Areva is touting the performance of its Areva TN Americas NUHOMS used nuclear fuel storage systems at four nuclear sites following Hurricane Matthew, which produced 100-mph winds and wreaked havoc along the East Coast in early October.
Operators took special precautions for the storm at Florida’s St. Lucie Nuclear Plant and Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station, North Carolina’s Brunswick Nuclear Generating Station and Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, and South Carolina’s H.B. Robinson Nuclear Plant.
The above-ground horizontal NUHOMS system can withstand impacts from extreme winds, wind-accelerated objects, and deep flood waters, Areva said Friday in a press release, which did not specify which four nuclear sites use the fuel storage systems.
According to Areva, the storage design’s 4-feet-thick reinforced concrete structures can “withstand maximum wind speeds of 360 mph, which is the sum of a severe storm’s 290 mph rotational speed plus a maximum storm movement speed of 70 mph.” Concerning accelerated objects, the fortress-like structure can handle impact from telephone poles, steel pipes, and automobiles. The design also has a flood height of 50 feet with water velocity at 15 feet per second, or submerged water pressure equivalent to 21.7 psi, according to Areva. The 18.5-foot-tall concrete NUHOMS modules cannot tip over in severe flood conditions, the press release stated.
“We join (the Nuclear Energy Institute) in recognizing the five nuclear energy facilities for their effective preparations for solidly weathering Hurricane Matthew, reinforcing that U.S. nuclear energy continues to be the country’s most safe, reliable and significant source of low-carbon electricity,” the company said.