nuclear-news

USA’s nuclear industry making big, costly, effort to prepare for nuclear disasters

Nuclear industry plans rescue wagon for disasters, Canadian Business By AP  | December 09, 2012  “…….The FLEX program is supposed to help nuclear plants handle the biggest disasters. The equipment is meant to assist in the most critical tasks during a crisis: keeping nuclear fuel cool, keeping radioactive barriers intact and making sure old stores of used nuclear fuel don’t overheat. If a cooling system fails and nuclear fuel gets too hot, the heat and pressure can rupture a reactor or even cause explosions that send radiation into the environment.

Utility companies must tell federal regulators early next year what equipment they are buying as part of the effort. Those supplies could include portable pumps, generators, batteries and chargers, compressors, hoses, tools and temporary flood barriers, according to
industry plans filed with the NRC. Plant operators started buying some of this supplemental equipment to comply with disaster rules stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The cost for individual plants is not yet clear……
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/109526–nuclear-industry-plans-rescue-wagon-for-disasters

December 10, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA