Author of Be Ready for Anything and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course
A “state of emergency” has been declared by the staff at Brunswick Nuclear Plant in Southport, North Carolina. Few details are available at the moment, but the emergency is currently classified as “an unusual event” due to flooding from Hurricane Florence. If it’s any comfort, the classification of “unusual event” is the lowest emergency classification in the nuke world.
Update #2: Sept. 17, 2018; 6:17 pm
The official filing with the NRC states:
“A hazardous event has resulted in on site conditions sufficient to prohibit the plant staff from accessing the site via personal vehicles due to flooding of local roads by Tropical Storm Florence.”
Some of the employees have been there since last Wednesday.
The flooding of roads and downed trees prevented fresh crews from relieving the nearly 300 Duke Energy workers and NRC “storm riders” who have been on site for days. And the blocked roadways would make it impossible to evacuate the 10-mile emergency evacuation zone around the site if a higher level of emergency were declared, Ledford said…
…One of the “storm riders” at Brunswick is Daniel Bacon, whose regular job is senior operations engineer out of the NRC’s regional office in Atlanta. Bacon said he’s been “locked down” at Brunswick since Wednesday, but the local Duke Energy employees who live in the area may have arrived on Thursday or Friday.
Reached by phone Monday, Bacon said the workers are sleeping on cots and using portable toilets because the water is currently shut off and the toilets can’t flush.
Bacon said there is limited access to the plant, and some workers have been able to leave the site and check up on their homes nearby. After the storm passed some drove to a Walmart in Southport to stock up on provisions.
On Monday morning, a shipment of food arrived by helicopter, with another helicopter delivery expected Monday afternoon, Bacon said. Off-duty security workers cooked up a hot breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon.
“It’s kind of like camping,” Bacon said. “Everyone is handling it very well. I haven’t heard any complaining.” (source)
As mentioned in the primary report, this incident is the lowest level of nuclear emergencies. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has assured the public that there is no threat.
…the plant is stable and poses no threat to public safety.
The floodwaters have not entered the facility and have not been exposed to equipment.
There is limited access to the plant and some workers can leave the site.
Duke spokeswoman Mary Kathyrn Green said Duke Energy replacements will arrive Monday but the staff on site now has ample support. (source)
At this point, I’m feeling optimistic, but I still urge caution for those who live in the area.
Update #1: Sept 17, 2018; 2:43 pm
Fox News reports:
…the twin-reactor nuclear plant is stable and poses no threat to public safety, as floodwaters have not entered the facility or threatened any important equipment.
The plant can be accessed by one route due to floodwaters, but since there are not multiple routes available, the plant was placed under an “unusual event,” according to Ledford. A spokesperson for Duke Energy told Fox News the plant “remains safely shut down,” after shuttering operations before Florence’s hurricane-force winds arrived.
The spokesperson added that there is no flooding on the plant site, but the area is not fully accessible at this time. Some employees who live locally have been able to leave the nuclear plant and check on their homes, while others have made trips to local stores for supplies, the spokesperson added. (source)
Initial report: Sept. 17, 2018, 2:10 Eastern Time
Local media reports:
Duke Energy’s Brunswick nuclear plant, about 30 miles south of Wilmington, has declared a state of emergency as the 1,200-acre complex remains cut off by flood waters and is inaccessible to outside personnel.
The plant has declared an “unusual event,” the lowest level of nuclear emergency, as required by Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said NRC spokesman Joey Ledford.
The twin-reactor nuclear plant, located 4 miles inland, is stable and poses no threat to public safety, Ledford said. The facility has off-site electricity from the power grid to cool the nuclear reactors and radioactive nuclear waste at the site.
Flood water has not entered the facility and has not exposed critical equipment to risk. (source)
The NRC spokesman assures the public that there’s no need to panic. “The plant is safe. The reactors are in hot stand-by mode 3 shutdown.”
I sincerely hope we aren’t looking at our own Fukushima-style disaster.
How do you prepare for a nuclear plant emergency?
I have not specifically researched nuclear emergencies that occur from industrial accidents but for the time being, my suggestion is to learn what you can about radioactive events. If I lived in the area, I would prepare in the same way that I would for a nuclear strike, less the impact of the missile hitting the earth.
Again, at this time there has been no risk announced to those who live near the Southport plant. Don’t panic but keep a close eye on this and, if you can pass through the local roads, be ready to evacuate quickly with your family should things get worse.
Right now, this is all we know.
I will update you HERE as more information becomes available.
As of 4:15 PM the NRC has not reported this on their site. They list Brunswick 1 and 2 as generating 0% today but no other information is given. The last event notification for that plant is 22 MAY 2018. Not that I was expecting them to tell us anything…
That’s very interesting, Joseph. I wonder why the new declaration isn’t on the website? My information is from multiple sources, all linked to. Fingers crossed that it remains a very minor issue only related to the accessibility of the site.
Weirder still is that Intellihub has NRC Event 53609 posted about an event at Brunswick but the NRC site doesn’t show an Event 53609. I am sure that they have declared some kind of emergency simply because one never lets a good crisis go to waste, but the discrepancy with what I’m seeing as Event 53609 is odd.
Thank you for your article alerting us to the power plant.
However, it comes across as knee-jerk reactionary alarmist. When writing an article to inform the public, please do at least a little bit of research into the subject matter. The twin-reactor nuclear plant, located 4 miles inland, is stable and poses no threat to public safety, yet you include “I sincerely hope we aren’t looking at our own Fukushima-style disaster.” Not even close.
I’m also a writer – and as such, we owe it to our readers to give facts, and not hyperbole speculation.
So we suppose you just save yourself some trouble and readers (if they haven’t deserted you) some angst by merely parroting the official ‘facts’–“Nuthin’ to see here, mokes. Move along now’.
Unfortunately this is just more knee jerk scaremongering BS tactics by the lamestream to generate panic, hence you click clickCLICK CLICK CLICK!!!! Their websites over and over again to get updates, and they get ad revenue for that.
The F’n parking lot is flooded. If you own a crapbox mini car, you can’t drive in there because the water is over a few inches deep on the roads at some point. This means the police chief can not just drive in there with his low rider when donut’s come fresh out of the breeder oven reactor.
This means there is ‘restricted’ access to the place, meaning emergency vehicles, may have difficulty getting in there. Hence an ‘incident’.
The fact that they shut the reactor down to begin with, out of preparations for the storm, and shutting it down makes it SAFER! is an ‘incident’ ie it’s out of the ordinary from a ‘normal’ operating day.
Do we get hurricanes every day? NO
Do we shut reactors down out of an overabundance of caution every day? NO
Meaning this is an ‘unusual event’.
You have to remember, this is the first storm of the year to really hit the mainland. They always go stupid anal hype on the first storm. Since the thing really pissed out, it hit as a weaker storm and not the category 12+ they screamed it would, they have to scare you into watching their news channel with premium prices on advertising somehow. Trying to save face.
Nothing to see here…. move along people. (Doing my best Officer Barbrady)
Let me further add, and I apologize. By officially declaring a ‘system emergency’ which ALL power companies do during natural disasters. It makes it ‘official’ and opens up for the Federal Dollars to cover the costs of Storm Prep, Ride Out, Repairs, Overtime etc etc. It’s just like when the governor rolls thru and declares some county a ‘disaster area’. That’s the official green light for Federal $. It’s now Declared.
Great information. Thank you.
Update – NRC site – Event 54609 –
”
MANUAL REACTOR SCRAM
“At 1644 [CDT] a manual reactor scram was inserted by placing the Reactor Mode Switch to Shutdown. At 1643 [CDT] the Condensate Booster Pump A tripped on low suction pressure. At 1644 [CDT] the Reactor Feed Pump A tripped on low suction pressure. A Recirculation Flow Control Valve runback occurred as designed. Reactor Water level was approaching the Automatic Low Water Level 3 (11.4 inches) scram set point and manual actions were taken by placing the Mode Switch to Shutdown before the low level set point was reached. All systems responded as expected following the manual scram. The plant is stable in mode 3. This event is being reported under 10CFR 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B), as any event or condition that results in actuation of the Reactor Protection System (RPS), when the reactor is critical.
“The NRC Senior Resident Inspector has been notified.”
All control rods fully inserted, and decay heat is being removed through the turbine bypass valves to the main condenser. The licensee is investigating the cause of the event.”
When a facility blows it’s top, that’s it. It’s done. Pressure is released. There’s no “radiation” threat. A nuclear plant is nothing more than a steam generating facility using hot rocks. The only way to get ‘burned’ is to come in direct contact with them.
There’s nothing to breath in or get exposed to. Just keep your distance.
You can go back to bed now.
“How do you prepare for a nuclear plant emergency?”
You could read up on the topic,
Free ebook Download
“Nuclear War Survival Skills”
By Cresson H. Kearny
Or, for a discounted priced hardcopy.
https://www.hamiltonbook.com/products/search?q=nuclear+war+skills&cat_id=
Or, read up on Iodine pills, dry seaweed on your clothesline…
at least it didn’t rain irradiated pigs during Hurricane Florence.
On the positive side, move over GFS, there’s a new weather forecast model,
Hurricane Florence: Waffle House Index prepared for storm
By: Kelcie Willis, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Updated: Sep 12, 2018 – 12:35 PM
https://www.wftv.com/news/trending-now/hurricane-florence-waffle-house-index-prepared-for-storm/832173776
Avoid getting hyper on MSM weather reports and going out to buy anything to calm your anxiety. A waffle will make you feel better.
Of general interest, there were speculations that hurricane forces are more electromagnetic than thermal as we were taught in school.
Are NEXRAD Radars Steering Hurricane Florence?
https://climateviewer.com/2018/09/13/are-nexrad-radars-steering-hurricane-florence/
The site is a good intro and very well detailed on a subject surfacing in the news.
You be the judge.
Misc. While not statistical proof by any means but funny, I read a post on another blog about “Riding the Storm Out” and attics, most likely referring to a post on Organic Prepper, which would indicate Daisy’s blog is read beyond what may be indicated.
See,
The Social Media Purge and How It Affects Everyone
https://www.theorganicprepper.com/social-media-purge/
It was funny since the post about attics was meant to be tongue-in-cheek but was taken indigently. Add to the list of survival skills, a sense of humor.