Posted on 4/18/2011, 3:01:47 PM by COBOL2Java
April 18, 2011 - Officials from the Surry nuclear power station in southeastern Virginia say this weekend's strong storms forced a shutdown of the facility's reactors.
Download Dominion Virginia Power reports that an apparent tornado touched down on the switchyard supporting the Surry Power Station and the facility's access road Saturday. The storm cut off the electrical feed from the grid to the station, which is located in Surry County, Va.
Both reactors at the station shut down automatically as designed and backup diesel generators started immediately to provide the electricity necessary to maintain both units. A spokesperson for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says no release of radioactive material occurred beyond minor releases associated with normal station operations.
That release is below federally approved operating limits and poses no threat to station workers or the public, the NRC said in a statement released Sunday.
The apparent tornado did not strike the two nuclear units, which are designed to withstand natural events such as tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes.
Power company personnel and NRC staff are working to restore full electrical service to the station.
Worked as designed.
Slowed the net down around here and messed up some electronic bank transactions. I suspect the cause is a bit more complex than these guys are letting on ~
That’s what it sounds like to me. The newer plants don’t even require generator back ups.
Anti-nuke crowd are cursing their luck. They probably wished it would have been a Japan-like disaster.
nuclear power plants are the safest place to be in an emergency.
I’d pay good money to see some of the dry casks that store radioactive waste at Surry get sucked up and and dropped on Harry Reid’s Senate offices. Maybe then he’d come around to having a storage site finally approved and opened.
That was one project I enjoyed working on the most, Surry is on the James River, the whole area is woodlands. The ferry ride over and back from near Williamsburg is pretty cool.
Best wishes and Condolences to those who lost loved ones and property.
That Scotland-Jamestown Ferry`s a great ride. I used to live just 2 miles in from where it docks at Jamestown.
I drove along parts of the devastated area in Gloucester County yesterday.. The damage was pretty extensive in some parts. One of our middle schools lost part of its roof and portions of the structure.
:-)
Actually right up the road in Kingswood.
I know that they are designed for passive cooling. Still without power from someplace they can’t restart after they shutdown.
Which “newer plants” (either producing power for the grid or submitted to the NRC for approval to construct) do not require generator backups?
We lived in Smithfield for ten years before moving to Greenville, SC in 2007...took that ferry over to Jamestown/Williamsburg many a time...especially when our children were younger, who loved feeding the seagulls always following behind the ferry.
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