Nebraska Nuclear Plant, Flood Berm Collapsed ..

According to this source now run on diesel generators, power was down for some hours end power was restored later in day ..lol

"The berm's collapse allowed floodwaters to wash around the main electrical transformers. As a result, emergency diesel power generators were started. Later in the day, power was restored. "

The Wall Street Journal

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"A protective berm holding back floodwaters from a Nebraska nuclear power plant collapsed early Sunday after it was accidentally torn, surrounding containment buildings and key electrical equipment with Missouri River overflow."
"Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors verified that processes to cool the reactor and spent-fuel pool were unaffected, the agency said in a press release."
"The 484-megawatt Fort Calhoun plant, located 19 miles north of Omaha, had been shut down since April 7 for refueling, and the NRC has said it won't be restarted until floodwaters recede."
"Regulators have been keeping close watch on Fort Calhoun and Cooper Nuclear Station, both operated by the state of Nebraska, as flooding along the Missouri River has become increasingly widespread."
"Two years ago, deficiencies in flood preparation at the plant were found during an inspection, but were remedied."
"The situation in Nebraska has developed amid heightened fears about nuclear safety following the catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. The damage wreaked by an earthquake-triggered tsunami in early March was the cause of a series of explosions and the release of harmful radiation."
"The water-filled berm—not required by NRC regulations— provided supplemental protection. It collapsed at about 1:25 a.m. after it was accidentally torn while work was being performed at the site, according to Victor Dricks, an NRC spokesman."
"The berm, essentially a huge inner tube, subsequently collapsed. Mr. Dricks said he didn't know the exact nature of the work that was underway."
"The auxiliary and containment buildings surrounded by water are protected by design to a floodwater level of 1,014 mean sea level. Missouri River levels aren't expected to exceed 1,008 feet."
"The berm's collapse allowed floodwaters to wash around the main electrical transformers. As a result, emergency diesel power generators were started. Later in the day, power was restored."
"The NRC's Mr. Dricks said temperature monitors were working properly and temperatures of key parts of the nuclear power plant were normal. Water has not seeped into any of the containment structures, he said."
"Even when in shutdown mode, a nuclear plant requires electricity to keep key components cool in order to avoid any degradation or melting of the core that could result in the release of radiation."
"In response to the berm collapse, the NRC has activated its Incident Response Center. The lowest of four levels of emergency notification remain in effect for the plant."
"NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko is scheduled to visit the plant on Monday. Water levels were receding a bit overnight, but weather forecasts are calling for more rain."

I live about 15 miles south of the Ft Calhoun nuke plant. Some friends and I drove through the only open road on the river bluffs on the Nebraska side yesterday. At the highest point, you can see a long, long stretch of the river plain. The sight was absolutely surreal. It was eerily quiet...we only saw one other vehicle. A huge berm that the Corps of Engineers built about a week ago appears to have already collapsed. (On the Nebraska side)
To make the whole experience even more scary, it began pouring rain at dusk and continued into the wee hours. The rain just won't let up.

Of course there are photos of the flooding all over the internet, but seeing it up close and personal is a mind-blower. With each passing day, the governors of both Iowa and Nebraska seem to be agreeing that this disaster is squarely the fault of the Army Corps of Engineers. The corps manages the giant dams along the Missouri. When pressured Saturday for an explanation, one of the corps spokesman simply said: "We had no idea we were going to get this much spring rainfall."

GET THIS: Now they're (the corps) saying that after the College World Series (in Omaha), they'll probably have to let more of the Missouri River loose (dams and levees) and just let it go, flooding more and more. Sadly, it may get much worse.

I'm not one who looks for a conspiracy under every rock, but I don't believe one damn word the media is spouting about 'there's no need to worry'. I'm sure the Corps of Engineers said that before.

Floodwater seeps into Nebraska nuke plant building

OMAHA (AP) -- Missouri River floodwater seeped into the turbine building at a nuclear power plant near Omaha on Monday, but plant officials said the seepage was expected and posed no safety risk because the building contains no nuclear material.

An 8-foot-tall, water-filled temporary berm protecting the plant collapsed early Sunday. Vendor workers were at the plant Monday to determine whether the 2,000 foot berm can be repaired.

Omaha Public Power District spokesman Jeff Hanson said pumps were handling the problem at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station and that "everything is secure and safe."

Source: AP

If memory serves, first they said, don't worry, the flood water won't get high enough. Then they said the berm would keep it out. Then they said, don't worry, even though the berm collapsed the buildings are water-proof and the water can't get in...

I really hope they are right this time, because so far they do not seem to have been right even once.

reply to post by Dalke07


So flood water is not going over 1008 feet and the buildings can handle 1014 feet..

Whats the issue?

reply to post by SFA437


Looking at things, it almost seems as if it ends up being "State" vs. "Federal". Since these power plants are state owned and operated, they want to make sure they are successful in protecting them and the people. What if that puts them directly at odds with the Core of Engineers and the powers that be? I'd like to see it that way, but it seems so scripted, David and Goliath all over again.

Here is another source that pretty much says it is the Army's fault.(near the end of the article)
Source

Originally posted by TheLogicalist
reply to post by Dalke07

 

So flood water is not going over 1008 feet and the buildings can handle 1014 feet..

Whats the issue?

They were supposed to be able to handle 1014 feet. But according to the Associated Press (about an hour ago), at least one of the buildings (the turbine building) is already leaking.

Previous reports have said that the reactors are currently down for refueling and all of the fuel rods are in storage tanks that are open on top. If flood waters leak in and rise to a level above that, it sounds like it would be a fairly big problem.

Originally posted by TheLogicalist
reply to post by Dalke07

 

So flood water is not going over 1008 feet and the buildings can handle 1014 feet..

Whats the issue?

No issue at all.

It is perfectly normal for a nuclear power plant to be surrounded by water, when it is in a submarine!

They put that hydro-berm up just to fill their time because they were bored and had way too much money leftover from gouging consumers. So when it failed, it was no big deal, because it served no purpose to begin with, according to the operators.

Oh, and when they say there was a fire in the switchgear at the plant, they were just BBQing burgers out back.

When they report that the buildings (the flood-proof ones) are leaking water, that simply can't be.... because there are no issues to worry about!

Why the hell dont they just shut that thing down in case something DOES happen? oh right they dont want to lose millions $$ and would rather kill people and since the owners are probably safe in their bunkers it shouldnt matter amirite?

Originally posted by RisenAngel77
Why the hell dont they just shut that thing down in case something DOES happen?

The Fort Calhoun nuclear reactor is shut down. It was already shut down for refueling. The danger is the nuclear fuel ponds, which contain all of the "spent" fuel (still highly radioactive) and which are open on top.

See boys and girls, Nuclear Power is Safe.

Let's continue to build these deathtra... I mean efficient systems for making energy!

Is our modern existence so great that we need to run this terrible risk?

I'd give up eight hours of power a day if we would just use wind and solar, how about you?

It beats this game of roulette we're playing.

I'm not able to start a new thread yet but if someone wants to grab this feel free. I believe this also deserves some attention.

Wildfire spreads to within one mile of Los Alamos lab

i guess alot of people dont understand that the 'spent fuel pools' still need to be cooled and have water circulating thru it. and the fuel rods are still highly radioactive..something like only 3% of the fuel in the rod is used..so that leaves 97% of the fuel in the rods...seems sorta weird

U.S. reactors have generated about 65,000 metric tons of spent fuel, of which 75 percent is stored in pools, according to Nuclear Energy Institute data. Spent fuel rods give off about 1 million rems (10,00Sv) of radiation per hour at a distance of one foot — enough radiation to kill people in a matter of seconds. There are more than 30 million such rods in U.S. spent fuel pools. No other nation has generated this much radioactivity from either nuclear power or nuclear weapons

www.ips-dc.org... _fuel_pools_in_the_us_reducing_the_deadly_risks_of_storage

im so glad the u.s. is always trying to be number one

Originally posted by ypourgos
I'm not able to start a new thread yet but if someone wants to grab this feel free. I believe this also deserves some attention.

Wildfire spreads to within one mile of Los Alamos lab

You have here open thread ..

Fire is very close, look bad end like fire entering town

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Do you think it's possible to have some type of system where we, the people, could volunteer to reduce our personal energy usage, collect those hours and then use that leverage to force our energy companies to fund renewable resources?

Start a energy trading company, and end the nuclear energy rat race!

Less Power to the People! haha

Originally posted by kellynap43
I can’t believe how little this is covered in the Midwest. I live in the Midwest, and outside of this site, I have not heard a peep out of the media. I even wrote to my local news channel and as you can guess no response. I’m sick and tired of media reporting about Hollywood stars and dirty politicians instead of events that actually affect us. It’s so frustrating.

Why would you actually be surprised by this not being covered?

Fukushima which was reported as being not as bad as TMI and never seen again on the MSM has released 70,000 petabequereals of radiation, several orders of magnitude more than Chernobyl but nary a peep despite the jet stream carrying airborne radioactive particulate over CONUS. We have cesium 137 bioaccumulating in milk to the point it is 2000x baseline. Several "impossible" events (said to be impossible by TPTB) have happened since the last MSM news reports we've seen like

Not one but 3 cores undergoing complete meltdown
Not one but 3 cores escaping the RPV
Not one but two cores melting into the basement and bedrock
One core exiting the top of the RPV at high velocity

But we've been told all along by the NRC, IAEA, NISA and TEPCO that there is no danger to health and the plant is under control- just like Ft. Calhoun.

Nothing to see here sheep... oops people... move along... we're here to help you.

fukashima, oh, i mean, the nebraska plant. The water is rising upstream, what does this tell you. HELLO. WATCH fukashima, i mean nebraska plant come alive and blow. REMEMBER, PLEASE REMEMBER THIS, remember when clinton wanted to help japan by using this special cooling agent, lets see if they use it when the shtf.

I tell ya, the ELITES are using this as a way to DEPOPULATE THE PLANET. Don't be surprised if you and all your family members die of cancer. They have an escuse now, it was not us, it was the weather.

So while they were telling us yesterday that everything was a-ok, this really happened:

On June 26, at 1:30 a.m., the 8 foot high, 2,000-foot long (600-meter) flood berm surrounding the plant was punctured by a piece of heavy equipment and collapsed,[20] Missouri River flood waters surrounded the auxiliary and containment buildings at the plant, forcing the shutdown of electrical power. Reuters reported more than 2 feet of water rushed in around buildings and electrical transformers.[21] Backup generators were then used to keep the nuclear material cool.[22] The breaching of the flood berm also resulted in approximately 100 gallons of petroleum being released into the river as many fuel containers were washed out. The fuel/oil containers were staged around the facility to supply fuel for pumps which remove water within the flood containment barriers. [23]

Here's a pic:

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Note the high tech white sandbags protecting the buildings

So let me get this straight:

The aqua-derm gets busted by "some big piece of equipment" crashing into it, and forces the plant to go off the main electrical grid.

No problem, they switched to the BACKUP generators to cool the nuclear waste. But some of the oil barrels fueling the water pumps or generators got washed away.

No problem, they switched back to the main power grid.

Quite boring really.

Considering nuclear energy is over sixty years old, and can cause damage for thousands of years, maybe we should look at some 21st century energy solutions? Nanotechnology engineered solar panels with hydrogen fuel cell batteries for every house and building? Water, geothermal, ocean wave energy? How about fusion or orbital microwave plants?

Source The cited references are interesting, esp. the bland NRC event notifications.

Here's another conspriacy to add to all the flooding in the nation's farmland.

guess the US Gov is gonna start buying up flooded farmland to help out the ravaged farmers. Could this have been a plan all along?

gulagbound.com...