FORT CALHOUN, Neb. (AP) – A berm holding back floodwater at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station has collapsed.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it’s monitoring the Missouri River flooding at the plant, which has been shut down since early April for refueling.
The 2,000-foot berm collapsed about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, allowing the swollen river to surround two buildings at the plant. The NRC says those buildings are designed to handle flooding up to 1014 feet above sea level. The river is at 1006.3 feet and isn’t forecast to exceed 1008 feet.
The external power we were told could not fail … has failed. Fort Calhoun’s cooling system is running on the emergency backup generators. They have fuel for 88 hours (less the time they have already been operating) unless the flood waters short out and shut down the generators or pumps.
So basically, the nuclear power plants the US Government told us were safe are in danger of a major radiation release because the heavy snow pack the US Government told us was a thing of the past has produced heavy flooding which has overwhelmed the flood controls systems the US Government assured us did not need repairs or upgrades. That about sum it up?