Nuclear power plant flood berm collapses -near Omaha

[ErikJ]

Source: Power-Gen WW

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is monitoring events at the 500 MW Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant near Omaha after a protective berm holding back floodwaters from the Missouri River collapsed on July 26.

The plant, operated by Omaha Public Power District, remains in a safe mode under an Unusual Event declared on June 6 because of flooding along the river.

The 2,000-foot long water-filled berm collapsed, which allowed floodwaters to surround auxiliary and containment buildings and main electrical transformers. The buildings are designed to withstand water levels of 1,014 ft. mean sea level. Operators also transferred power from offsite sources to the emergency diesel generators as a precautionary measure. The Missouri River is currently at 1,006.3 ft. and levels are not expected to rise above 1,008 ft.

Read more: http://www.powergenworldwide.com/index/display/articledisplay/8550339580/articles/powergenworldwide/nuclear/reactors/2011/06/Fort-Calhoun-flood-berm-collapses.html

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Thom Hartmann has been mentioning this all morning. Cant find much on it in news. Nothing in MSM news.

Edit: Thom Interviewed Paul Gunter just now and ABC GMA? interviewed Paul Gunter this morning on the situation:

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2011/6/27/abc-news-beyond-nuclear-warns-of-flooding-at-ft-calhoun-nucl.html

[snagglepuss]

1. K & R nt

[plumbob]

2. Just had this argument about this very berm last week with a nuKool-aider.

I had posted about another rubber berm that burst, and this person argued in multiple posts that they were completely different, blah, blah, blah.

I told him I'd apologize if I was wrong. I'm sure he's not about do so, even though he was dead wrong.

Nuclear is impossible, no matter how much kool-aid is served. We've got to shut every one down, disassemble and dispose of right now.

[cstanleytech]

3. Nuclear power isnt impossible

it works, now as to if its safe...................lets just say if I had a choice I wouldnt want one within 1000000000000 miles of where i live. :)

[ErikJ]

4. What about the one 93,000,000 miles away?

The only safe one is the sun.

[cstanleytech]

5. That ones probably safer than

a man made one which can have the lowest bidder building it.

[plumbob]

8. Yep, I'm okay with any of them 93,000,000 miles or further away.

THAT's intelligent design!

[AndyTiedye]

10. Even That One is Gonna Do the Big Kablooee on Us Eventually

fortunately for us, it should be some time about 5 billion years from now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun

[w4rma]

18. And that one is going to kill us all, eventually. (nt)

[greiner3]

19. How about the 100 billion suns;

In this galaxy? And how about the 100 billion galaxies, that we know of?

[closeupready]

20. Funny thing about that claim is that sunlight kills - too much leads directly to melanomas

which kill many thousands of people every year.

[boppers]

22. The sun gives people cancer every year.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001853/

[defendandprotect]

11. Every state in US has at least two -- usually old and in poor repair and leaking -- !!

[cstanleytech]

15. I know, in fact I live within 30 miles of one and 60 miles from another.

[saras]

16. That's too far, 92,000,000 miles is far enough

at least as long as we have a functioning ozone layer.

[janet118]

13. There seem to be a plethora of nuke lovers who comment on anything

saying that there might be a problem with nuclear power plants. I live within 5 miles of one and have attended NRC meetings where you can't tell the NRC (who are supposed to be protecting us) from Entergy (the corporation that owns the plant). It's all spin about how we couldn't ever have a tsunami or earthquake so we're safe here.

Well, here's the thing. What happened in Fukushima was that the electricity went out and the on-site, below ground back-up electricity didn't work because it was flooded and it wouldn't have mattered anyway because it only had about two days worth of battery to run the pumps on back-up. So it wouldn't take an earthquake or a tsunami to cause a severe accident. It could be a hurricane or a flood or a terrorist attack with good intell. You just have to knock out the electricity. Nuclear energy is basically using nuclear power to boil water and using electric pumps to keep the reactor and spent fuel rods under cool water.

Nuclear power is one hell of a way to boil water. - Albert Einstein.

[Uncle Joe]

6. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Erik.

[tishaLA]

7. Hartmann just had someone on talking about this

VERY scary.

[ErikJ]

14. Leaks and diesel fuel contamination

From his website "Beyond Nuclear.org "There are now early reports that the flood water is seeping into the Fort Calhoun turbine hall."

He said that its possible water will get into the diesel fuel tanks as well.

[defendandprotect]

9. Takes 6 months to properly shut down our nuclear reactors ... what about the WASTE?

but it takes one year to shut down the FUKUSHIMA designed reactors --


Global Warming is increasing chaotic weather -- droughts/floods --

storms, hurricanes, cyclones, tornados --

and the melting of glaciers is causing earthquakes as pressure of glaciers on tectonic

plates shifts -- and as the displaced water weighs on other tectonic plates --

we will have more earthquakes and of increasing severity --

Glaciers the size of Rhode Island -- and the most recent, the size of Manhattan are falling.


The Mayor of Fukushima 5-6 years ago wanted to shut down the Fuku nuclear reactors

for a number of reasons -- they were old, they were built to withstand only 7.0

earthquakes -- and because Japanese scientists were report increasing seismic activity.

Evidently W sent some "advisers" and the opposing Mayor was replaced with a pro-nuke

Mayor -- and here we are now watching the Japanese suffer this tragedy and wondering

if there will be any end to it --

and wondering what effect it is having on other nations -- including US.


All of this because the MIC wanted to protect itself from "Ban the Bomb!" activists

and needed a "peaceful" use for their new atomic era --

Therefore, we now have 106 US nuclear reactors boiling water to make steam !!

[Ghost Dog]

21. Unregulated short-term greedy crony capitalism does not think

neither in the micro- nor the macro-term.

Just grab what you can while the going's good.

Think: The rape of Byzantium.

Fortunately, the rest of the world remembers, and thinks forward.

[defendandprotect]

23. If we recognize the true threat of Global Warming ....

we need to try to shut down the nuclear reactors --

it's only common sense --

What was that old question -- "Will it end with a whimper or a bang?"

I'd prefer we don't end the atomic era the way we began it --

[AndyTiedye]

12. I Hope They Can Keep This From Going Fuku

k/r

[Plucketeer]

17. Well, if it happened on JULY 26th

then we've got a month to take preventative actions!