By Thomas Gardiner
Two Florida nuclear power plants shut down at least parts of their operations this week as Hurricane Irma approached and then tore through the state, but are once again operational.
Florida Power and Light (FPL), which operates both plants, said public safety is a top priority.
Both reactor units at the Turkey Point Generating Station, located about 30 miles southwest of Miami Beach along the Atlantic coastline, were shut down late last week for the storm. After Irma moved through the area early this week, FLP brought St. Lucie Unit 1 offline for non-reactor issues.
“We conservatively took down St. Lucie 1 after the storm while we cleaned salt from non-nuclear equipment,” FLP spokesman Peter Robbins said of the facility on Hutchinson Island off the Atlantic Coast.
The salt accumulated from the storm surge and saltwater blown across the plant by winds.
As of Friday morning, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission showed both Saint Lucie reactors at full power. Turkey Point Unit 4 also reached full power by Friday, but Unit 3 remained offline.
“We are not releasing a timeline on the units coming back up. Please know that, as always, our decision-making process is very deliberate and conservative with safety as the top priority,” Robbins said.
FLP said its facilities were constructed to withstand hurricane-force winds, including nuclear waste casks on site. Robbins called the large, concrete dry-waste storage casks among the strongest, most robust structures on the site.
“They are designed and built to handle all sorts of extreme weather, including hurricanes. All of Turkey Point is safe, including the dry storage,” he said.
No nuclear facilities reported any damage from the storm, which passed along the western coast of Florida. According to maps from the National Weather Service, both Turkey Point and St. Lucie were in tropical storm-force wind zones.
When a hurricane warning is issued, the NRC declares an “unusual event.” Robbins said that warning is issued as a matter of procedure.
“There was no impact to public safety and no public action was required,” he said. “Keeping a facility running during a storm like this isn’t top priority for us. The only priority is the safety of the public.”
The Crystal River nuclear plant, located about 100 miles north of Tampa on the Gulf Coast, took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma. Crystal River is owned by Duke Energy and is transitioning into SAFSTOR status after being shut down in 2009.
The facility was not damaged, according to Duke Energy spokesman Brandon Thomas.
“We enacted our emergency response plan last week before the storm,” he said. “Our emergency response team and district managers stayed at the facility during the storm to ensure public safety.”
