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Author Topic: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?  (Read 19280 times)

Offline thorfourwinds

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Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« on: October 29, 2012, 03:44:15 pm »
America’s oldest
‘Fukushima sister-reactors’
in Superstorm Sandy’s path



Oyster Creek nuclear power station



Let's take a look at typical MSM coverage of this unprecedented superstorm.


Nuclear Plants in Sandy's Path Brace for Storm - ABC News



ABC NEWS
By RANDY KREIDER
Oct. 29, 2012

Quote
The federal government is sending extra inspectors to nine different nuclear power plants in the path of Hurricane Sandy, including Three Mile Island and New York's Indian Point, to make sure the plants are prepared.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the extra inspectors will make sure "plant operators are making the proper preparations." All plants already have two inspectors on site equipped with satellite phones.

In addition to Indian Point, which is north of New York City, and Three Mile Island, the Pennsylvania plant famous for a partial meltdown in 1979, the facilities include the Salem, Hope Creek and Oyster Creek nuclear plants in southern New Jersey; Peach Bottom and Susquehanna in Pennsylvania, Calvert Cliffs in Maryland and Millstone in Connecticut.

"Nuclear power plant procedures require that the facilities be shut down prior to any projected hurricane-force winds on-site," said the NRC.
more





ATTENTION PEOPLE!
SSS (Super Storm Sandy) is the largest, most powerful EVER to make landfall CONUS.

Do not let your guard down even for a minute and warn your friends and neighbors ... this is the real deal.






America’s oldest ‘Fukushima-sister reactors’ in Superstorm Sandy’s path.


11:00 AM EDT Monday
29 October 2012

Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen says that there are actually 26 nuclear plants in the path of the hurricane, and that the spent fuel pools in the plants don’t have backup pumps (summary via EneNews):

But the real danger is a power outage.  As Gundersen said today:

Quote
The biggest problem, as I see it right now, is the Oyster Creek plant, which is on Barnegat Bay in New Jersey. That appears to be right about the center of the storm. Oyster Creek is the same design, but even older than Fukushima Daiichi unit 1. It’s in a refueling outage. That means that all the nuclear fuel is not in the nuclear reactor, but it’s over in the spent fuel pool.

And in that condition, there’s no backup power for the spent fuel pools. So, if Oyster Creek were to lose its offsite power—and, frankly, that’s really likely—there would be no way cool that nuclear fuel that’s in the fuel pool until they get the power reestablished. Nuclear fuel pools don’t have to be cooled by diesels per the old Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations. I hope the Nuclear Regulatory Commission changes that and forces the industry to cool its nuclear fuel pools, as well.
more


Mangomap has a livetracker showing the hurricane’s projected path in relation to nearby nuclear plants:

Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?




(credit: YouDon’tKnowJersey.com)


Nuclear Reactors In New Jersey

There are three Nuclear Power Plants in New Jersey, Hope Creek, Oyster Creek, and Salem. The Salem plant has two Units, the others have one each. The Oyster Creek Power Plant is in Toms River, NJ and was built in 1969. The ‘worst case scenario’ estimates are 46,000 casualties and $80 Billion in property damage. Salem’s Units were built in 1977 & 1979.

The ‘worst case scenario’ for Unit 1 is estimated at 210,000 casualties and $135 Billion in property damage and for Unit 2, 215,000 casualties and $150 Billion in property damage. The Hope Creek Power Plant was built in 1986 and worst case estimates are not available. In addition, there are Nuclear Power Plants in New York State that are in close enough proximity to be an issue.


Quote
With Oyster Creek shut down for refueling starting last week, hot fuel may have been placed in the fuel pool quite recently.

The unit at Oyster Creek is the same as Fukushima Daiichi No. 1: Oyster Creek is one of the oldest US nuclear plants and is the same design as Fukushima unit 1. -SimplyInfo


Remember, Fukushima reactor number 4 was shut down for maintenance when the Japanese earthquake hit. And yet the spent fuel pools at reactor 4 are in such precarious condition that they continue to pose a horrific threat to life as we now experience it on Planet Earth.



(credit: YouDon’tKnowJersey.com)


And this from New Jersey Public Interest Group (NJPIRG)

Quote
“Oyster Creek stores 2-3,000 highly radioactive spent fuel assemblies in a spent fuel pool located directly above the reactor.  The spent fuel pool and the reactor are not structurally robust and are not designed to resist an aircraft attack."
 
 
According to Stephen Lazorchak, a consulting structural engineer and former employee at Oyster Creek, the impact from one 1,000 pound object traveling at 300 mph and hitting the reactor building’s concrete floor near the spent fuel pool at an angle of 30 degrees above horizontal exceeds Oyster Creek’s strongest floor beam capacity by more than 500 percent, and the weakest beam capacity by more than 8,000 percent.   
 
Quote
"The impact of a large aircraft into the reactor building's concrete floor near the spent fuel pool would result in catastrophic building failure, causing a water leak that would uncover the spent fuel assemblies, resulting in burning fuel leaking onto the floors below, damaging vital wiring and equipment needed to shut down the reactor. 

The result of a terrorist attack on Oyster Creek's reactor building would exceed a Chernobyl meltdown event because there is more fuel in Oyster Creek's fuel pool than there was in Chernobyl's reactor.”
source


BTW, we credit Wiki with most of the nuclear power plant site information unless otherwise noted.





Quote
Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station is located near New Jersey’s shoreline in an area forecast to take a direct hit from Hurricane Sandy: “The current ‘track center’ for the landfall path is central New Jersey pointing Sandy in a path that would hit Oyster Creek nuclear station.” -SimplyInfo




(credit:APP.com)


Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station

Oyster Creek nuclear power station is a single unit 636 MWe boiling water reactor power plant located on an 800 acre (3.2 km²) site adjacent to the Oyster Creek in the Forked River section of Lacey Township in Ocean County, New Jersey.

The facility is currently owned and operated by Exelon Corporation and

is the oldest operating nuclear power plant in the United States.

The plant first came online on December 1, 1969, and is licensed to operate until April 9, 2029. The plant gets its cooling water from Barnegat Bay, a brackish estuary that empties into the Atlantic Ocean through the Barnegat Inlet.

Oyster Creek is one of four licensed nuclear power reactors in New Jersey. The others are the two units at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant, and the one unit at Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station. As of January 1, 2005, New Jersey ranked 10th among the 31 States with nuclear capacity for total MWe generated.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Oyster Creek was 133,609, an increase of 35.8 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 4,482,261, an increase of 10.4 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Atlantic City (30 miles to city center), Toms River (10 miles to city center), Lakewood (19 miles to city center), Asbury Park (30 miles to city center), Cherry Hill (42 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Oyster Creek was 1 in 71,429, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.









(credit: wgbh.org)


Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station

Quote
Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station is currently the only nuclear power plant operating in the United States Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is located in the Manomet section of Plymouth on Cape Cod Bay, south of the tip of Rocky Point and north of Priscilla Beach.

Like many similar plants, it was constructed by Bechtel, and is powered by a General Electric boiling water reactor and generator —

a General Electric Mark I reactor of the same type and design as the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

It has a 690 MW production capacity. Pilgrim Station produces about 14% of the electricity generated in Massachusetts.

Quote
Built at a cost of $231 million in 1972 by Boston Edison, it was sold in 1999 to the Louisiana-based Entergy Corporation, part of a complex deal that is the result of deregulation of the electrical utility industry.

On April 11, 1986 a recurring equipment problem forced emergency shutdown of the plant. The resulting issue cost $1.001 billion.

Pilgrim keeps its spent nuclear fuel in an on-site storage pool, waiting for federal direction on the correct disposal process. The Yucca Mountain site in Nevada was being considered for this purpose until its deselection in 2009.

Pilgrim's original license to operate would have expired in 2012. In 2006, Entergy filed an application for an extended operating license (until 2032) with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In May 2012, the NRC approved the 20-year extension; NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko was the lone dissenting vote.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Pilgrim was 75,835, an increase of 40.5 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 4,737,792, an increase of 10.2 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Boston (35 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Pilgrim was 1 in 14,493, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.

Pilgrim’s spent fuel pools contain more radioactive cesium than released by Fukushima, Chernobyl and all nuclear bomb tests combined and Pilgrim has numerous structural problems. And see this.









(Photo: Stamford Advocate)


Millstone Nuclear Power Plant

The Millstone Nuclear Power Station is the only nuclear power generation site in Connecticut. It is located at a former quarry (from which it takes its name) in Waterford. Of the three reactors built here, units two and three are still operating at a combined output rating of 2020 MWe.

The Millstone site covers about 500 acres (2 km²). The power generation complex was built by a consortium of utilities, using Niantic Bay (which is connected to Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean) as a source of coolant water.

Millstone Units 2 and 3, both pressurized water reactors (one from Westinghouse and one from Combustion Engineering), were sold to Dominion by Northeast Utilities in 2000 and continue to operate.

On November 28, 2005, after a 22-month application and evaluation process, Millstone was granted a 20-year license extension to both units 2 and 3 by the NRC.







Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Millstone was 123,482, an increase of 29.5 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 2,996,756, an increase of 9.5 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Hartford (41 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Millstone was Reactor 2: 1 in 90,909; Reactor 3: 1 in 66,667, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.











Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station

Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station is a thermal nuclear power plant located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, New Jersey, in the Mid-Atlantic United States, on the same site as the two-unit Salem Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is owned and operated by PSEG Nuclear LLC. It has one unit (one reactor), a boiling water reactor (BWR) manufactured by GE.

The complex was designed for two units, but the second unit was cancelled in 1981.

The Hope Creek reactor uses the same "Mark I" containment style found in the Fukushima Daiichi NPP and a number of other reactors worldwide,

although other aspects of the plant design differ. It has a generating capacity of 1,268 MWe. The plant came online on July 25, 1986, licensed to operate until 2026. In 2009, PSEG applied for a 20-year license renewal, which it received in 2011.

Hope Creek is one of four licensed nuclear power reactors in New Jersey. The others are the two units at the adjacent Salem plant, and the one unit at Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. As of January 1, 2005, New Jersey ranked 10th among the 31 states with nuclear capacity for total MWe generated. In 2003, nuclear electricity generated over one half of the electricity in the state.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Hope Creek was 53,811, an increase of 53.3 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 5,523,010, an increase of 7.5 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Philadelphia (43 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Hope Creek was 1 in 357,143, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.










(Credit: nuclear-powerplants.blogspot)


Salem Nuclear Power Plant

The Salem Nuclear Power Plant is a two unit pressurized water reactor nuclear power station located in Lower Alloways Creek Township, New Jersey, in the United States. It is owned by PSEG Nuclear LLC and Exelon Generation LLC.

Salem Nuclear Power Plant includes two of the four licensed nuclear power reactors in New Jersey. The others are the one unit at Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, and the one unit at Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station.





A cooling tower is seen at the Salem nuclear power plant known as Artificial Island. (Mel Evans/AP Photo)

Salem shares Artificial Island in the Delaware Bay with the Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Salem was 52,091, an increase of 54.1 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 5,482,329, an increase of 7.6 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Philadelphia (43 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Salem was 1 in 90,909, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.











(credit: wamu88.5)


Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant

The Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant (CCNPP) is a nuclear power plant located on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay near Lusby, Calvert County, Maryland in the Mid-Atlantic United States.

The plant, owned and operated by CENG, a joint venture between Exelon and Électricité de France, has two 2700 megawatt thermal (MWth) Combustion Engineering Generation II two-loop pressurized water reactors. Each generating plant (CCNPP 1&2) produces approximately 850 megawatt electrical (MWe) net or 900 MWe gross. Each plant's electrical load consumes approximately 50 MWe.

These are saturated steam plants (non-superheated) and are approximately 33% efficient (ratio of 900 MWe gross/2700 MWth core). Only the exhaust of the single high pressure main turbine is slightly superheated by a two stage reheater before delivering the superheated steam in parallel to the three low pressure turbines. Unit 1 uses a General Electric designed main turbine and generator, while Unit 2 uses a Westinghouse designed main turbine and generator. The heat produced by the reactor is returned to the bay, which operates as a cooling heat-sink for the plant.

Unit 1 went into commercial service in 1975 and Unit 2 in 1977. The total cost of the two units was approximately 766 million USD.

Unit 1 had its two steam generators replaced in 2002 and its reactor vessel closure head replaced in 2006, while unit 2 had its two steam generators replaced in 2003, and its vessel closure head replaced in 2007.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 US population within 10 miles (16 km) of Calvert Cliffs was 48,798, an increase of 86.4 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 2,890,702, a decrease of 2.0 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Washington, D.C., (45 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Calvert Cliffs was Reactor 1: 1 in 100,000; Reactor 2: 1 in 83,333, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.









(Photo credit: Maggie’s Notebook)


North Anna Nuclear Generating Station

The North Anna Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on a 1,075-acre (4.35 km2) site in Louisa County, Virginia, in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The site is operated by Dominion Generation company and is jointly owned by the Dominion Virginia Power corporation (88.4%) and by the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (11.6%).

The plant has two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors which went on-line in 1978 and 1980 respectively. Together the reactors generate 1.79 gigawatts of power, which is distributed mainly to the greater Richmond area and to Northern Virginia. In March 2003, the NRC approved 20 year license extensions for both Units 1 & 2.

An artificial lake, Lake Anna, was constructed on the North Anna River to provide a reservoir of water coolant for use with the nuclear plant.

Dominion currently owns nuclear power plants in Virginia (North Anna, Surry), Connecticut (Millstone), and Wisconsin (Kewaunee). North Anna is similar in design and appearance to Surry Power Station.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of North Anna was 21,396, an increase of 15.7 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 1,912,015, an increase of 22.6 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Richmond (40 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at North Anna was 1 in 22,727, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.[9][10]

According to the USGS, two distinct seismic zones are located in Virginia. The Central Virginia Seismic Zone and the Giles County Seismic Zone. Both of these zones produce recurrent small earthquakes at least every few years.[11] The North Anna Nuclear Generating Station, located 40 miles north west of Richmond, lies within the Central Virginia Seismic Zone.

Known fault lines
During the construction of original nuclear reactors at North Anna, the utility learned of the existence of fault lines within the construction site of the proposed plants from its outside independent engineering firm, Stone & Webster, who had been hired by the utility to access the proposed nuclear plant locations. The utility was fined $32,000.00 by the government for concealing this information.

Yikes!

As if the fine changed the potential of those now-known fault lines...

Quote
According to local Virginia media station, WHSV, "The two North Anna reactors are among 27 in the eastern and central U.S. that may need upgrades because those plants are more likely to get hit with an earthquake larger than the one on which their design was based, according to a preliminary Nuclear Regulatory Commission review."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended the operating licenses of these plants for an additional 20 years back in 2003. Dominion has publicly stated that on-site, spent-nuclear-fuel long-term storage canisters shifted during the earthquake along with various building cracks, all while maintaining such damage does not represent unsafe operating conditions. As of December 20, 2011, both units at North Anna Power Station have restarted, and are operating at full power.









(Photo credit: dom.com)


Surry Nuclear Power Plant
Surry Power Station is a nuclear power plant located in Surry County in southeastern Virginia, in the South Atlantic United States. The power station lies on an 840-acre (3.4 km²) site adjacent to the James River across from Jamestown, slightly upriver from Smithfield and Newport News. Surry is operated by Dominion Generation and owned by Dominion Resources, Inc.

The plant has two triple-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactors which went on-line in 1972 and 1973 respectively. Each reactor produces approximately 800 megawatts of power, for a combined plant output of 1.6 gigawatts. Surry Power Station draws its condenser cycle water directly from the James River, removing the need for the imposing cooling towers often associated with nuclear plants...

The station site was originally designed for four units; however, only two reactors were built. With increasing energy demands in the United States, it is possible that more reactors will be built at Surry in the next few decades. In 2003, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) extended the operating licenses for both reactors from forty to sixty years.

The Surry plant is similar in appearance and design to its "sister plant" North Anna Power Station, located northwest of Richmond in Louisa County, Virginia.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Surry was 127,041, an increase of 21.9 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 2,292,642, an increase of 13.9 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Virginia Beach (47 miles to city center), Norfolk (30 miles to city center), Richmond (50 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Surry was 1 in 175,439, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.








« Last Edit: October 29, 2012, 07:26:46 pm by thorfourwinds »
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Offline thorfourwinds

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2012, 03:51:56 pm »


(credit: politico.com)



Author's Note: Indian Point is widely recognized as one of the nation’s worst nuclear plants. If Indian Point melted down, it could close New York City for years - possibly forever -  and cost north of 500 billion dollars.


Indian Point Energy Center

Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) is a three-unit nuclear power plant station located in Buchanan, New York just south of Peekskill. It sits on the east bank of the Hudson River, 38 miles north of New York City. The plant generates over 2,000 megawatts of electrical power, comprising as much as 30 percent of the electricity used in New York City and Westchester County.

The plant is owned and operated by Entergy Nuclear Northeast, a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation, and includes two operating Westinghouse pressurized water reactors – designated Indian Point 2 and Indian Point 3 – which Entergy bought from Consolidated Edison and the New York Power Authority respectively. The facility also contains the permanently shut down Indian Point Unit 1 reactor.

There is a debate between Entergy and various opponents over whether the two Indian Point reactors should continue to operate beyond 2014 and 2016, when their initial 40-year operating licenses are scheduled to expire. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving toward granting a 20-year extension for each reactor, while Governor Andrew Cuomo wants them shut down at the end of their current license periods.

Spent fuel
Indian Point stores used fuel rods in two spent fuel pools at the facility.

According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Indian Point spent fuel pools, which contain more nuclear material than the reactors, "have no containment structure".

While the spent fuel pools at Indian Point are not stored under a containment dome like the reactor, they are contained within a 40-foot-deep pool and submerged under 27 feet of water. The spent fuel pools at Indian Point are made of concrete walls that are four to six feet wide with a half-inch thick stainless steel inner liner. According to Jonathan Alter, the pools are located in bedrock, not above-ground as at many other plants including the Japanese ones.

Earthquake risk
In 2008 researchers from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have located a previously unknown active seismic zone running from Stamford, Connecticut, to the Hudson Valley town of Peekskill, New York - the intersection of the Stamford-Peekskill line with the well known Ramapo Fault - which passes less than a mile north of the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

The Ramapo Fault is the longest fault in the Northeast, but scientists dispute how active this roughly 200 million-year-old fault really is. Many earthquakes in the state’s surprisingly varied seismic history are believed to have occurred on or near it. Visible at ground level, the fault line likely extends as deep as nine miles below the surface.

Indian Point was built to withstand an earthquake of 6.1 on the Richter scale, according to a company spokesman. Entergy executives have also noted "that Indian Point had been designed to withstand an earthquake much stronger than any on record in the region, though not one as powerful as the quake that rocked Japan".

Evacuation
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Indian Point was 272,539, an increase of 17.6 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 17,220,895, an increase of 5.1 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include New York (41 miles to city center); Newark, N.J., (39 miles); Stamford, Conn., (24 miles); Bridgeport, Conn., (40 miles).

In an interview, Entergy executives said they doubt that the evacuation zone would be expanded to reach as far as New York City.





We will provide the same information on the following ASAP:

       >      Peach Bottom
       >      Seabrook
       >      Limerick
       >      Three Mile Island
       >      Susquehanna
       >      Brunswick
       >      Vermont Yankee – which has around 10 times more spent fuel rods
                than any of the individual Fukushima reactors

and updated information on SSS landfall vs. aging US reactors


FYI (again from Wiki)

      
Quote
The coolant water must be highly pressurized to remain liquid at high temperatures. This requires high strength piping and a heavy pressure vessel and hence increases construction costs. The higher pressure can increase the consequences of a loss-of-coolant accident.

The reactor pressure vessel is manufactured from ductile steel but, as the plant is operated, neutron flux from the reactor causes this steel to become less ductile. Eventually the ductility of the steel will reach limits determined by the applicable boiler and pressure vessel standards, and the pressure vessel must be repaired or replaced.

This might not be practical or economic, and so determines the life of the plant.


Yet, all 20-year license extension renewal requests have been granted... rubber-stamped as it were by the NRC.

Quote
Following shutdown of the primary nuclear reaction, the fission products continue to generate decay heat at initially roughly 7% of full power level, which requires 1 to 3 years of water pumped cooling. If cooling fails during this post-shutdown period, the reactor can still overheat and meltdown.

Upon loss of coolant the decay heat can raise the rods above 2200 degrees Celsius, whereupon the hot Zirconium alloy metal used for casing the nuclear fuel rods spontaneously explodes in contact with the cooling water or steam, which leads to the separation of water into its constituent elements (hydrogen and oxygen).

In this event there is a high danger of hydrogen explosions, threatening structural damage and/or the exposure of highly radioactive stored fuel rods in the vicinity outside the plant in pools (approximately 15 tons of fuel is replenished each year to maintain normal PWR operation).

NRC: Operating Nuclear Power Reactors (by Location or Name)

FYI

The following 23 U.S. plants have GE boiling-water reactors (GE models 2, 3 or 4) with the same Mark I containment design used at Fukushima, according to the NRC's online database:






   • Browns Ferry 1, Athens, Alabama, operating license since 1973, reactor type GE 4.
   • Browns Ferry 2, Athens, Alabama, 1974, GE 4.
   • Browns Ferry 3, Athens, Alabama, 1976, GE 4.
   • Brunswick 1, Southport, North Carolina, 1976, GE 4.
   • Brunswick 2, Southport, North Carolina, 1974, GE 4.
   • Cooper, Brownville, Nebraska, 1974, GE 4.
   • Dresden 2, Morris, Illinois, 1970, GE 3.
   • Dresden 3, Morris, Illinois, 1971, GE 3.
   • Duane Arnold, Palo, Iowa, 1974, GE 4.
   • Fermi 2, Monroe, Michigan, 1985, GE 4.
   • FitzPatrick, Scriba, New York, 1974, GE 4.
   • Hatch 1, Baxley, Georgia, 1974, GE 4.
   • Hatch 2, Baxley, Georgia, 1978, GE 4.
   • Hope Creek, Hancock's Bridge, New Jersey, 1986, GE 4.
   • Monticello, Monticello, Minnesota, 1970, GE 3.
   • Nine Mile Point 1, Scriba, New York, 1969, GE 2.
   • Oyster Creek, Forked River, New Jersey, 1969, GE 2.
   • Peach Bottom 2, Delta, Pennsylvania, 1973, GE 4.
   • Peach Bottom 3, Delta, Pennsylvania, 1974,  GE 4.
   • Pilgrim, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1972, GE 3.
   • Quad Cities 1, Cordova, Illinois, 1972, GE 3.
   • Quad Cities 2, Moline, Illinois, 1972, GE 3.
   • Vermont Yankee, Vernon, Vermont, 1972, GE 4.

And these 12 newer GE boiling-water reactors have a Mark II or Mark III design:

   • Clinton, Clinton, Illinois, 1987, GE 6, Mark III.
   • Columbia Generating Station, Richland, Washington, 1984, GE 5, Mark II.
   • Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, Mississippi, 1984, GE 6, Mark III.
   • LaSalle 1, Marseilles, Illinois, 1982, GE 5, Mark II.
   • LaSalle 2, Marseilles, Illinois, 1983, GE 5, Mark II.
   • Limerick 1, Limerick, Pennsylvania, 1985, GE 4, Mark II.
   • Limerick 2, Limerick, Pennsylvania, 1989, GE 4, Mark II.
   • Nine Mile Point 2, Scriba, New York, 1987, GE 5, Mark II.
   • Perry, Perry, Ohio, 1986, GE 6, Mark III.
   • River Bend, St. Francisville, Louisiana, 1985, GE 6, Mark III.
   • Susquehanna 1, Salem Township, Pennsylvania, 1982, GE 4, Mark II.
   • Susquehanna 2, Salem Township, Pennsylvania, 1984, GE 4, Mark II.



Must-Watch Video On Unsafe American Nuclear Plants

Must-Watch Video On Unsafe American Nuclear Plants


Peace Love Light

tfw
   

Liberty & Equality or Revolution







« Last Edit: October 29, 2012, 04:06:43 pm by thorfourwinds »
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Offline biggles

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2012, 04:25:54 pm »
Could Haarp be to blame.
I know that I know nothing - thanks Capricorn.

Offline thorfourwinds

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2012, 07:11:43 pm »

(Photo: nuclearstreet.com)


Peach Bottom Nuclear Generating Station

Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, a nuclear power plant, is located 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Harrisburg in Peach Bottom Township, York County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River three miles north of the Maryland border.

The Philadelphia Electric Company (later shortened first to PECO Energy and later to just PECO) became one of the pioneers in the commercial nuclear industry when it ordered Peach Bottom 1 in 1958. The U.S.'s first nuclear power plant (the Shippingport Reactor) had gone on line a year earlier. Peach Bottom Unit 1 was an experimental helium-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor. It operated from 1966 to 1974. The other two units, General Electric boiling water reactors, placed on-line in 1974, are still in operation on the 620-acre (2.5 km2) site. Both Units 2 and 3 are rated at 3,514 megawatts thermal (MWth), equivalent to about 1,180 megawatts of electricity (MWe) each. Their licenses run until 2033 (Unit 2) and 2034 (Unit 3).

Peach Bottom is operated by the Exelon Corporation and is jointly owned by Exelon (50%) and Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) Power LLC (50%).

Peach Bottom was one of the plants analyzed in the NUREG-1150 safety analysis study.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Peach Bottom was 46,536, an increase of 7.2 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 5,526,343, an increase of 10.6 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Baltimore (36 miles to city center).

Safety concerns
In 1987, PECO was ordered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)to shutdown Peach Bottom-2 and -3 on March 31, 1987 due to operator misconduct, corporate malfeasance and blatant disregard for the health and safety of area.

Among the incidents cited by the NRC: security guards were overworked, and one guard was found asleep on the job; 36,000 gallons of "mildly radioactive water" leaked into the Susquehanna River; PECO mislaid data on radioactive waste classification causing misclassification of a waste shipment; at the turbine building on March 4, 1987, Unit 3 a major fire occurred at the maintenance cage.

In September 2007, former employee Kerry Beal videotaped Peach Bottom security guards sleeping on the job. Beal had previously tried to notify supervisors at Wackenhut Corp. and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He was eventually fired during the Exelon security transition, a decision which made a list of the 101 "dumbest moments in business" in the Jan 16, 2008 issue of Fortune.

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Peach Bottom was 1 in 41,667, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.









The Seabrook Station nuclear power plant behind the Blackwater River in Seabrook, New Hampshire (Photo: ThePessimus)


Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant

The Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant, more commonly known as Seabrook Station, is a nuclear power plant located in Seabrook, New Hampshire, approximately 40 miles (64 km) north of Boston and 10 miles (16 km) south of Portsmouth. Two units (reactors) were planned, but the second unit was never completed due to construction delays, cost overruns and troubles obtaining financing. The construction permit for the plant was granted in 1976 and construction on Unit 1 was completed in 1986. Full power operation of Unit 1 began in 1990. Unit 2 has been canceled and most of its major components sold to other plants.

The plant was originally owned by more than 10 separate utility companies serving five New England states. In 2002, most sold their shares to FPL Energy (a subsidiary of FPL Group), later known as NextEra Energy Resources. NextEra Energy now owns 88.2% of Seabrook Station. The remaining portion is owned by municipal utilities in Massachusetts.

The station is one of five nuclear generating facilities operated by FPL Group. The other four are St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant and Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station operated by sister company Florida Power & Light (a regulated utility), and the Duane Arnold Energy Center and Point Beach Nuclear Generating Station operated by NextEra.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Seabrook was 118,747, an increase of 10.1 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 4,315,571, an increase of 8.7 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Boston (40 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Seabrook was 1 in 45,455, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.









(Photo: Exelon)


Limerick Nuclear Power Plant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Limerick Generating Station in Pennsylvania is located next to the Schuylkill River in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, northwest of Philadelphia. The facility has two General Electric boiling water reactor (BWR) units, cooled by natural draft cooling towers. When conditions are right, these cooling towers emit enough water vapor to be seen as far away as Centralia in Columbia County.

The two units are capable of producing almost 1,200 megawatts of power each, which combined would provide electricity to over 2 million households. Exelon Corporation owns and operates this facility.

For critical standby power, Exelon depends on eight Fairbanks Morse Opposed Piston 38D 8 1/8 Emergency Diesel Generator sets that deliver 26 MW of power and are capable of achieving rated speed within ten seconds of start.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Limerick was 252,197, an increase of 18.7 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 8,027,924, an increase of 6.1 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Philadelphia (28 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Limerick was 1 in 18,868, according to an NRC study published in August 2010. Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011, government regulators announced the plant would undergo further evalutions for seismic activity risk.











Susquehanna Steam Electric Station - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, a nuclear power station, is in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, just south of Shickshinny, in Salem Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is operated by PPL and has two General Electric boiling water reactors on a site of 1,075 acres (4.4 km²), with 1,130 employees working on site and another 180 employees in Allentown, Pennsylvania. While PPL operates the facility, Harrisburg-based Allegheny Electric Cooperative purchased 10% of the plant in 1977.

Susquehanna produces 63 million kilowatt hours per day. It has been in operation since 1983. The prime builder was Bechtel Power Corporation of San Francisco, California. In the plant's first emergency, an electrical fire erupted at a switch box that controls the supply of cooling water to emergency systems. No injuries were reported following the 1982 incident.

Roughly 10,000 gallons of radioactive water spilled at the Station's Unit 1 turbine building after a gasket failed in the filtering system in 1985.

In November 2009, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) extended the operation licenses of the reactors for an additional 20 years.

In 2008, PPL filed an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to build and operate a new nuclear plant under consideration near Berwick, Pennsylvania. The Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant would be built near the company’s existing two-unit Susquehanna nuclear power plant. A decision by PPL on whether to move forward with the Bell Bend plant will not be made for several years.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Susquehanna was 54,686, an increase of 3.3 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 1,765,761, an increase of 5.5 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Wilkes-Barre (18 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Susquehanna was 1 in 76,923, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.












Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station

Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (TMI) is a civilian nuclear power plant (NPP) located on Three Mile Island in the Susquehanna River, south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It has two separate units, known as TMI-1 and TMI-2.

The plant is widely known for having been the site of the most significant accident in United States commercial nuclear energy, on March 28, 1979, when TMI-2 suffered a partial meltdown. According to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the accident resulted in no deaths or injuries to plant workers or members of nearby communities. The reactor core of TMI-2 has since been removed from the site, but the site has not been decommissioned.

Three Mile Island is so named because it is located three miles downriver from Middletown, Pennsylvania. The plant was originally built by General Public Utilities Corporation, later renamed GPU Incorporated. The plant was operated by Metropolitan Edison Company (Met-Ed), a subsidiary of the GPU Energy division. During 2001 GPU Inc. merged with FirstEnergy Corporation, through the sale of its outstanding common stock.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

Surrounding population
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Three Mile Island was 211,261, an increase of 10.9 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 2,803,322, an increase of 10.3 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Harrisburg (12 miles to city center), York (13 miles to city center), Lancaster (24 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Three Mile Island was 1 in 25,000, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.









(Credit: ANSnuclearcafe)


Vermont Yankee – has around 10 times more spent fuel rods than any of the individual Fukushima reactors...


Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant

Vermont Yankee is a General Electric boiling water reactor (BWR) type nuclear power plant currently owned by Entergy. It is located in the town of Vernon, Vermont, in the northeastern United States, and generates 620 megawatts (MWe) of electricity at full power. The plant began commercial operations in 1972. It provided 71.8% of all electricity generated in Vermont in 2008, which is 35% of the overall electricity used in the state. The plant is situated on the Connecticut River just above the Vernon Hydroelectric Dam. The reservoir pool created by the dam serves as the source of Vermont Yankee's cooling water.

The plant's operating license ran out in March 2012, and the question of whether its license will be renewed is complicated by the fact that Vermont is the only state in which the state government has a say in nuclear plant licensing, rather than just the federal government.

In February 2010, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 against re-licensing of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant after 2012, citing radioactive tritium leaks, misstatements in testimony by plant officials, a cooling tower collapse in 2007, and other problems. On March 21, 2011 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued their renewal of the operating license for the Vermont Yankee plant for an additional 20 years.; the renewed license will expire March 21, 2032. As of April 2012, its request for a new state certificate of public good is pending before Vermont regulators.

There have been many anti-nuclear protests about Vermont Yankee since the 1970s. In March 2011, following the Japanese Fukushima nuclear disaster, 600 people gathered for a weekend protest outside the Vermont Yankee plant. In March 2012, more than 130 protesters were arrested at the Brattleboro, VT offices of Entergy, the corporate owners of the plant, after more than 1,000 protesters marched over three miles from the Brattleboro downtown area to the protest site.

Spent fuel
Vermont Yankee's spent fuel pool is nearing capacity. Since there is no projected date for operations start for the national long-term nuclear waste storage facility at the nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain Repository, Entergy Nuclear obtained approval for dry-cask storage to avoid exceeding the pool's licensed capacity; this allows for continued operations to store additional spent fuel, beyond the original operating license term, ending in 2012. In lieu of relocation of spent fuel to an operating national nuclear waste repository, some of the spent fuel has been transferred to "dry-storage" casks on site; most of the spent fuel continues to be stored in the spent fuel pool.

Vermont Yankee began the first stage of its dry-cask storage program in May 2008. The first 97 short tons (88 t) fully loaded cask was accidentally dropped onto the refueling floor from a height of about 4 inches (100 mm), after being raised from the spent fuel pool. The accident was attributed to failure of a relay in the 110 short tons (100 t)-rated overhead crane. (The crane reportedly was tested in 1975 for only about 70% of the weight of a fully loaded cask.) In August 2008, Vermont Yankee successfully completed the first stage of its dry-storage program with the transfer of the fifth cask from the reactor building to a storage pad located above the 500-year floodplain of the Connecticut River. A large specially-designed cask-moving machine transports casks to the pad. Each cask contains 68 spent fuel assemblies.

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Vermont Yankee was 1 in 123,457, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Vermont Yankee was 35,284, an increase of 1.4 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 1,533,472, an increase of 2.9 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Brattleboro (6 miles to city center); Keene, N.H., (16 miles to city center); Fitchburg, Mass., (38 miles to city center), Greenfield, Mass., and Northampton, Mass.











Brunswick Nuclear Generating Station

The Brunswick nuclear power plant, named for the county in which it is located, covers 1,200 acres (4.9 km²). The site is adjacent to the town of Southport, North Carolina, and to wetlands and woodlands, and was opened in 1975.
The site contains two General Electric boiling water reactors, which are cooled by water collected from the Cape Fear River and discharged into the Atlantic Ocean.

The majority owner (81.7%) and operator of the Brunswick nuclear plant is the Progress Energy Corporation. The North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency owns the remaining 18.3%.

The Brunswick plants' proximity to the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean allowed the designers to take in cooling water from the Cape Fear river and discharge it into the Atlantic off the coast of Oak Island. Fish, crustaceans, and other debris are removed from the cooling water via a filtration system. The water then flows through the nuclear plant and discharges into a five mile long canal which passes under the Intra-Coastal Waterway at one point.

Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Brunswick was 36,413, an increase of 105.3 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80 km) was 468,953, an increase of 39.6 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Wilmington (18 miles to city center).

Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Brunswick was 1 in 66,667, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.






This is certainly an eye-opener...


Eyeballing 104 Nuclear Reactors at 63 Power Plants


« Last Edit: October 29, 2012, 07:34:24 pm by thorfourwinds »
EARTH AID is dedicated to the creation of an interactive multimedia worldwide event to raise awareness about the challenges and solutions of nuclear energy.

Offline astr0144

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #4 on: October 29, 2012, 08:28:48 pm »
Amazingly well put together thread Fourwinds...

I don't know how you managed to obtain so much information and prepare it in such a short time.

Is this the October Surprise that has been talked about !

I prey that it does not effect any Nuclear reactors on the East Coast !


Offline The Matrix Traveller

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2012, 08:41:50 pm »
The Problem lays in primates lusting after Energy...

We should Decommission ALL Nuclear Power Plants and Learn
about our Real Selves and what we are really experiencing, instead of getting deeper and deeper

into the Pit

of  "Sledge Hammer Technologies".

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML1OZCHixR0[/youtube]

We don't need Electrical Energy or any other Energy !

There is a far better way !

Learn to Access

The Most Powerful "Computer System"
ever Produced
instead of trying to Reinvent   the Wheel.

The Most Powerful Computer Processor
that has ever been produced by LIFE is there to be usedNOT  abused.

"Nuclear Energy", is like those Chimps in the above movie;

"Smashing Bones".

Time to STOP acting like "Primates"

and Get Real.

Or does the human species really want to Self Destruct

Time for Intervention   I think !   :D
« Last Edit: October 29, 2012, 09:02:04 pm by The Matrix Traveller »

ShotInTheDark

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2012, 09:44:05 pm »
I have lived near Three Mile Island my whole life we call it TMI. Recently a moth or so ago they put a new alarm system in that is incredibly loud. I have not heard it Im 25 miles away but my nephew hears it when they test it and its loud. Also we have had alot of crazy things going on in York PA recently

One Is the NAVYS Spy Blimp has been all around this are ,New Jersey , Md, Pa all around the areas being hammered by the storm right  now!!
Here's a pic of the balloon and a link from Alex Jones show about the Blimp!!

http://www.infowars.com/navy-blimp-filmed-hovering-over-new-jersey-towns/

Any Thoughts??

We have been experiencing explosions that make your house feel like its been hit by a Mack Truck that are very deep in the earth and they happen at 5am  strange times before the majority of people are out of bed. My theory is it could be HAARP reverberating off the earths Core. Kind of like feedback from a speaker. I've been telling Woody about this for a while now. Also Military aircraft I have never seen over this area ever.
These are not quarry blasts, I used to live near the biggest quarry in the area they are not allowed to blast until 9am.


Offline astr0144

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2012, 10:32:21 pm »
SITD...

That is interesting what you have said...and at the moment I don't think that I could offer any other  ideas that may differ from your suggestions.

The Blimp information was from late June...and it refers to A.J having been led to believe that it should not have been used at the time...IF its the same one that he refers to that has recently been witnessed...it is a very expensive Blimp...$211 Million !!! ( which as I understand was meant for use in Afghanistan.BUT it has been suggested it was too expensive to test at a further $188 million) at that price...IF they still fly it this week...Id be surprised.

What its been up to however...from what they say is to "fill the gap between spy satellites and spy aircraft.”....hard to believe that it would be a cheaper option !...

Origionally they claimed that they were going to dismantle it...and not use it as a drone over the USA...How they like to kid the public and soon change their tune....

ShotInTheDark

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2012, 11:21:16 pm »
SITD...

That is interesting what you have said...and at the moment I don't think that I could offer any other  ideas that may differ from your suggestions.

The Blimp information was from late June...and it refers to A.J having been led to believe that it should not have been used at the time...IF its the same one that he refers to that has recently been witnessed...it is a very expensive Blimp...$211 Million !!! ( which as I understand was meant for use in Afghanistan.BUT it has been suggested it was too expensive to test at a further $188 million) at that price...IF they still fly it this week...Id be surprised.

What its been up to however...from what they say is to "fill the gap between spy satellites and spy aircraft.”....hard to believe that it would be a cheaper option !...

Origionally they claimed that they were going to dismantle it...and not use it as a drone over the USA...How they like to kid the public and soon change their tune....
Hey astr0144 I always enjoy talking with you. Yes in fact this is the exact Blimp I have seen it fly over my house several times in a 2 week period. That picture was taken like 2 or 3 weeks ago.
Below you will see its the exact same Blimp and I had remember seeing the article on Infowars.com
[youtube]A_wCenLgonI&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

When I saw people in my area posting other pics of this balloon I was sick to my stomach . I have intuitions that have been spot on at times and I thought what the hell is the MAV6 doing over York PA.
Then I started to think about the explosions that have been rocking my house very early in the morning sometimes twice in one morning. And believe me this is nothing I have ever experienced before and what it reminded me of was the feedback you would get from a very Hi Gain guitar Amp if its turned up loud enough.

I think this all could be related to this storm but Im speculating!! FEMA has been all over this place also!! Well before this storm I would see they have RV Like vehicles with huge sattellites on them check this out this is their place in Harrisburg right above me and about 5 minutes from Three Mile Island!!
FEMA Harrisburg PA
[youtube]3-zkKckhjEg[/youtube]

ShotInTheDark

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2012, 12:03:21 am »
Here we go on September 20 2012 TMI shutdown an unexpeded shutdown
Link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/20/us/pennsylvania-three-mile-island/index.html

Now here's a Link to the new Alarm System They have installed which Im told is insanely loud!! My nephew has heard it hes closer to TMI then myself.
Link: http://www.wset.com/story/19728976/tmi-to-test-new-state-of-the-art-sirens?clienttype=printable

Were they already anticipatuing this storm far in advance??  :o

Offline biggles

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2012, 12:25:00 am »
Well then there is your proof, it is bloody haarp.  so there and why is it so, because I said so that's why.   :P
I know that I know nothing - thanks Capricorn.

Offline thorfourwinds

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2012, 07:18:01 am »

(Scott Lituchy/The Star-Ledger)

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in the Forked River section of Lacey Township is on alert after waters rose 6 feet above sea level in the wake of former Hurricane Sandy.



Superstorm Sandy puts NJ's Oyster Creek nuclear power plant on alert; NY's Indian Point plant shut down


WASHINGTON (AP) — Parts of two nuclear power plants were shut down late Monday and early Tuesday, while another plant — the nation's oldest — was put on alert after waters from Superstorm Sandy rose 6 feet above sea level.

One of the units at Indian Point, a plant about 45 miles north of New York City, was shut down Monday because of external electrical grid issues, said Entergy Corp., which operates the plant. The company said there was no risk to employees or the public, and the plant was not at risk due to water levels from the Hudson River, which reached 9 feet 8 inches and was subsiding. Another unit at the plant was still operating at full power.

One unit at the Salem plant in Hancocks Bridge, NJ, near the Delaware River, was shut down Tuesday because four of its six circulating water pumps were no longer available, according to PSEG Nuclear. The pumps are used to condense steam on the non-nuclear side of the plant. Another Salem unit has been offline since Oct. 14 for refueling, but the nearby Hope Creek plant remains at full power. Together, the Salem and Hope Creek plants produce enough power for about 3 million homes per day.

The oldest US nuclear power plant, New Jersey's Oyster Creek, was already out of service for scheduled refueling. But high water levels at the facility, which sits along Barnegat Bay, prompted safety officials to declare an "unusual event" around 7 p.m. About two hours later, the situation was upgraded to an "alert," the second-lowest in a four-tiered warning system.

Conditions were still safe at Oyster Creek, Indian Point and all other US nuclear plants, said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees plant safety.
more
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Offline thorfourwinds

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2012, 09:21:13 am »


(Photo: dom.com)


29 October 2012

Dominion reduces output of Conn. Millstone 3 nuclear reactor - NRC

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Dominion Resources Inc reduced the 1,233-megawatt (MW) Unit 3 at the Millstone nuclear power plant in Connecticut to about 75 percent as a precaution due to high intake water level from Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.

The unit had been operating at full power earlier Monday.

Nuclear power plants routinely reduce power as part of their normal operating procedures when conditions like high water levels are possible.






(Staff photo by Britney Lillya)


29 October 2012

Sandy likely to shut at least two NJ nuclear reactors | Reuters

(Reuters) - At least two major New Jersey nuclear power plants are likely to shut on Monday as Hurricane Sandy makes landfall as a Category 1 storm, and more plants could reduce power as the storm triggers precautionary safety measures.

But Sandy was expected to lose some punch as she moves over Pennsylvania and Maryland, crossing near Constellation Nuclear Energy Group's 1,705-MW Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland, Exelon Corp's 2,244-MW Peach Bottom, 805-MW Three Mile Island and 2,264-MW Limerick in Pennsylvania, and PPL Corp's 2,450-MW Susquehanna in Pennsylvania.

All US reactors have procedures that require operators to shut the units when hurricane-force winds reach their sites or when floodwaters reach certain levels.

Nuclear power represents about 18 percent of the generating capacity in the US Mid-Atlantic region. One megawatt powers about 1,000 homes.

A few reactors in the area were already shut for refueling or other maintenance, including Exelon's Oyster Creek in New Jersey, PSEG's Salem 2 in New Jersey, and PPL's Susquehanna in Pennsylvania.

Both Salem Unit 1 and Hope Creek were at full power Monday morning and the refueling work on Salem Unit 2 was suspended by 6 p.m. EDT Sunday, Delmar said.
source







A boat moves along the Hudson River in front of the Indian Point nuclear power plant March 18, 2011, in Buchanan, N.Y.  (GETTY IMAGES)

30 October 2012
Updated at 8:57 a.m. EST

Nuclear plants partly shut down as Sandy hits - CBS News


WASHINGTON
Parts of two nuclear power plants were shut down late Monday and early Tuesday, while another plant — the nation's oldest — was put on alert after waters from superstorm Sandy rose 6 feet above sea level.

One of the units at Indian Point, a plant about 45 miles north of New York City, was shut down Monday

because of external electrical grid issues,

said Entergy Corp., which operates the plant. The company said there was no risk to employees or the public, and the plant was not at risk due to water levels from the Hudson River, which reached 9 feet 8 inches and was subsiding. Another unit at the plant was still operating at full power.

One unit at the Salem plant in Hancocks Bridge, N.J., near the Delaware River, was shut down Tuesday

because four of its six circulating water pumps were no longer available,

according to PSEG Nuclear. The pumps are used to condense steam on the non-nuclear side of the plant. Another Salem unit has been offline since Oct. 14 for refueling, but the nearby Hope Creek plant remains at full power. Together, the Salem and Hope Creek plants produce enough power for about 3 million homes per day.

The oldest U.S. nuclear power plant, New Jersey's Oyster Creek, was already out of service for scheduled refueling. But high water levels at the facility, which sits along Barnegat Bay, prompted safety officials to declare an "unusual event" around 7 p.m. About two hours later, the situation was upgraded to an "alert," the second-lowest in a four-tiered warning system.

Conditions were still safe at Oyster Creek, Indian Point and all other U.S. nuclear plants, said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees plant safety.
source









30 October 2012

UPDATE 3-Sandy slows US nuclear plants, oldest declares alert | Reuters

Exelon declares alert at NJ Oyster Creek reactor

* Oyster Creek may use fire system to cool spent fuel rods
* Exelon says no threat to public health or safety


NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Hurricane Sandy slowed or shut a half-dozen U.S. nuclear power plants, while the nation's oldest facility declared a rare "alert" after the record storm surge pushed flood waters high enough to endanger a key cooling system.

Exelon Corp's 43-year-old New Jersey Oyster Creek plant remains on "alert" status, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said early Tuesday. It is only the third time this year that the second-lowest of four emergency action levels was triggered.

The alert came after water levels at the plant rose by more than 6.5 feet (2 meters) above normal, potentially affecting the "water intake structure" that pumps cooling water through the plant, an NRC spokesman said.

Those pumps are not essential since the reactor has been shut for planned refuelling since Oct. 22.
However,

a further rise to 7 feet (just 6 more inches) could submerge the service water pump motor that is used to cool the water in the spent fuel pool,

potentially forcing it to use emergency water supplies from the in-house fire suppression system to keep the rods from overheating.

The concerns over the status of the spent fuel pool at Oyster Creek was reminiscent of the fears that followed the Fukushima disaster last year, when helicopters and fire hoses were enlisted to ensure the pools remained filled with fresh, cool water.

The nuclear industry has said
that the spent fuel rods at Fukushima
were never exposed to the air.
    ???

Among other units, Constellation Energy Nuclear Group's 630-MW Nine Mile Point 1 nuclear power reactor in upstate New York did shut due to a problem putting power onto the grid, although it was not clear whether the trouble was related to the storm.

In addition, Sandy caused power reductions at both units at Exelon's Limerick nuclear plant in Pennsylvania and one unit at Dominion's Millstone plant in Connecticut.

more
EARTH AID is dedicated to the creation of an interactive multimedia worldwide event to raise awareness about the challenges and solutions of nuclear energy.

Offline thorfourwinds

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #13 on: October 30, 2012, 12:25:47 pm »

NRC: Current Event Notification Report for October 30, 2012

29 October 2012

Quote
As of 0320 EDT on 10/30/12, it was determined that 36 of the 43 Emergency Planning Zone sirens were out of service, and the license continues work to rectify the issue.


84% of the emergency sirens OUT OF SERVICE - you know - the ones that are supposed to warn we, the people, in the event of a nuclear emergency...





29 October 2012



“The failure of the data server affects data input to the server providing information to the Emergency Response Data System (ERDS). ERDS is currently not receiving updated information from Fermi data systems.”

It’s a comforting thought that our robust nuclear facilities are controlled by computers - not fallible humans.    ;)



29 October 2012



“The site also experienced a loss of offsite power event concurrent with the additional water level increase.”

"...  loss of off-site power ..."  now, where have we heard that one?



30 October 2012



"On October 29, 2012, at 2241EDT, the Reactor Protection System automatically actuated at 100% reactor power due to a direct electrical trip to the Unit 3 Main Turbine Generator. The generator trip resulted in a turbine/reactor trip. All control rods fully inserted on the reactor trip. All plant equipment responded normally to the unit trip."



30 October 2012




"Thirty-one (31) of 97 Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) sirens are currently unavailable in Lancaster, York, Cecil and Harford Counties."



30 October 2012



"On October 29, 2012 at 2100 EDT, Nine Mile Point Unit 2 experienced an automatic initiation of the Division 1 Emergency Diesel Generator due to a loss of line 5. Line 5 is one of the 115KV offsite power sources. Line 5 was lost due to a lightening arrestor falling onto electrical components in the Scriba switchyard during high winds.

"During the electrical transient, Nine Mile Point Unit 2 also experienced a feedwater level control lockup, requiring manual control. No Emergency Core Cooling Systems actuated and feedwater level control was returned to automatic. Nine Mile Point Unit 2 remained at 100% power during the loss of line 5.

"The off-site power source, line 5, was restored on October 30, 2012 at 0326 EDT."




30 October 2012



"Salem Unit 1 was operating at 100% reactor power when a loss of 4 condenser circulators required a manual reactor trip in accordance with station procedures. The cause of the 4 circulators being removed from service was due to a combination of high river level and detritus from Hurricane Sandy's transit.

"All control rods inserted. A subsequent loss of the 2 remaining circulators required transition of decay heat removal from condenser steam dumps to the 11-14 MS10s (atmospheric steam dump)."


EARTH AID is dedicated to the creation of an interactive multimedia worldwide event to raise awareness about the challenges and solutions of nuclear energy.

Offline thorfourwinds

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Re: Could Hurricane Sandy be New York’s Fukushima?
« Reply #14 on: October 30, 2012, 05:32:18 pm »


Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy is seen as it makes landfall about five miles (8 km) southwest of Atlantic City, New Jersey in this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Global Online Enrollment System (GOES)-13 satellite colorized infrared handout image taken at 8pm EST (0000 GMT) October 29, 2012. Sandy, one of the biggest storms ever to hit the U.S., roared ashore with fierce winds and heavy rain on Monday near the gambling resort of Atlantic City, forcing evacuations, shutting down transportation and interrupting the presidential campaign. Official projections from the National Hurricane Center have the storm moving westward through Pennsylvania and then moving north into New York.  (Credit: Reuters/NOAA/Handout)


30 October 2012
1:09 PM EDT

Sandy curtails nuclear plants, oldest under alert | Reuters

“Hurricane Sandy slowed or shut a half-dozen U.S. nuclear power plants, while the nation's oldest facility declared a rare "alert" after the record storm surge pushed flood waters high enough to endanger a key cooling system.”


Quote
Those pumps are not essential to keep the reactor cool since the plant has been shut for planned refueling since October 22.


Dear Reader, please evaluate the previous statement closely.

NewSpeak, DoubleSpeak, NukeSpeak - WTF is going on here? Again with key components of the cooling system placed in harm's way - a consistency that is becoming all too obvious throughout the entire NIC..

Quote
Exelon however was concerned that if the water rose over 7 feet it could submerge the service water pump motor that is used to cool the water in the spent fuel pool, potentially forcing it to use emergency water supplies from the in-house fire suppression system to keep the rods from overheating.

Only one service water pump? That certainly doesn’t sound reassuring. One might ask how long do those ‘emergency water supplies’ last?

Quote
The water levels reached a peak of 7.4 feet -- apparently above the threshold -- but the pump motors did not flood, Sheehan said. As of 11 a.m. EDT Tuesday the water level was down to 5.8 feet, with the next high tide at 11:45 a.m.
EARTH AID is dedicated to the creation of an interactive multimedia worldwide event to raise awareness about the challenges and solutions of nuclear energy.

 


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