Chile Forum

... In Missouri, record floods threaten two nuclear plants - the Cooper Nuclear Station and Fort Calhoun Station, yet little about either is reported, especially on television where most people get news. In early June moreover, the FAA issued an indefinite "no-fly hazards" restriction over the facilities to conceal the worst of what's happening.

Both plants issued low level "unusual event" alerts that may rise to catastrophic ones. On June 30, the Omaha World-Herald reported that both plants store spent fuel rods in open casks. As a result, if Missouri River flood levels rise enough, they'll "overflow them and carry contaminated water downstream."

Both plants "use outdoor, above-ground entombment (called dry cask storage) for its oldest fuel," kept in welded shut steel canisters placed "inside concrete bunkers that rely on outside air flowing" to dissipate residual heat. Allegedly, bunkers and canisters can withstand flooding. They may soon get a chance to prove it ...