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As
Tropical Storm Isaac develops off the Gulf coast, one only hopes that
it will lessen in force and simply bring much needed rains. But the
reality is that NRC staff prepares for adverse conditions -- to include
hurricane force winds in excess of 75 mph -- and takes action before the
storm even hits the ground.
As
recently as yesterday, when nuclear power plants were busy taking
severe weather precautions, such as tying down loose equipment, removing
debris that could become projectiles, and topping off water and fuel
tanks, the NRC ramped up staff to assist the resident inspectors at
three plants.
Currently,
Waterford and River Bend in Louisiana, and Grand Gulf in Mississippi
have an additional six NRC inspectors who will ride out the storm inside
the plant alongside the plants’ emergency and operations personnel.
Additional staff are ready and waiting to relieve this group, and will
be monitoring plant activities to ensure safe operations on a 24/7
basis.
As
news agencies report on Isaac’s projected path, the NRC Region IV
incident response team in Arlington, Texas, monitors the National
Weather Service and uses specially created software to monitor wind
speeds at the plants. This team went to work at noon today and will
provide continuous coverage throughout the night as it stays in touch
with the resident inspectors, FEMA, state and other federal partners.
We will keep you posted about the plants’ status after the eye of the storm makes landfall.
Lara Uselding![]( "isaac")
Public Affairs Officer
Region IV
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