Alert system damage idles reactors on Hutchinson Island, Fla., nuclear plant
The Orlando Sentinel, Fla. --Sep. 7--HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla.
Sep. 7--HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla. -- The nuclear-power plant here is built to withstand 195-mph winds, but damage to the island's system to alert residents of potential radioactive leaks kept the plant closed Monday.
Its two steel- and concrete-encased nuclear reactors were shut down Saturday
morning as Hurricane Frances approached, and they were left unscathed after the
storm made landfall with 105-mph winds at Sewall's Point, just miles from the
plant.
But because residents and businesses on the island remain without electricity
-- provided by the nearby city of Fort Pierce -- concern grew that most were
without televisions and radios to provide emergency information if the island's
siren system sounded.
An evaluation Monday also found that six of the system's 89 sirens suffered
minor damage from heavy winds and rain. The sirens are meant to alert everyone
within a 10-mile radius of the plant of danger.
Backup batteries for the system and a plan for law enforcement to go door to
door to alert residents of an emergency would allow the plant to be up and
running again soon, said Tom Christopher, St. Lucie County's
radiological-emergency coordinator.
He said that decision was made after a meeting with FEMA and the federal
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
"From our perspective, there's not anything that would stop them from
powering up the plant," Christopher said.
Officials also assessed that a collapsed bridge over Mud Creek on the island
would not affect residents' ability to evacuate in case of a nuclear emergency,
because three other bridges connected Hutchinson Island to the mainland, he
said.
The nuclear plant on the island generates enough electricity every year for
500,000 homes. Its three days out of service had not affected the state's power
supply, Scott said.
Safety regulations at nuclear-power plants were overhauled after the accident
at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979, when a partial meltdown and
radiation leak became a major emergency.
Scott stressed that FPL's three nuclear plants -- including one in Miami and
another in New Hampshire -- have excellent safety records. "We've never had
an incident," she said.
Roger Roy of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
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