8-month-old NRC letter:water could enter Ft. Calhoun nuke building,possible core damage + much more

[stockholmer]

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/06/24/24climatewire-a-nuclear-plants-flood-defenses-trigger-a-ye-95418.html?pagewanted=1

8-month-old NRC letter: At 1,010 ft water would enter Ft. Calhoun’s auxiliary building, shorting power and submerging pumps; Could then have a station blackout with core damage within 15-18 hours — Water now at 1,007 ft

reached a height of nearly 1,007 feet above sea level at the plant yesterday. <...>

The NRC responded in its October 2010 letter that once flooding reached 1,004 feet, water would have entered the plant and the ability of emergency workers to move around the site would “significantly degrade.” <...>

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. <...>
“They also ordered us to revise our policies and procedures and make whatever changes were necessary to bring the design basis up to 1,014. We did so, and we believe we are now in compliance with the NRC and are awaiting a final inspection.” -Omaha Public Power District spokesman Michael Jones

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304569504576406163159603654.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

WSJ reports press release from NRC saying Ft. Calhoun’s flood deficiencies were remedied — No mention of recent NYT report that NRC’s evaluation of plant’s new defenses is not complete

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko will observe plant preparations and the extent of flooding from the river at Cooper Nuclear Station Sunday and the Fort Calhoun nuclear-power plant Monday. <...>

Deficiencies in flood preparation at the Fort Calhoun plant were discovered during an inspection two years ago, but were remedied, an NRC news release said. <...>
“We believe we are now in compliance with the NRC and are awaiting a final inspection.” -Omaha Public Power District spokesman Michael Jones
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related see this previous article from above

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/06/24/24climatewire-a-nuclear-plants-flood-defenses-trigger-a-ye-95418.html?pagewanted=1

NRC yet to complete its evaluation of flood defenses installed at Fort Calhoun nuclear plant — Other flooding matter “still under investigation”


<...> “We presented our analysis to them, which we felt indicated that the design basis (for the flooding threat) should remain 1,009 feet,” rather than 1,014 feet, said. <..."W>e believe we are now in compliance with the NRC and are awaiting a final inspection<...">

The NRC has not completed its evaluation of the new defenses installed at Fort Calhoun, nor has it resolved how OPPD handled the new information about flood threat that the NRC says the utility received via the Corps of Engineers . <...>

“We think they had the information, and acted on it, but not in the way they should have,” said George. “Their documentation did not reflect that .” The matter is still under investigation.

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http://www.kmtv.com/story/14978101/flood-berm-collapsed-at-nebraska-nuclear-plant


BREAKING: 2,000 ft berm holding back floodwater has collapsed at Ft. Calhoun nuke plant — River now surrounding two buildings

A berm holding back floodwater at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station has collapsed. <...>

The 2,000-foot berm collapsed about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, allowing the swollen river to surround two buildings at the plant. <...>

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http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/124534794.html

City near Ft. Calhoun nuclear plant gets 2.5 inches of rain in 6 hours (VIDEO)

Assistant Omaha Fire Chief Dan Stolinski said the city got about 2.5 inches of rain in six hours, causing water to pool near the stadium hosting the College World Series.

Some areas reported three inches of rain. There was significant pooling of water behind the Omaha levee and in Council Bluffs they were working to strengthen perceived weak spots in the barrier. <...>

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http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/06/fukushima-i-nuke-plant-radioactive.html


Strontium Found In Marine Soil 258 Times Normal Levels Around Fukushima Prefecture


Strontium-89 and strontium-90 have been detected in soil and ocean water, but for the first time they have been detected in ocean soil 3 kilometers off the coast where Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant is located. The samples from 2 locations were taken on June 2.

Strontium-89 (half-life 51 days) was detected at 140 becquerels/kg at one location (off Minami-Soma City), 42 becquerels/kg at the other (off Naraha-machi). Strontium-90 (half-life 29 year) was detected at 44 becquerels/kg at one location, 10 becquerels/kg at the other. There is no safety standard set for radioactive strontium. The amount detected in regular sampling surveys from 1999 to 2008 at Fukushima II (not I) was ND (not detected) to 0.17 becquerel/kg.




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http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/06/99375.html

Very high internal radiation exposure found in all 15 people surveyed 30-40 kms Fukushima

From Kyodo News

HIROSHIMA, June 26, Kyodo

HIROSHIMA, June 26 (Kyodo)—Radiation experts said Sunday they had found very high internal radiation exposure in all of the 15 people they surveyed in May in areas 30-40 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The experts surveyed 15 people aged between 4 and 77 in Iitate and Kawamata in early and late May, and found radioactive cesium in both batches of their urine samples.
Nanao Kamada, a radiation biologist who led the survey, said, "There is no cause for concern unless the residents continuing eating contaminated food such as vegetables, but it may be hard to continue living in the areas."


snip

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New Photos of Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station Flooding Updated Saturday June 25th 2011

http://www.cartoradiations.fr/







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http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/06/23/general-us-aging-nukes-reaction_8532471.html

Senators demand congressional investigation into safety at US nuke plants — Public concerns heightened after recent news reports

Three U.S. senators, alarmed by findings of an Associated Press investigation about aging problems at the nation’s nuclear power plants, asked Thursday for a congressional investigation of safety standards and federal oversight at the facilities.

The request by Democrats Barbara Boxer of California and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont builds on increased public concern about nuclear safety in recent months – an outcry unlike anything since the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986.

Public interest first spiked after the March accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan. Concern has been heightened this week as the AP began releasing the results of a yearlong investigation into aging related safety problems at the 104 reactors operating in the United States. <...>


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http://www.truth-out.org/epa-halted-extra-testing-radiation-japan-weeks-ago/1308835471

EPA Halted Extra Testing for Radiation From Japan Weeks Ago, EPA radiation monitoring exists so Feds can say they have a system — Not to report data that would undermine public support for nuclear power, thinks watchdog

<...> EPA has abandoned the extra tests, even as reports from Japan indicate that the Fukushima plant continues to emit radiation and the disaster is one of the worst in world history.

The EPA posted a statement online saying it would return to routine testing on May 3, but the agency did not send out a press release. The media widely ignored the change, even as Japanese officials admitted just weeks later that they were battling a full nuclear meltdown. <...>

“The Fukushima disaster is unlike any nuclear accident we have ever had,” said Dan Hirsch of the nuclear watchdog group Committee to Bridge the Gap. “We haven’t had anything that has gone on for a year, and that is what the Japanese authorities are predicting – if they’re lucky. It might even take longer. The fuel has melted through, there are breaches at the containment structures, and there are constant radioactive releases.” <...>

“The easiest way to not have any concern over data is to have no data at all,” said Hirsch, who is critical of the cozy relationship between the US government and the domestic nuclear industry. “I think the system is there to say they have a system, but not to report any data that would undermine public support for nuclear power.” <...>


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http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20110626x3.html

Mayor: “So many people in Japan are now saying that they can’t trust their own government” — Manipulation of radiation information suspected


<...> “I think some municipal governments have only recently begun to release soil data in response to mounting calls from the public,” said. “But the central government should have taken the initiative to release them much earlier … . What the central government must do now is release all data, no matter how bad, because if it doesn’t it can only add to people’s suspicions that it is manipulating information.

“So many people in Japan are now saying that they can’t trust their own government.” Adding to such concerns are the views of Richard Broinowski, a former Australian diplomat who is now adjunct professor at the University of Sydney. <...>

Specifically, he said, “What I am anxious to know is: Are qualified Japanese epidemiologists and public health experts (that is, those not in the pay of the nuclear industry) undertaking objective and impartial research into how deeply and to what intensity, radiation dispersal of cesium-137, strontium-90, iodine-131, noble gases and plutonium-239 … has spread, and how much the general population of the Tohoku region and other regions of Japan have been exposed?”

He added: “I also suspect that full disclosure of such data is not in the interests of the Japanese nuclear industry.” <...>

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http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/25_08.html

NHK: “Possibility that there is little water left inside the Number 2 reactor” because of full meltdown — New gauge measuring water level not operating because temps are too high

says it still cannot obtain accurate data on the water level and pressure of the Number 2 reactor. It says a provisional measuring device installed earlier this week is not operating properly. <...>

TEPCO says this is because the temperature near the reactor containment vessel is so high that water inside the device’s pipes has evaporated.

Fuel meltdowns have occurred at the Number 1 through Number 3 reactors, leading to a possibility that there is little water left inside the Number 2 reactor. <...>

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http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/26_11.html

TEPCO adding boric acid to No. 3 spent fuel pool to prevent situation which could lead to re-criticality


Tokyo Electric Power Company has begun adding boric acid to the spent fuel storage pool of the No.3 reactor at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to prevent fuel racks from being corroded by alkaline water.

TEPCO says the condition may accelerate corrosion of aluminum racks holding spent fuel rods and may cause the rods to topple in the worst case, which could lead to re-criticality. <...>

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http://news.lucaswhitefieldhixson.com/2011/06/fukushima-daiichi-reactor-3-spent-fuel.html

Fukushima Daiichi Reactor 3 Spent Fuel Pool Full of Corrosive Alkaline (Video included)


TEPCO was forced to resume injecting boric acid into the spent fuel pool of reactor 3 to combat the strong alkaline buildup in the water. If the alkaline levels are not reduced, it can damage the aluminium racks and fuel assemblies in the spent fuel pool. There are estimated to be 566 fuel assemblies in the spent fuel pool of Reactor 3.

TEPCO will add more boric acid on the 27th, then remeasure to see if alkaline levels have depreciated. TEPCO says the condition may accelerate corrosion of aluminum racks holding spent fuel rods and may cause the rods to topple in the worst case, which could lead to re-criticality. The utility is hoping to have the temporary spent fuel cooling system up next month, to reduce the water temperatures, which average between 75 and 80 degrees. But the cooling system will have no effect if they cannot reduce the alkaline levels. This is also still speculatory, because the full extent of damage to the spent fuel pool and stored fuel is unknown. In the video footage provided, so much debris is piled in the spent fuel pool that it will be hard to keep temperatures low without clearing some, even with the new circulatory cooling system.

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[TheDebbieDee]

1. This is a terribly scary situation, but what can we do about it?

K&R!

[stockholmer]

3. if you are in the USA, DEMAND by the millions that the EPA and government give full accounting and

not allow corporate media to whitewash this disaster. RESIST

[TheDebbieDee]

2. Terribly scary situation but what can we do about it?

K&R!

[enough]

4. That first NY article about the NRC letter is a fantastic narrative showin the realities of the way

the nuclear industry and NRC function. Highly recommended.

[nc4bo]

5. Oh shitz.

So many people want this thing to go away - includes Fukushima and the soon-to-be flooded nuke plant and hot fuel storage pools.

OMFG what is it going to take to get the message through that nuke power is NOT good for any person, place or thing.

Thanks stockholmer for keeping us all abreast of recent developments!

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. This is the WORST possible scenario

for our nuclear industry.

They have been able to hide Fuku... in the states... will be a little more difficult.

Oh and yes, worst cases are not something I want to think about, but worst cases is what we are forced to think about any longer.

[Mojorabbit]

7. Thank you so much for the update

Those workers must be getting so discouraged. It seems one step forward and then two back.