Flood Risk
Duke Energy has noted that a failure of the Jocassee dam could flood the plant and cause the loss of power and safety equipment, potentially damaging its three reactor cores within 8 to 9 hours. It could further lead to reactor containment failure within 59 to 68 hours, triggering a significant release of radioactivity into the environment. Duke informed the NRC about this flooding hazard as early as January 1996. Duke Energy estimated the probability of a random failure of Jocassee Dam is 1.3(10-5)/year, while the NRC puts the estimate at 2.8(10-4)/year.
Read more about this topic: Oconee Nuclear Station
Famous quotes containing the words flood and/or risk:
“There are flood and drouth
Over the eyes and in the mouth,
Dead water and dead sand
Contending for the upper hand.
The parched eviscerate soil
Gapes at the vanity of toil,
Laughs without mirth.
This is the death of the earth.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“If you love the good thing vitally, enough to give up for it all that one must give up, then you must hate the cheap thing just as hard. I tell you, there is such a thing as creative hate! A contempt that drives you through fire, makes you risk everything and lose everything, makes you a long sight better than you ever knew you could be.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)