Fort Calhoun Nuke Plant: Borated Water in Reactor, Spent Fuel Pool, Normal Procedure, Says Plant CEO

Bits and pieces about the Fort Calhoun Nuke Plant in Nebraska:

• They are using boric acid in the reactor and the spent fuel pool (CNN);

• The "waterproof" turns out to be "aqua dams" and levees in front of the buildings that house key systems (CNN);

• Spent fuel dry casks are outside the flood protected area "because they are sealed and bolted down" (Iowa Independent);

• 2/3 of the active fuel rods are still inside the reactor ("baseless rumor" floating in cyberspace).

On CNN interview, the CEO of the plant says he and his people are battling "blowing in the wind" rumors like the Japanese government over Fukushima I Nuke Plant and radiation contamination. But if you look at the accompanying video, it makes you wonder: why weren't they better prepared, if this flooding was totally expected and it is business as usual, as the CEO tries to tell us?

(By the way, I don't think this video is what CNN intended to upload. The only intended part seems to be the brief interview with the CEO. The rest of the video shows punctured aqua dam, pumping of water from behind the sandbags, not very assuring.)

From CNN (6/28/2011):

Fort Calhoun, Nebraska (CNN) -- Tim Nellenbach is on a mission as he shows a small group of journalists around his workplace. The manager of the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant and his colleagues are bent on dispelling rumors about the condition of their facility: rumors about a meltdown, about a loss of power. The rumors are patently false, they say, and it's frustrating to have to deal with them while also battling a genuine crisis.

These officials are also acutely aware of comparisons to the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March, which crippled a nuclear power plant there, leading to the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

"There's no likelihood of a Fukushima-like incident here," Nellenbach says.

So does Gary Gates, CEO of the Fort Calhoun plant.

"It is not another Fukushima. The difference is the rapid flooding that occurred at Fukushima. This was a predicted event, to a degree, from the Corps of Engineers. The floodwaters at Fort Calhoun are outside the plant. There is no water inside the plant. The reactor is covered with borated water. The spent fuel is covered with borated water, which we want it to be. That's intentional. That's where it should be. The floodwaters are outside Fort Calhoun, not inside," Gates explains.

Still, there is a genuine crisis at the plant. Floodwaters from the swollen Missouri River have engulfed this facility. The parking lots are underwater. The river's fast-paced currents are swirling against several buildings in this compound. Catwalks had to be constructed to allow workers to move from one building to the next. The buildings housing the reactor core, the spent fuel rods and other crucial components are protected by small levees and aqua-berms. But outside those barriers, the water is at least 2 feet above ground level.

The Fort Calhoun plant has 40-foot deep spent fuel pool underground, as well as the above-ground dry cask storage. (Information from wiki)

The Iowa Independent reported on June 24 that the dry casks storage facility is not protected from the flood, because the dry casks are bolted down and secure.

As for the baseless rumor that the 2/3 of the nuclear fuel rods are still inside the reactor, I'd say that was true after all, if they are putting boric acid in the cooling water.

The NRC chairman Jacko, who toured the site on Monday, had these discomforting words to say, according to CNN's article:

"In the end," Jaczko said, "this challenge is yours."

That's eerily reminiscent of the Japanese regulators who have been basically saying this to TEPCO for over 3 months.

I also seem to remember it took TEPCO some time till it finally admitted that the Reactors 5 and 6 were fully loaded with nuclear fuel rods when the earthquake and tsunami hit at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, even though they were still in the scheduled maintenance.

I also remember those official and unofficial "debunkers" going after journalists and bloggers who spread "rumors" in the early days of the Fukushima accident.

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Fort Calhoun Nuke Plant: Flood Water Has "Seeped" into the Turbine Building But "Everything's Under Control"

I guess it all depends on the definition of the word "seep".

And all the buildings at the plant were supposed to be "watertight", according to the NRC.

From AP (6/27/2011):

Floodwater seeps into Nebraska nuke plant building

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.

An 8-foot-tall, water-filled temporary berm protecting the plant collapsed early Sunday. Vendor workers were at the plant Monday to determine whether the 2,000 foot berm can be repaired.

Omaha Public Power District spokesman Jeff Hanson said pumps were handling the problem at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station and that "everything is secure and safe." The plant, about 20 miles north of Omaha, has been closed for refueling since April. Hanson said the berm's collapse didn't affect the shutdown or the spent fuel pool cooling.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Victor Dricks described the situation as stable. NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko plans to inspect the Fort Calhoun plant on Monday as part of a pre-arranged visit to Nebraska.

(The article continues.)

Doesn't it all sound familiar for people who have been following Fukushima?

Hypothetical progression of the minor "incident" at Fort Calhoun, after the established Fukushima model:

"Everything under control, buildings are watertight."
"Well, there was some "seepage" in the turbine building, but everything is secure and safe. It's all part of the plan."
"Well, the turbine building is actually flooded, but the reactor building is secure."
"Well, there's some water puddles in the reactor building, but the Containment Vessel is secure."
"Well, ....."

In this picture of the plant (H/T Dominique), I see sandbags against some openings. Is this what they meant by "watertight"? (More photos at this link.)

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Two Nebraska Nuke Reactors Are Safe, Says US Authorities

Two nuclear power plants in Nebraska, the Fort Calhoun Station and the Cooper Nuclear Station, are finally getting some coverage from the mainstream media in the US, if only to reassure the public that they are safe.

They have sandbags and diesel generators to prepare for the flood, which is expected to rise another 5 feet. The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant has a 8-foot rubber wall outside the reactor building.

Of the two, the Cooper Nuclear Station is in full operation, and they filed a event notification report on June 9 with the NRC (event #46941) that says "the discharges from the sludge pond to the Missouri River are uncontrolled at this time. As a result of high Missouri River levels, the sludge pond was overtopped."

From AP (6/20/2011):

OMAHA, Neb. – The bloated Missouri River rose to within 18 inches of forcing the shutdown of a nuclear power plant in southeast Nebraska but stopped and ebbed slightly Monday, after several levees in northern Missouri failed to hold back the surging waterway.

The river has to hit 902 feet above sea level at Brownville before officials will shut down the Cooper Nuclear Plant, which sits at 903 feet, Nebraska Public Power District spokesman Mark Becker said.

Flooding is a concern all along the river because of the massive amounts of water that the Army Corps of Engineers has released from six dams. Any significant rain could worsen the flooding especially if it falls in Nebraska, Iowa or Missouri, which are downstream of the dams.

The river is expected to rise as much as 5 to 7 feet above flood stage in much of Nebraska and Iowa and as much as 10 feet over flood stage in parts of Missouri. The corps predicts the river will remain that high until at least August.

Becker said the river rose to 900.56 feet at Brownville on Sunday, then dropped to 900.4 feet later in the day and remained at that level Monday morning. The National Weather Service said the Missouri River set a new record Sunday at Brownville when its depth was measured at 44.4 feet. That topped the record of 44.3 feet set during the 1993 flooding.

The Cooper Nuclear Plant is operating at full capacity Monday, Becker said.

The Columbus-based utility sent a "notification of unusual event" to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission when the river rose to 899 feet early Sunday morning. The declaration is the least serious of four emergency notifications established by the federal commission.

"We knew the river was going to rise for some time," Becker said Sunday. "It was just a matter of when."

The nuclear plant has been preparing for the flooding since May 30. More than 5,000 tons of sand has been brought in to construct barricades around it and access roads, according to NPPD.

[The article continues at the link.]

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