French nuclear plant overheating fear

[Kellanved]

Technicians sprayed cold water on a nuclear power plant in eastern France today to prevent it from overheating.

The teams doused a building that contains one of four reactors at the plant in Fessenheim, 45 miles south of Strasbourg, officials said.

Temperatures at the plant rose to 48.5 C (119 F), two degrees short of the point at which an emergency shutdown would be required.

Much of France has been sweltering under a hot and dry spell over the last month. The most visible fallout was a series of deadly forest fires near the Mediterranean resort of St Tropez last week that killed two Britons.

...
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0700world/content_objectid=13254425_method=full_siteid=50082_headline=-French-nuclear-plant-overheating-fear-name_page.html

[Submariner]

1. There is a nuke north of Baton Rouge

called River Bend that I helped construct in the '80s. I remember it was running so hot a few years ago that they packed a section of the 8-foot diameter cooling water pipe with ice to try and drive the temperature down a few degrees.

From what I heard it was a $$$ bonanza for the local ice companies that were hauling tons of ice to the plant for a few days.

[Kellanved]

2. That doesn't improve my confidence in this technology.

EOM

[inthecorneroverhere]

3. it's not the nuke plant, it's the awful heat wave in Europe

This is outdoor temperature, not anything internal to innards of the nuclear plant. The sun beating down on the plant's roof is probably making a 100F day into a 119F day.

What's really scary and ironic is that this is probably connected with *global warming,* which is caused by combustion of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gasoline.

France, Spain, and Portugal are having a horrendous drought and heat wave that has lasted through July and now into August. The rest of Europe from Germany to Hungary and into Scandinavia, even, has had a really, really bad drought this year.

Temperatures have reached 95F in northern Germany and 100F in Switzerland. These are places that normally maybe get as warm as upstate New York in the summer.....not as hot as Alabama or Arizona!!!

Please, let's all send some positive rain vibes to our friends in Europe - they need it!!!

And, while we're at it, think about ways to use less fossil fuels, because it really looks like global warming is hitting Europe hard.

For more weather info from Europe:

http://www2.dw-world.de/english/current_affairs/1.33983.1.html

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=430750

[olmy]

4. Palo Verde Nuclear has three plants..115 for days, no problem

[regnaD kciN]

5. But "global warming" doesn't exist, does it...?

After all, Rush told me that it was nothing but a socialist plot to destroy capitalism and the west. Surely, he couldn't be mistaken!

:eyes: