The makeshift flood berm "holding floodwaters from" Ft. Calhoun Nuclear Plant collapsed at 1:30 this morning and the plant is now operating on emergency generators as workers try to restore electricity after water surrounded the plant's main electrical transformers.
The auxiliary building at Ft. Calhoun, listed among the nation's 14 most dangerous nuclear plants, was surrounded by water after the berm failure according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission letter. (See Special Report: Nuclear flood threat: 1100 troops, 25,000 homes flooded, NRC chief onsite (vid)," Dupré, D. June 25, 2011)
The NRC letter stated that if water enters the auxiliary building, there could have been a station blackout with core damage in hours.
A berm holding the flooded Missouri River back from Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station, 20 miles north of Omaha, Nebraska, collapsed early Sunday, but federal regulators said they were monitoring the situation and there was no danger according to AP.
"I love it... That is exactly what they said about 3-Mile Island!" declared a retired Psychologist who relocated from there after its nuclear catastrophe.
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) had inspectors at the plant 20 miles north of Omaha when the 2,000-foot berm collapsed about 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
Water surrounded the auxiliary and containment buildings at the plant, NRC said in a statement.
AP reports that Jeff Hanson said the aqua berm wasn't critical to protecting the plant but a crew will look at whether it can be "patched."
Flooding remains a concern all along the Missouri because of massive amounts of water the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released from upstream reservoirs," reported AP today.
[...] At 1,010 feet, water would begin to enter the auxiliary building, “shorting power and submerging pumps. The plant could then experience a station blackout with core damage estimated within 15 to 18 hours,” under a worst-case scenario, the NRC said. [...]
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