Trouble Brewing At Miami Nuke Plant?
By James Donahue
Even as plans are being made to expand Florida Power & Light’s nuclear generating station at Turkey Point, alarm flags are being raised by Miami-Dade County officials and environmentalists about even keeping the 44-year-old plant operating.
Critics have long complained that the plant is located on environmental fragile land, it threatens a variety of rare species of wildlife that includes the crocodile, it is located on lowlands near the Atlantic Ocean where it is in the center of a heavily populated area and is a target for hurricanes, storm surge and rising sea levels.
A recent study revealed that the plant has been leaking dangerous tritium-laced waste-water into Biscayne Bay. The radioactive isotope also has been found in groundwater surrounding the plant and there is concern that there has been subsequent water, ground and airborne contamination of the drinking water and food production.
State Representative Jose Javier Rodriguez told a Florida newspaper he is calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the issue after county water monitors found over 200 times normal levels of tritium in bay water.
Meanwhile, Bob Nichols, who publishes weekly high radiation levels in atmosphere testing over major cities throughout the United States, warns that the beta and gamma radiation levels over Miami have spiked in recent months. The city now is measuring among the most radiation polluted places to live in the nation.
The others include Denver, Colorado; Colorado Springs, Colorado and Louisville, Kentucky, Nichols reports.
In his April 2 report Nichols zeroed in on the Miami count. He noted that the radiation at Miami “has been documented rising steadily for seven years. Then, all of a sudden the Rad started rising faster eight months ago. It’s as if something broke or radiation from hell was unleashed.”
The Turkey Point plant is surrounded by a population of an estimated 3.5 million people living within a 50-mile radius. The plant is 25 miles from the heart of Miami.
The facility was severely damaged when Hurricane Andrew scored a direct hit in 1992. The water treatment plant and a smokestack from one of the fossil-fueled units were destroyed and emergency diesel generators kicked on when the entire plant shut down. There was no damage to the containment buildings where uranium rods are located. That part of the plant was built to withstand winds up to 235 miles per hour, hopefully exceeding the maximum winds produced in category 5 hurricanes.
Because of weather changes occurring on the planet, more powerful winds may become more common. To date a maximum wind speed of 253 miles per hour was recorded when Cyclone Olivia struck Barrow Island, Australia, in 1996. A wind of 318 miles per hour was recorded when a tornado hit Moore City, Oklahoma, in 1999.
The Turkey Point nuclear plant is the sixth largest of its kind operating in the United States. It has two nuclear Westinghouse pressurized water reactors that generate power for the entire southern portion of Florida.
The state has approved an expansion of two additional reactors and construction is set to begin in 2017.
By James Donahue
Even as plans are being made to expand Florida Power & Light’s nuclear generating station at Turkey Point, alarm flags are being raised by Miami-Dade County officials and environmentalists about even keeping the 44-year-old plant operating.
Critics have long complained that the plant is located on environmental fragile land, it threatens a variety of rare species of wildlife that includes the crocodile, it is located on lowlands near the Atlantic Ocean where it is in the center of a heavily populated area and is a target for hurricanes, storm surge and rising sea levels.
A recent study revealed that the plant has been leaking dangerous tritium-laced waste-water into Biscayne Bay. The radioactive isotope also has been found in groundwater surrounding the plant and there is concern that there has been subsequent water, ground and airborne contamination of the drinking water and food production.
State Representative Jose Javier Rodriguez told a Florida newspaper he is calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the issue after county water monitors found over 200 times normal levels of tritium in bay water.
Meanwhile, Bob Nichols, who publishes weekly high radiation levels in atmosphere testing over major cities throughout the United States, warns that the beta and gamma radiation levels over Miami have spiked in recent months. The city now is measuring among the most radiation polluted places to live in the nation.
The others include Denver, Colorado; Colorado Springs, Colorado and Louisville, Kentucky, Nichols reports.
In his April 2 report Nichols zeroed in on the Miami count. He noted that the radiation at Miami “has been documented rising steadily for seven years. Then, all of a sudden the Rad started rising faster eight months ago. It’s as if something broke or radiation from hell was unleashed.”
The Turkey Point plant is surrounded by a population of an estimated 3.5 million people living within a 50-mile radius. The plant is 25 miles from the heart of Miami.
The facility was severely damaged when Hurricane Andrew scored a direct hit in 1992. The water treatment plant and a smokestack from one of the fossil-fueled units were destroyed and emergency diesel generators kicked on when the entire plant shut down. There was no damage to the containment buildings where uranium rods are located. That part of the plant was built to withstand winds up to 235 miles per hour, hopefully exceeding the maximum winds produced in category 5 hurricanes.
Because of weather changes occurring on the planet, more powerful winds may become more common. To date a maximum wind speed of 253 miles per hour was recorded when Cyclone Olivia struck Barrow Island, Australia, in 1996. A wind of 318 miles per hour was recorded when a tornado hit Moore City, Oklahoma, in 1999.
The Turkey Point nuclear plant is the sixth largest of its kind operating in the United States. It has two nuclear Westinghouse pressurized water reactors that generate power for the entire southern portion of Florida.
The state has approved an expansion of two additional reactors and construction is set to begin in 2017.