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6/27/11 Flood Waters Breach Berm at Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station In Nebraska; Back Up Generator In Use
Jun 26, 2011

Flood waters have breached the rubber dam around the plant. This plant has already had a fire, halon extinguisher event, was evacuated and is now surrounded completely by flood waters. The only thing protecting it was the rubber dam. Now that is gone. What level of disaster is this now? 1, 2, 3, 4? The latest update is that they connected outside power to the plant, bypassing the flooded electrical panel inside the plant. So now it is a question of how long this emergency measure will work and how long the pumps keep on working, as the flood waters rise. At what point do the pumps short out?  ABC News has a video about this at; http://abcnews.go.com/US/floods-hit-nuke-plant-waters-breach-berm-fort/story?id=13932406

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Please note news story at; 

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Also on Huffington Post..... 

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In a fairly recent NRC letter to the plant: At 1,010 ft  Ft. Calhoun’s auxiliary building will be flooded, shorting power/pumps, and causing core damage and/or loss of coolant flow to spent fuel rods.  The river is now at 1,007 ft   http://t.co/6HKozuu
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If the above scenario happens, the plant will then more than likely melt down.This scenario is outlined in a letter that the NRC sent to the utility a few years ago. The utility at first resisted making the changes to become more flood resistant, which the NRC was requesting. They finally did relent and made some upgrades including having a plan such as the rubber dam wall around the plant, and other measures. Again, it is amazing that a nuclear power plant is RESISTING really BASIC SAFETY measures, coming from it's own regulatory body. Think about the disaster that could have happened if they had fought this for a few more years, and had not done anything? 
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What is shocking to me is that the plant as built in a flood plain in the first place. See the FEMA flood plain map picture above. Who allowed that, besides the NRC? What were they thinking? So now the plant faces a scenario that everything might go underwater, and loss of power may result to the spent fuel pools, unless emergency measures are taken, from outside of the plant. But how does anyone help a nuclear plant that is under water, and filled with water?
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Latest update; 

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

http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2011/jun/27/bc-us-missouri-river-flooding-nuclear-safety/?news 

I translate the 'seepage' as a leak, due to cracks or fissures or pressure of water on joints between walls, floors, etc. It may not be a problem, but then again, there are lots of electrical circuits in the building. All it takes is one short, even with an external power supply connected, and the whole plant goes down, with no cooling possible. Are they pumping the water out of the building, or letting it go? 

How are the external power supplies connected to the pumps? Where are the pumps? Which building? Can those pumps work underwater? Are those pumps in the same building as where the water is leaking into it?
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http://iowaindependent.com/57788/added-flood-protection-at-nebraska-nuclear-plant-fails
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Posted: Jun 26, 2011 6:31pm

 
 
 
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Green Road A.
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