Project Flood: Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant under serious flood threat

OPPD Dispels Nuclear Meltdown Rumors In Ft. Calhoun

Officials: Fukushima Event Will Not Happen In Ft. Calhoun

The same image that the governor saw reached the Internet and had led to a wave of rumors. But Omaha Public Power District officials said the images don't tell the whole story.

They said the flood water pumped into a giant donut around the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant was put there to keep flood water out. Officials called it an "aqua berm."

The OPPD showed videos taken almost two weeks ago to demonstrate the efforts to keep the facility dry.

"I want (people) to understand the plant is safe (and) will continue to be safe," said Dave Bannister, an OPPD nuclear plant officer.

Officials said on Friday that the plant is on the lowest emergency status, but they are prepared if it rises another 10 feet.

"We have a lot of margin of where we are today. And, if things were to progress, we still have margins and actions to be able to address that," Bannister said.

Officials said they also want to dispel the rumors going around the Internet about a possible nuclear meltdown

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Electrical Fire Knocks Out Spent Fuel Cooling at Nebraska Nuke Plant

A fire [1] in an electrical switch room on Tuesday briefly knocked out cooling for a pool holding spent nuclear fuel at the Fort Calhoun nuclear plant [2] outside Omaha, Neb., plant officials said.

The safety of deep pools used to store used radioactive fuel at nuclear plants has been an issue since the accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant in March. If the cooling water a pool is lost, the used nuclear fuel could catch fire and release radiation.

As ProPublica reported earlier, fire safety is a continuing concern [3] at the country's 104 commercial reactors, as is the volume of spent fuel [4] piling up at plants.

Officials at Fort Calhoun said the situation at their plant came nowhere near to Fukushima's. They said it would have taken 88 hours for the heat produced by the fuel to boil away the cooling water.

Workers restored cooling in about 90 minutes, and plant officials said the temperature in the pool only increased by two degrees.

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

Ft Calhoun Spent Fuel In Ground Pools, Flooded Already?
By Tom Burnett
Exclusive to Rense.com
6-15-11

Fort Calhoun's Nuclear Plant Under Scrutiny

Federal Regulators Want Nuclear Plant Prepared To Handle Major Emergencies

Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials said Fort Calhoun's reactor is operating safely, but it's still on the shortlist because they want to make sure it's prepared to handle major emergencies, like flooding.

Last year, federal regulators questioned the station's flood protection protocol. NRC officials said they felt the Omaha Public Power District should do more than sandbagging in the event of major flooding along the Missouri river.

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