Brownville, Neb. – Nebraska Public Power District’s (NPPD) Cooper Nuclear Station declared an “Unusual Event” today at 7:10 a.m. as a result of this morning’s earthquake in Oklahoma. Minor tremors were felt at the plant which required plant operators to declare the event.
There is no threat to the public or plant personnel, and the station continues to operate safely. Per procedure, station personnel have increased monitoring of plant equipment. No damage to the plant or equipment has been noted. The plant’s Emergency Plan is being followed and appropriate local, county, state, and federal agencies have been notified.
“All nuclear power plants are designed to withstand the historically worst-case scenarios for the regions where they are built,” said CNS Emergency Preparedness Manager Jim Stough. “Cooper Nuclear Station was designed and built to withstand earthquakes of this magnitude, and our team members are highly trained to respond to an array of events, including earthquakes. Our personnel and the plant’s monitoring and safety systems all responded exactly as intended.”
An “Unusual Event” is defined as unusual events, minor in nature, which have occurred or are in progress which indicate a potential degradation in the level of station safety. If placed on a scale of 1 to 4, with 1 being the least serious level of an emergency and 4 being the most serious level of an emergency, an Unusual Event would equal a 1.
County or state officials will inform the public if conditions were to change and any protective actions become necessary via radio stations associated with the Emergency Alert System (EAS), such as KFAB, Omaha, 1110 AM, and KFEQ, St. Joseph, Missouri, 680 AM.
Cooper Nuclear Station is located three miles southeast of Brownville near the Missouri River. It is owned and operated by the Nebraska Public Power District, with headquarters in Columbus.
Always there when you need us, NPPD’s mission is to safely generate and deliver reliable, low-cost sustainable energy and provide outstanding customer service. Working in partnership with the state’s rural public power districts, cooperatives and municipalities, NPPD helps serve an estimated 600,000 Nebraskans in 86 of the state’s 93 counties with retail or wholesale electric power and energy-related products and services.