Hurricane Irene Watch ~ Saturday Aug 27; 0800
ANS Hurricane Nuclear Watch for
Saturday 08/27/11; 0800 eastern time; 1200 GMT
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There are no media reports this morning of any reactor shutdowns, but that may be a function of the wire services. The NRC website does not provide real time information on reactor status. The Washington Post published this table of the expected progress of the storm over the next several days.
Timing of Impacts from Hurricane - Table source: Washington Post 08/27/11
The Weather Channel is reporting that the hurricane made landfall near Cape Lookout, NC, this morning with 85 mph winds. The NRC requires reactors to shut down when wind speeds exceed 74 mph. Expect closures later today and Sunday assuming wind speeds do not decrease over time. See AP list of reactors below.
A live stream of the Weather Channel's coverage of the hurricane's progress up the east coast is found here.
Weather Channel
http://www.weather.com/tv/tvshows/Livestream
The Weather Channel explains here why this is such a dangerous storm - slow progress means high rainfall totals, as much as 10 inches predicted for New York, and a huge area of high winds, will lead to substantial property damage and power outages.
AP released a list of reactors in the hurricane's path. CNN reported that the NRC sent additional inspectors to these plants to verify that preparations had been made to ride out the storm. The CNN report is a recap of an NRC press release.
NRC
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2011/11-159.pdf
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/26/hurricane.nuclear.plants/
Associated Press
Nuclear reactors sit on eight coastal sites along the Eastern seaboard in the projected path of Hurricane Irene. They are built to withstand winds much stronger than those expected from Irene. They are also equipped with backup generators protected from flooding to provide power to keep the reactor cool if outside power is lost. Still, some will likely be shut down as a precaution in advance of Irene's winds and heavy rains.
North Carolina
Brunswick Nuclear Power Plant
Location: Near Southport, N.C., 30 miles south of Wilmington.
Operator: Progress Energy
Virginia
Surry Power Station
Location: Surry County, Va., 35 miles northwest of Norfolk.
Operator: Dominion Resources
Maryland
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant
Location: Lusby, Md., 60 miles southeast of Washington.
Operator: Constellation Energy
New Jersey
Salem and Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Stations
Location: Lower Alloways Creek, NJ, 20 miles south of Wilmington, Del.
Operator: PSEG
Oyster Creek Generating Station
Location: Lacey Township, NJ, 60 miles east of Philadelphia.
Operator: Exelon
Connecticut
Millstone Power Station
Location: Waterford, Conn., 60 miles southeast of Hartford.
Operator: Dominion Resources
Massachusetts
Pilgrim Nuclear Station
Location: Plymouth, Mass., 45 miles south of Boston.
Operator: Entergy
New Hampshire
Seabrook Station
Location: Seabrook, NH, 45 miles north of Boston.
Operator: NextEra Energy