Neil Sheehan
Public Affairs Officer
Region I
Tomorrow
marks the one-year anniversary of one of the worst coastal storms in
U.S. history. Hurricane Sandy made landfall just north of Atlantic City
and left billions of dollars in damages in its wake. A year later,
impacted areas of New Jersey and New York are continuing efforts to
recover from the pounding the storm delivered.
![The one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy serves as a reminder of the devastation the storm brought to neighborhoods along the Atlantic Coast.]()
The
one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy serves as a reminder of the
devastation the storm brought to neighborhoods along the Atlantic Coast.
The
NRC focused on the safety of nuclear power plants in the storm’s path
as Sandy bore down on the region, dispatching additional inspectors to
augment the resident inspectors at some of the potentially affected
sites to provide for 24-hour coverage. In addition, the agency shifted
to an elevated response mode that involved the activation of the
Incident Response Centers in our Region I and II offices, and the
Operations Center at our Headquarters office.
Throughout the event, the NRC also worked closely with state, county and federal partners, including FEMA.
As
the storm struck, the plant closest to the eye of the hurricane, Oyster
Creek in New Jersey, was shut down at the time but nonetheless had to
cope with flooding conditions at its water intake structure and a
temporary loss of off-site power. Three other reactors, meanwhile,
either shut down or were knocked out of service by the storm’s effects.
At
no time was the safety of these plants or others in the Northeast
compromised, reflecting the high level of training for their operators,
the hardened nature of the structures at the sites and preparations
leading up to the storm’s arrival.
Still,
there are always lessons to be learned from such events. For many
nuclear power plants, the storm has led to a fresh evaluation of severe
weather guidelines. These guidelines cover such areas as when a plant
needs to begin powering down when wind speeds associated with a severe
storm begin to impact a facility.
As
for the NRC, we continue to assess the ability of plants to withstand
severe flooding as part of our post-Fukushima reviews. Each plant is
required to complete a flooding hazard re-evaluation to confirm the
appropriateness of the hazards assumed for the site and the ability to
protect against them.
Plant
owners are required to use updated methods and information, with the
results determining whether any additional regulatory actions are
needed. More information on the NRC’s post-Fukushima reviews is
available on the agency’s
website.
Thus
far, 2013 has seen low levels of hurricane activity, but Sandy will
stand as a powerful reminder of the need for vigilance when it comes to
storm preparations.
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