Tag Archives: Fort Calhou

Nuclear Power, Natural Disasters, and Security

Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant, near Omaha, Nebraska, in the middle of the Missouri River

  Follow LJF97 on Twitter Tweet  Nuclear power diminishes  National Security and the stability of the electric grid.

Consider the Brunswick, Fort Calhoun, Millstone, North Anna, and Oyster Creek nuclear power plants, and the Fukushima melt-downs. And consider the “Mobley Factor.”

The Brunswick nuclear plants in North Carolina, and the Millstone nuclear power plants in Connecticut were brought to “reduced power” in preparation for Hurricane Irene.  The Oyster Creek plant in New Jersey was shut down.  The North Anna nuclear plant, about 90 miles from Richmond, Virginia, was shut down Because of the earthquake that hit the east coast of the United States on Tuesday, August, 23, 2011( Popular Logistics coverage here).  The Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, nuclear plant, pictured above, near Omaha, Nebraska, shut down in May, 2011, for refueling, remains shut down (losing $1.0 million per day) due to the flooding of the Missouri River that began June 6, 2011. (Popular Logistics coverage here and here, photos are here).

In an emergency we know that nuclear plants will be shut down, and therefore not generating power. However, they will require  emergency power and emergency response resources.

“The Mobley Factor” refers to Sharif Mobley, an American currently in prison in Yemen, suspected of ties to Al Queda. Before going to Yemen, Mr. Mobley worked as a laborer in six nuclear power plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, including the Salem and Hope Creek plants in New Jersey, the Peach Bottom, Limerick and Three Mile Island plants in Pennsylvania, and the Calvert Cliffs plant in Maryland. Mr. Mobley had unrestricted access to those plants. Equipped with a cell phone he could have taken pictures, lots of pictures, also known as “Actionable Intelligence.”

Bloomberg News reported (here) “Federal regulations require nuclear reactors to be in a ‘safe shutdown condition,’ cooled to less than 300 degrees Fahrenheit, two hours before hurricane-force winds strike.” Paradoxical, but nuclear power plants – a source of power – depend on fossil fuel.

The Bloomberg News article continues, “Plant operators typically begin shutting down reactors 12 hours before winds exceeding 74 miles per hour are predicted to arrive, said Roger Hannah, a spokesman with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Region II office in Atlanta.”

Reuters (here) reported that the operators are working to bring online the various nuclear power plants shut down due to the hurricane and the earthquake.

STATE         OWNER      PLANT          STATUS   RESTART      CAPACITY MW
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Connecticut   Dominion   Millstone 2    REDUCED  UNKNOWN         884
Connecticut   Dominion   Millstone 3    REDUCED  UNKNOWN       1,227
New Jersey    Exelon     Oyster Creek   OFFLINE  UNKNOWN         619
N. Carolina   Progress   Brunswick 1    REDUCED  24-36 Hours     938
N. Carolina   Progress   Brunswick 1    REDUCED  24-36 Hours     937
Virginia      Dominion   North Anna 1   OFFLINE  UNKNOWN         980.5
Virginia      Dominion   North Anna 2   OFFLINE  UNKNOWN         972.9
Nebraska                 Fort Calhoun   OFFLINE  UNKNOWN         484
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