Antinuclear

Fires at 3 U.S. nuclear plants illustrate safety risks

Fires break out at three U.S. nuclear plants over the weekend, FACING SOUTH,  By Sue Sturgis , March 29, 2010 Emergencies were declared at two Progress Energy nuclear power plants in the Carolinas over the weekend due to fires. There was also a fire at a nuclear power plant in Ohio on Sunday that sent two firefighters to the hospital. The blazes were put out and disaster averted, but the incidents underscore concerns about U.S. nuclear plants’ failure to comply with fire safety regulations……

The emergencies “are a reminder that virtually all U.S. nuclear power plants remain in noncompliance with fire protection regulations,” says Jim Warren, executive director of the N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, an energy watchdog group.

Fire represents the leading risk factor for a U.S. nuclear plant meltdown.

In 1975, a fire broke out at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Alabama in an area that housed electrical cables used to power critical safety equipment.

In response to the near-disaster at Browns Ferry, the NRC adopted fire-safety regulations designed to prevent similar incidents. However, most of the nation’s commercial nuclear power plants still not have come into compliance with those regulations, according to reports by the NRC Inspector General and the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

ISS – Fires break out at three U.S. nuclear plants over the weekend

March 29, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1 | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive