Posted on 06/16/2011 6:34:16 PM PDT by Rennes Templar
Officials at the Omaha Public Power District say there have been no releases of radioactive material since flooding from the Missouri River caused them to declare a low-level emergency June 6 at the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant.
The emergency level, declared as "a notification of an unusual event," is the lowest possible of four standard emergency classifications set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and, as of now, there has been no risk to the public.
Officials say they have sandbagged the area surrounding the plant to a level greater than what the projected water levels will reach, and that they do not expect any release of radioactivity.
The four emergency classifications set by the NRC are listed below in order of increasing severity, according to the NRC website.
Notification of Unusual Event - Under this category, events are in process or have occurred which indicate potential degradation in the level of safety of the plant. No release of radioactive material requiring offsite response or monitoring is expected unless further degradation occurs. Alert - If an alert is declared, events are in process or have occurred which involve an actual or potential substantial degradation in the level of safety of the plant. Any releases of radioactive material from the plant are expected to be limited to a small fraction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protective action guides (PAGs). Site Area Emergency - A site area emergency involves events in process or which have occurred that result in actual or likely major failures of plant functions needed for protection of the public. Any releases of radioactive material are not expected to exceed the EPA PAGs except near the site boundary. General Emergency - A general emergency involves actual or imminent substantial core damage or melting of reactor fuel with the potential for loss of containment integrity. Radioactive releases during a general emergency can reasonably be expected to exceed the EPA PAGs for more than the immediate site area.
Here’s a funny one. When I was finishing up my post, my SPACE-BAR key got stuck down.
And interestingly enough, (and something I didn’t know until now), hitting the spacebar while the “post” button has focus actually PUSHES the “Post” button, just as if you click on it.
So my computer was merrily doing a repeat space command ON THE POST button. Eventually I closed out the window, and then I got my space bar unstuck.
Hopefully, we’ll get the mess cleaned up here shortly.
Public hysteria can be created with misinformation.
This kid didn't do any basic fact checking; which I assume was intentional. I think his intent was to “create” a story to enhance his resume.
I find that repulsive; especially in a situation where I know people on the inside of the situation.
The Internet has created an environment where anyone can state anything with no factual basis.
I assume we on FR are a better cut of people. I assume people are checking some basic validity of a story before posting it. When I read a thread that someone has started; I assume that poster is being prudent with their sources.
Those news leaks were shutdown after the severity became clear about 1-2 weeks into the event. My guess is Obama ordered the leakage stopped and ordered the coverup, since the MSM will only listen to him. BTW - He has come out in support of nuclear power since this catastrophe. It is one of the cornerstones of the green renewable energy push. His support though among his leftist core is dropping significantly. Partly because of the way he is handling the nuclear crisis in Japan, but primarily from other actions such as his war in Libya. So my guess is as the damage in Japan worsens, we will eventually see some of the MSM jump the Obama/GE bandwagon.
They should ok at Ft Calhoun. They have a huge amount of resources there.
I will get a more detailed update today!
From the NRC.
http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/2011/06/17/rumors-and-the-rising-river/
I suppose the late night talk shows will say this is part of the coverup!!
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