The Preppers’ Problem with Nuclear Power

Note: The information, experience and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author. Some readers have sent emails stating that this post has wrong information – I’m not an expert on nuclear power, so if you find any bad info please let everyone know in the comments below. M.D.
This is to bring up the issue of Nuclear Power Plants. For the purposes of this discussion, I specifically talk about Florida, because that is the area that I know. Here is a link to a map with all the nuclear power plants in the

 U.S., so you can make your own deductions about the area you live in:
There are currently three active power plants in Florida. They are in Crystal River, St. Lucie, and Miami. Crystal River is the closest to my location in Tampa at about 75 miles, St. Lucie is about 150 miles, and Miami is about 200 miles.
Now normally, there shouldn’t be much of a problem with nuclear power plants, because even if there is a small leak of radiation or radioactive material, it won’t last long, won’t spread far, and more than likely the wind is not blowing in my direction.
If there is an EMP (either nuclear or solar), all power plants will probably get a big EMP shock because of all the huge transmission lines leading into them. Nuclear power plants run on a type of ‘dead man’ switch, which means that supposedly if there is any kind of problem with the power plant (like all electronics get fried by EMP), the nuclear rods will automatically be extracted from the reactor via the use of non-electric gravity powered devices, stopping the nuclear reaction. Yeah!!!
Nuclear rods are radioactively and physically HOT!!!! The standard practice of nuclear power plants is to remove spent nuclear rods from the reactor and put them in radiation blocking casings and submerge them in large pools of water to keep them cool. The water is continuously refreshed and circulated to remove the heated water and bring in cool water. That’s why all the nuclear power plants are built right on the water (rivers, barrier islands, etc.) – easy access to plentiful water.
These nuclear rod cooling pools have diesel generator backups that will continuously keep the water refreshed in case the nuclear power plant goes down and can’t produce electricity. The generators have thousands of gallons of diesel stored, enough for several weeks run time, more than enough time for re-supply during normal times.

However…

• 1) The nuclear rods are so hot that they have to stay in the cooling pools for years and even decades before they’ve cooled enough to transport to a permanent storage facility or be recycled. So most nuclear power plants have all their spent nuclear rods they’ve used for the past 20 years in the cooling pools on their property.
• 2) The EMP might also fry the generators, especially if they have electronic controls and are connected to the grid.
• 3) Even if the generators run, if there are no electronics left working after the EMP, how will computers (dead) order fuel from the refineries (dead), and trucks/trains (dead/dead) and ships (dead) bring diesel to re-supply them?

Consequences:

• 1) If the warm water is not taken out and cool water brought in, the cooling pools will get hot and start boiling.
• 2) Within 24-72 hours, the water will have boiled off and the casings holding in the radiation will start melting.
• 3) When the casings are melted off, the rods will start burning the concrete and the earth and the buildings covering the pools. The buildings aren’t shielded, they’re basically just warehouses, so they’ll must be more fuel for the radioactive fire.
• 4) The rods will burn for 3-6 months, spewing clouds of radiation far into the atmosphere, potentially reaching Tampa from all of the nuclear plants in Florida (maybe even some from Alabama & Georgia). Chernobyl sent radiation a thousand miles away into Europe and even today eating feral pigs is forbidden in some areas of Germany due to high radiation in the meat.

Remediation:

The solution to protecting from nuclear power plant radiation is the same as protection from nuclear weapons, except that nuclear weapons don’t keep going off for 3-6 months. Florida is a particular problem because there are no basements and the water table is too high in most places to shelter underground.

• 1) Have a sailboat and head south for a Caribbean island that doesn’t have a power plant anywhere near it.
• 2) Have a retreat on high ground and build a basement or underground bunker and stock it with enough food and water for 1+ years. Remember that a basement bunker has to have at least 18 inches of concrete over it, a house will not stop radiation.
• 3) If you don’t have a basement, pick a room in your house or use the garage and build an interior bunker using 18 inch concrete blocks (filled with concrete) and a bunker roof (supported by 4x4s) covered by 18 inches of concrete blocks (filled with concrete), stocked with enough food and water for 1+ years.
• 4) Take a shipping container and put it in a shallow hole above the water table (3-4 feet) and then cover the shipping container on the sides and roof with as much soil as possible or concrete blocks on the outside and logs over the top covered with soil (18 inches of concrete or 36 inches of soil is recommended to stop radiation).

Good news:

• 1) A solar EMP will probably be less powerful the farther South you are, so Florida might be spared the worst. But even then, how long will the diesel last and what are they going to do with the nuclear rods?.
• 2) Radiation does not usually affect ground water, so if you have a well, your water should be good as long as your water pump works.
• 3) Within 6-12 months after the rods stop burning, most of the radiation will be greatly reduced. Just don’t dig or stir up any dust (for the next couple of decades), which will make gardening harder. So you might want to have lots of potting soil and fertilizer in your garage or barn to start your new container garden with.
• 4) This may not sound like good news, but a lot of people will not survive the radiation so there shouldn’t be much competition for the remaining resources when you come out of the bunker.

Caution:

I am not a nuclear engineer, architect, or a nuclear medical specialist. I worry about radiation, but I don’t have any bunker – yet. I’m bringing this up for discussion because I’m worried about it, think others should be aware of the potential problems, and hoping others with more specialized knowledge might have more and better solutions. This is not legal, construction, or medical advice – do your own research and continue at your own risk.

*Notes:

• All bunkers must have ventilation; overheating and humidity are the biggest problems with bunkers.
• Solar panels are recommended. Store them in EMP proof containers. They are easy to install and you shouldn’t have to go outside to maintain them. Have enough solar panels w/batteries to keep several LED lights on in the bunker, power the ventilation fans several hours a day and run the water pump to your well.
• For anyone who read the book ‘One Second After’ about the U.S. after an EMP attack, the author didn’t mention the multitude of nuclear power plants in and around North Carolina. But then the book would have been a lot shorter when everyone died after 3 weeks from radiation poisoning.
• Make sure you keep the news about your bunker quiet! Don’t forget the Twilight Zone episode ‘The Shelter ‘ – every family should watch it together to emphasis the need for OPSEC about your preps.

Would love to hear your opinion in the comments below…