not sure, but I think Omaha isn't going to have to worry about tsunamis.

Tsunamis are note the issue in Nebraska, flooding is, and the effects of flooding from a normal flood to a tsunami are practically the same.

However, it was also due to the Japanese using a mix of plutonium and uranium in one of the reactors in which they were not designed. That one was reactor #3 I believe... and we know how big the explosion was at that plant.

But here is Reuters vid of the plant .. they say everything is safe. Now that it is, you will probably hear it more in the news a week or two from now. Now that a crisis has been avoided.

http://www.reuters.com/video/2011/06/20/us-nuke-plant-flood-warning?videoId=216091454&videoChannel=-10169

Ahh I had to search and dig for a CNN article.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/08/nebraska.plant.alert/index.html?iref=allsearch

[GostHacked]

Now here is something interesting for all of you........

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43475479/ns/us_news-environment/

Tritium, which is a radioactive form of hydrogen, has leaked from at least 48 of 65 sites, according to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission records reviewed as part of the AP's yearlong examination of safety issues at aging nuclear power plants.

Leaks from at least 37 of those facilities contained concentrations exceeding the federal drinking water standard — sometimes at hundreds of times the limit.

While most leaks have been found within plant boundaries, some have migrated offsite. But none is known to have reached public water supplies.

The article points out that it would take decades of drinking the water to develop cancer,, but at the same time, saying there is no public health hazard. What .. whut?? I don't care how long it takes to develop cancer, it is a health risk.

[GostHacked]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110626/NEWS01/110629782#flood-wall-fails-at-fort-calhoun

The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station turned to diesel-powered generators Sunday after disconnecting from the main grid because of rising floodwaters.

That move came after water surrounded several buildings when a water-filled floodwall collapsed.

The plant, about 19 miles north of Omaha, remains safe, Omaha Public Power District officials said Sunday afternoon.

Sunday's event offers even more evidence that the relentlessly rising Missouri River is testing the flood worthiness of an American nuclear power plant like never before. The now-idle plant has become an island. And unlike other plants in the past, Fort Calhoun faces months of flooding.

http://www.kmtv.com/story/14978101/flood-berm-collapsed-at-nebraska-nuclear-plant

FORT CALHOUN, Neb. (AP) - A berm holding back floodwater at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station has collapsed.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it's monitoring the Missouri River flooding at the plant, which has been shut down since early April for refueling.

It's a good thing the plant is shut down.

[GostHacked]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxcV0F-H0Vo

Ariel shot of the plant. That's a lot of water.

[Guest American Woman]

The article points out that it would take decades of drinking the water to develop cancer,, but at the same time, saying there is no public health hazard. What .. whut?? I don't care how long it takes to develop cancer, it is a health risk.

But.... but .... You have more of a chance of dying in a car accident than getting cancer and dying as a result of drinking the water.

[GostHacked]

But.... but .... You have more of a chance of dying in a car accident than getting cancer and dying as a result of drinking the water.

Don't worry AW, there is nothing to see here. Nothing.

[Guest American Woman]

Don't worry AW, there is nothing to see here. Nothing.

So the 'we have more of a chance of dying in a car accident than from drinking the water' mindset doesn't apply to this situation? Only terrorism? Only when you think something is a risk?

[GostHacked]

So the 'we have more of a chance of dying in a car accident than from drinking the water' mindset doesn't apply to this situation? Only terrorism? Only when you think something is a risk?

Well as I said, good thing it was shut down for fuel replacement.

[sharkman]

Cases like this make one wonder where the media is. Same with the terror plot in Seattle last week. The MSM is AWOL.

[dre]

So the 'we have more of a chance of dying in a car accident than from drinking the water' mindset doesn't apply to this situation? Only terrorism? Only when you think something is a risk?

You dont even understand the argument youre trying to paraphrase. People who point out that out arent saying that terrorists dont pose a threat. Theyre pointing out that the ammount of money spent mitigating that threat is grossly disproportionate to how serious it is.

[Bonam]

Theyre pointing out that the ammount of money spent mitigating that threat is grossly disproportionate to how serious it is.

Sounds like an argument also applicable to nuclear energy. The costs of complying with regulations, environmental reviews, safety requirements, etc, are already astronomical, and it is already a far safer power source than our other mainstays like coal, oil, and gas. So... the amount spent mitigating any remaining threat from nuclear energy is grossly disproportionate to how serious it is. No?

[dre]

Sounds like an argument also applicable to nuclear energy. The costs of complying with regulations, environmental reviews, safety requirements, etc, are already astronomical, and it is already a far safer power source than our other mainstays like coal, oil, and gas. So... the amount spent mitigating any remaining threat from nuclear energy is grossly disproportionate to how serious it is. No?

I dont know the answer to that question. Clearly theres high inherent risk in nuclear energy compared to many other sources but as you say... a ton of both public and private money has been spent on mitigating those risks and designing safer plants.

[Sir Bandelot]

The costs of complying with regulations, environmental reviews, safety requirements, etc, are already astronomical, and it is already a far safer power source than our other mainstays like coal, oil, and gas.

No?

In a sense you have answered your own question. The reason it is safer is because of the requirements, and their inherent astronomical cost. And that is one reason why it is not so eagerly adopted in the power industry. Experience has shown that the reactors cost much more to operate than was initially projected. They also did not last as long as promised, requiring extensive maintenance and overhauling. The waste problem was not solved. Worse still, the possibility that reactors can be used to make material for nuclear weapons, possibly by our enemies means that there has to be international oversight of reactor facilities. That only adds further to the cost and effort needed to run them.

[GostHacked]

Flooding at one nuclear facility, fires at another.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/28/new.mexico.los.alamos/index.html

A raging wildfire near the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico will keep the facility closed for a second day on Tuesday as firefighters battle brisk winds and warm temperatures, authorities said.

"No other fires are currently burning on Lab property, no facilities face immediate threat, and all nuclear and hazardous materials are accounted for and protected," a statement from the lab said.

Hopefully this one is brought under control.

[GostHacked]

Cases like this make one wonder where the media is. Same with the terror plot in Seattle last week. The MSM is AWOL.

The media sure is quite about this. I don't understand why though.