Fire knocks out spent fuel cooling at nuclear plant near Omaha — Operating under heightened alert level because of nearby flooding on Missouri River

Published: June 10th, 2011 at 8:11 am ET
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Electrical Fire Knocks Out Spent Fuel Cooling at Nebraska Nuclear Plant, Scientific American, June 9, 2011:

A fire in an electrical switch room on Tuesday briefly knocked out cooling for a pool holding spent nuclear fuel at the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant outside Omaha, Neb., plant officials said. [...]

If the cooling water a pool is lost, the used nuclear fuel could catch fire and release radiation. [...]

The fire, reported at 9:30 a.m., led to the loss of electrical power for the system that circulates cooling water through the spent fuel pool, according to a report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A chemical fire suppression system discharged, and the plant’s fire brigade cleared smoke from the room and reported that the fire was out at 10:20 a.m., the NRC said. [...]

The plant had already been operating under a heightened level of alert because of nearby flooding on the Missouri River, the NRC said. The cause of the fire remained under investigation this morning.

Published: June 10th, 2011 at 8:11 am ET
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  1. Reuters: Just 6 more inches of water could submerge NJ nuclear plant’s pump to cool spent fuel pool — 25 hours to boiling without more coolant — New footage of flooding nearby (VIDEO) October 30, 2012
  2. Several levees failing along Missouri River, officials bracing for more breaches — Flooding alert issued for a second nuclear plant June 20, 2011
  3. NRC: Spent fuel pool cooling lost at NJ’s Oyster Creek nuclear plant during Hurricane Sandy November 2, 2012
  4. Inland Tsunami? Dam breaking could inundate nuke plant near Omaha — Equivalent of Fukushima’s tsunami (AUDIO) June 10, 2011
  5. NYT: Fire before Ft. Calhoun’s spent fuel pool lost cooling power “remains under investigation” June 21, 2011

40 comments to Fire knocks out spent fuel cooling at nuclear plant near Omaha — Operating under heightened alert level because of nearby flooding on Missouri River

  • I will give you my computer; in return for sanity…?

    Id much rather have sanity than live in a world, where I can digitally argue with people about why my said sanity was taken from me via electricity…

    Trade?

    (no more) plz


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  • Heart of the Rose Heart of the Rose

    Stuxnet and geo-engineered flooding?


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    • cossack55

      Timing is always of the utmost import during any operation. Got to use those emergencies when provided.


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      • Heart of the Rose Heart of the Rose

        Correct…the National Guard and FEMA..ready to hit the ground.
        Wait for it…….


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      • tony wilson

        i here the ro water treatment and air filtration facilities are up and running and final stage fit out in 7 weeks.
        if the shit hits and you have the connections come spend time at the denver airport health spar bunker.
        new world contruction corp says decon in style.wash your above ground cares away.
        and ladies be entertained and impregnated by are resort george and george bush,cheney rumsfeld,clinton.
        live entertainment shows like the jugglers of death.
        be amazed as the death brothers barack and osama juggle 12 live de pinned handgrenades of doom.


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  • anne anne

    I hope no one will back this INSANITY: “the Associated Press reports that two congressional lawmakers are now pushing the government to ‘back a new generation of miniature nuclear reactors’ that would be sited throughout the country.”
    http://www.benningtonbanner.com/opinion/ci_18243384


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    • anne anne

      Is this the energy policy we value?
      “Our energy ethos: Do, regardless of harm”
      http://www.benningtonbanner.com/opinion/ci_18243384

      “Laugh me off as the idealistic son of a physician (which I am), but I still thought the doctor’s ethos of “first do no harm” was a notion we could all agree on. Even in this hyper-polarized Era of the Screaming Red-Faced Partisan, I thought we would witness the recent Fukushima reactor meltdown or footage of Americans setting their tap water on fire and at least agree to stop pursuing energy policies that we know endanger our health and safety — if not out of altruism, then out of self-interest.
      “How embarrassingly naive I was. That, or I momentarily forgot that this isn’t just any industrialized country — this is America circa 2011, a haven of hubris that has become hostile to the “do no harm” principle.
      “This makes us different than, say, Japan and Germany when it comes to nuclear power. Scarred by fallout, the former has canceled plans to build 14 new nuclear plants and has radically altered its energy agenda, now moving to pursue solar rather than atomic energy. Likewise, according to the Associated Press, the latter reacted to Japan’s plight by “vot(ing) in favor of a ban on nuclear power from 2022 onward.”
      “By contrast, in the days after the Fukushima disaster, the Obama administration not only reaffirmed its commitment to expanding nuclear power, but, according to ProPublica, also continued the policy of “routinely waiving fire rule violations at nearly half the nation’s 104 commercial reactors, even though fire presents one of the chief hazards at nuclear plants.”
      “Additionally, the Associated Press reports that two congressional lawmakers are now pushing the government to “back a new generation of miniature nuclear reactors” that would be sited throughout the country.
      “Incredibly, these moves come even as a nuclear reactor in Washington State just experienced a fire scare and even as a new study of U.S. Geological Survey data shows many of the nation’s reactors sit near active fault lines.
      “The same story is playing out in the quest to find natural gas. Over the last few years, more evidence has surfaced that suggests drinking water may be getting contaminated by fracking — a drilling technique that involves injecting toxic chemicals into the earth. This evidence runs the gamut from a new Duke University study into methane, to a New York Times report on fracking wastewater being dumped into rivers, to Pennsylvania gas companies acknowledging that fracking is contaminating drinking water, to those now-famous YouTube videos of combustible tap water. “


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  • anne anne

    Here is another scary article:

    “Uranium’s future looks bright”
    http://www.esi-africa.com/node/12935


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  • jump-ball

    The media and U.S. nuclear authorities don’t want you to see pictures of the flooded Fort Calhoun NE reactor, but 10 minutes of searching got me this nice shot of the Missouri River flood.

    Like a little bit of Fukushima flooding right here in the U.S.:

    http://www.action3news.com/story/14850579/oppd-declares-notification-of-unusual-event-at-the-fort-calhoun-nuclear-power-station


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  • James2

    This is interesting, but not serious.

    Fukushima was preceded by a catastrophic earthquake – then a massive Tsunami which knocked out the power, their pumps, their fuel supplies, their communication, the entire infrastructure of the area and the roads so they couldn’t get backup.’

    At the same time several other nuke plants had problems. It was this series of catastrophic failures that led to what we have at Fukushima.

    A simple rising river flood is pretty easy to contend with in comparison. Sure they will have problems and it will cost money to fix, but there is no way they would let a problem develop like Fuku.


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  • milk and cheese milk and cheese

    Just wait til the power fails and the backup generators are flooded, since they are also probably situated in the basement.


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    • otherwise what is the meaning of the heightened alert “because of nearby flooding on Missouri River”


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    • tony wilson

      yes but the advantage you guys have in the USA is the difference between winning and losing.the japanese are losers that is why they like robots so much because the really are automatons powered not by duracell but washington.
      sleep safe tonight and know and understand that the nation that gave the world
      chuck norris will not let this plant fail.
      your great leader obama, even when he is swinging a 9 iron on a golf course,he is worrying fretting about your safety.
      many a time his golf play strikes have been ruined because of worry for the nation.
      but understand this 25 years ago when barry was programmed at cia langley.
      he was trained to put out reactor core fires something japans no khan do was not.
      so praise the lord that his son barry is protecting you.


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  • jump-ball

    Take the closeup boatride around the already sandbagged Ft. Calhoun NE reactor (‘featured video’ in below link), imagine sandbags 5 feet higher during the Missouri River estimated crest, and see if you have concerns for cooling and electrical supply.

    Looks like a small, slow-motion tsunami to me, workers eventually arriving by boat, at the second floor window level, or by helicopter.

    http://www.action3news.com/story/14850579/oppd-declares-notification-of-unusual-event-at-the-fort-calhoun-nuclear-power-station

    http://www.propublica.org/article/electrical-fire-knocks-out-spent-fuel-cooling-at-nebraska-nuke-plant


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    • lokay5

      I found it pretty ironic that the Channel 3 video of The Calhounn plant flooding was preceded by a commercial I had to sit through, for of all things, SeaWorld.


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  • StillJill StillJill

    ,……and yet the ‘normalcy bias’ still holds sway! My roommates have every windows in the house open with fans bringing air in! Both of my chihuahuas are at death’s door again,…..and there is no human power that can save many now.

    “Let us make sure that our relationship to Him is RIGHT,….and all good things will come to pass”. Alcoholics anonymous.


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  • Thanks a lot for directing me to the featured video. Instantly I saw the setting of the reactor. Even though I was in Omaha in 2004, I went to all places save this awsome place on the river. Near and dear ones over there and everywhere.


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  • gonefission gonefission

    copied from Wiki.

    A flood assessment performed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2010 indicated that the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station, “did not have adequate procedures to protect the intake structure and auxiliary building against external flooding events.”[6] The assessment also indicated that the facility was not adequately prepared for a “worst-case” flooding scenario. A number of potential flood water penetration points were discovered that could have impacted the raw feed water supply to the cooling system, the axilliary water supply and main switchgear (electrical) room. By early 2011, corrective measures had been implemented

    I take it early 2011 is NOT here yet

    well if the NFL isnt going to use the stadiums around the USA this season we should open them up for STONING of these hiGH ranking jackasses that are calling the shots


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    • lokay5

      I really like the public stoning idea! Put me down for a ticket. It reminded me of an old saying applied to mediocre NFL football players; NFL stands for “Not For Long”. I hope it’s not applicable in this sitch.


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    • anne anne

      What I find ironic is that they orchestrated all the rainouts to lessen radioactive fallout in NY and Washington,DC. But TPTB forgot about flooding on the Missouri and radioactive contamination of goundwater and the river as the least worse scenario. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. They’re too busy with, yes you guessed right, fund raising.
      If they just were truthful about events and informed–oh yes, too busy campaigning and fundraising to know anything about what is happening–they might have learned something from Fukushima. Aren’t they making money and being paid a salary to be informed and to protect the nation?


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  • gonefission gonefission

    No more news on this? I didnt see anything at all on the news this morning… The saying ‘no news is good news’ seems to be the worse news possible.
    Thunderstorms forcast this weekend, hope they are still sandbaggin.
    someone needs to suggest to the HaArP operators that they could use a lil rain in Arizona…. they seem to have a small wildfire they could use a hand with


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