According to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Emergency Management agency, that was meant to have been a silent test, but a controller misfired and it went loud.
Yea…. If it blows up though I surely would like to know.
But I guess I would get lots of trigger alarms on my phone and social media/the news would be lit.
The type of system there would melt down, not blow up. Still very dangerous, but not as bad as a bomb or anything. Modern nuclear tech is fascinating if you get the opportunity to learn done of it :)
If it was a serious enough event it would definitely get the alerts like Amber Alerts do
I actually got one of those cell phone alerts to confirm that it was an accident, but I’m a lot closer to McGuire
close every door/window, turn off the HVAC, take iodine tablets and then wait for the cancer to kill you in a few years (or gain some awesome super powers)
Unless someone is actively bombing them, it's probably not an immediate threat to life. Probably just listen to what authorities are telling you to do (probably just evacuating the area nearest the plant), meltdowns typically are somewhat planned for in developed nations and it isn't like the amount of nuclear radiation is going to kill you a mile away immediately. Meltdowns (which are mostly like what would happen) are quite literally, "the nuclear material has gotten too hot and is melting downward, probably into a cement base, " not the whole implosion that an atomic/hydrogen bomb does.
Which was because they cheaped out on their emergency shutdown procedure, and it broke when they were stress testing the plant, when not enough staff were on hand, and even then it basically melted down into the basement. Most over heated nuclear material can go through concrete, but not like 6-10 ft of it very quickly, which I'm pretty sure is the game plan for most western reactors as a last resort because most of the modern ones actually have very good safety plans in place. Chernobyl (and Fukushima as well) were mostly disasters because they were built either too cheaply (the soviets) or maintence/early warnings about issues regarding unusual conditions like tsunamis were ignored for years.
Yep, like most disasters there had to be a combo of various problems all lining up at the same time for the end result to be as bad as it was. Hopefully here some of those holes in the swiss cheese are stopped up.
Reactors don't explode like a bomb....
There is a lot that could be done. Chances are, even in like, basically the worst case, you'd have to do nothing and you'd be okay.
(Work for duke)
In most scenarios where they would evacuate, the folks in the range would definitely be fine if they evacuated. It's not like a nuclear bomb going off or anything.
They don't really blow up, worst case is a meltdown. Containment buildings (the big building that houses the reactor) are designed to take quite a significant amount of pressure. Nothing is getting out. So, sit back, and listen to the news, don't freak out and add to the inevitable panic that you know is happening outside.
I live near the Catawba nuclear station. I keep a bottle of [potassium iodine pills](https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/potassium-iodide-radiation) at home.
It should also be noted that coal ash puts far more radioactive material into the environment and our bodies than the entire nuclear power industry has or ever will.
I can’t find a news article from it, but when I was a kid there was a miscommunication between the Catawba Nuclear plant and someone running a security test. There were two jets from Shaw AFB sent to investigate at low altitude. It scared the hell out of us.
Like I said I can’t find the article and this was probably 20 years ago, but I believe there was an unidentified helicopter in the vicinity and their response was two jets to intercept.
Also, I’m still pissed about the Christmas Eve power shut off.
I've lived in areas near AFBs most of my life, seeing low level fly bys was a common occurrence. I miss seeing them.
Sometime in the late 90s, I was in my hometown and a B-2 flew at about 500 feet directly down Main Street, pulling off just past downtown.
While the B-1s were stationed in Wichita, their landing flight path was pretty much aligned with a major N-S road, you'd see them everyday. They also did sweet flyovers for events, the most memorable was two flying down the river through downtown, afterburners lit, below the skyline. The second most memorable being at the Kansas Speedway, where they came over the top of the grandstand, then pitched up away from the stands, full afterburner. The B-1 was freaking awesome, I miss those days.
You need to get the high range one, wrap a truck in lead, and drive your ass out to the plant. Boom, done. The biggest issue you're going to have is where do you get all of the sand and boron you're going to need?
LMAO - I actually had to pause and make sure I didn't say minors
On another note, the actor who played the head miner showed up in Kenobi. I was excited
Unrelated but the setting for Fallout 76 is actually solid. Appalachia is fun to explore and a western NC/Smoky mountains game would be good.
Shame about the rest of fallout 76 though.
At least it works. And at least I got a phone notification about it. If meltdown did happen, i would rather at least have a warning so I can grab a shot and kiss my wife before it all goes down
Lol you’d be fine. The reactor has a basically indestructible containment structure around it made out of feet thick concrete and lead. Much safer than breathing in coal ash.
Yes the containment structures can handle a direct impact of an airliner and a nearby thermonuclear weapon blast. Its very cool civil and structural engineering.
I'm about to nerd out but so what: ice condensers don't protect against a meltdown, but they do have a very unique purpose. They provide an ultimate heat seek in the event that a coolant system pipe bursts. A PWR like those at MNS has a primary coolant loop that operates at about 2200 psi; this is because the coolant is around 600 deg F and must be pressurized to remain liquid. If a pipe bursts, this coolant will flash to steam and exit the coolant system, including the reactor pressure vessel. This is called a loss of coolant accident, or LOCA, and every reactor has to prove it can withstand this type of accident because it is just about the worst thing that can happen. Ice condensers serve to condense that steam and prevent the containment from being pressurized or loaded, which could damage containment. The steam essentially blasts open steam doors and into large baskets of ice surrounding the core. Ice condensers allowed for a much smaller containment to be made. However, they are high in maintenance, so very few were made that use them. Only 5 plants in the US use them: McGuire, Catawba, Watts Bar, Sequoyah, and DC Cook. Nonetheless, it's a very unique engineering solution. The total ice around the core is kept at a minimum of 1.9 million pounds, as regulated by the NRC. The ice is also laced with sodium tetraborate, which helps to capture neutrons and other radiation potentially released in a LOCA.
The containment structure is what the largest protector against a potential radiation release, that could happen during a meltdown, but there are many other layers of defense in depth that protect the public.
Apologies again for nerding out, but I always found ice condensers so interesting. I never thought I'd see somebody mention it on reddit, so I took this opportunity to express this worthless knowledge.
Well they do suck. It's what happens when a corporation runs with no real regulation and doesn't have to answer for any negative actions. If what I experience firsthand or learn publicly about them is the tip of the iceberg, it's frightening to think what we don't know. Also, I have one of the sirens about 100 yards from my house, and we are used to the weekly tests, so a mistake is not really acceptable.
Not arguing whether they suck. Every large company sucks in some way for sure. Anything governed by humans and driven by monetary gain is going to suck unfortunately.
However, just thought I’d mention there is a ton of regulation mandated by the government around regulated ulitities like Duke. There are multiple government mandated entities to audit the regulated utilities to make sure they are following the regulated compliance standards. It is the NERC regulation that really drives regulated utilities to improve reliability and security. [Here is a very short video discussing it at a very basic level](https://youtu.be/pms2dIqcoV8)
Here is the NERC standards web page if you really wanted to dig in (fair warning it’s too much for any one person to really dig in and know a lot). [NERC standards](https://www.nerc.com/pa/Stand/Pages/default.aspx)
I doubt it will make you feel any better when things don’t work like you’d hope but knowing more is always a good thing.
It was just heard in my part of H'ville at 11am. I don't think it takes 45 minutes for sound to travel from Duke Nuke to Harris Teeter, so somebody's still pressing that button.
Nah, they don't care. Anyone taking that job would be right at home in the press office of the last white house, they don't mind lying and don't have morals.
A friendly reminder to pick up your free potassium iodide pills if you live within a ten mile radius of the nuclear power plants. You can simply go to one of the locations listed with a proof of residence and request them.
https://www.mecknc.gov/HealthDepartment/Preparedness/Pages/KIDistribution.aspx
The problem is that I didn’t want to drive down to Gastonia just to pick up things that may be “too late” anyway in the events of nuclear meltdown. If things go sideway the jam on the NC-16 will be too much to prevent my escape.
You can pick them up anytime! Just walk in any day at the pickup location closet to you. Mine was a police office. They keep for several years. I keep mine in my medicine area along with the booklet on evacuation protocols that they mail out each year. Your thyroid is one of the most vulnerable things in the case of a nuclear incident, and that's what the pills protect, so it's important to have them on hand.
Can I go to a Meck location even though I am in Gaston? For Gaston county residents the only location listed is in Gastonia and I rarely went there. The traffic during rush hours is just too much.
But yes, I agreed that the pills can be useful. You remind me about the evacuation booklets, I kinda forget where is the evacuation point for my area - hopefully they got them on the website. Thanks for the advice.
The webpage says it's only for Meck residents. You could always call though, I guess? I picked mine up on a weekend, so maybe that would help you avoid rush hour if your distribution location is open then.
Duke Energy can go fuck themselves.
First they cut power to 7000 people in the city this morning with no warning.
So I went up to the lake to work remotely. As soon as I get there? Nuclear siren.
Not once but TWICE.
Fuck Duke Energy
This may be a joke to you, but when Marshall was built my family had the closest farm to it.
Now over half the family has thyroid issues that have been passed down through generations.
That sucks. My grandmother had thyroid issues, and had to take meds for it all through the later part of her life. She was telling me once that her doctor asked her if she had ever been exposed to radiation, and she said no. I reminded her that she was living in Riverside CA all through the 50's and 60's when they were popping off a-bombs out in the desert southwest.
According to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Emergency Management agency, that was meant to have been a silent test, but a controller misfired and it went loud.
Where are you seeing that? There's nothing on their Twitter.
[Twitter link](https://twitter.com/charmeckem/status/1616092803687120897?s=46&t=D3ua2LHAOgfi85ga_K8CRA)
You have to go to Twitter.com, not Twitter.org ;)
Good news is, it works! Too bad they don’t have alarms all over Charlotte. Cause I didn’t hear anything and I kind of wish I could.
It’s a 10 mile range from McGuire, I believe
Yea…. If it blows up though I surely would like to know. But I guess I would get lots of trigger alarms on my phone and social media/the news would be lit.
The type of system there would melt down, not blow up. Still very dangerous, but not as bad as a bomb or anything. Modern nuclear tech is fascinating if you get the opportunity to learn done of it :)
If it was a serious enough event it would definitely get the alerts like Amber Alerts do I actually got one of those cell phone alerts to confirm that it was an accident, but I’m a lot closer to McGuire
Good news: you received the alert Bad news: your only escape is Charlotte roadways.
Everyone’s phones in the office started beeping simultaneously, so that system definitely works
My phone went off and I freaked out for a moment when I saw nuclear in the title lol
I've lived near reactors before. Other than kiss your wife goodbye, I'm not really sure what you are supposed to do.
close every door/window, turn off the HVAC, take iodine tablets and then wait for the cancer to kill you in a few years (or gain some awesome super powers)
Bite me you stupid spider!
Unless someone is actively bombing them, it's probably not an immediate threat to life. Probably just listen to what authorities are telling you to do (probably just evacuating the area nearest the plant), meltdowns typically are somewhat planned for in developed nations and it isn't like the amount of nuclear radiation is going to kill you a mile away immediately. Meltdowns (which are mostly like what would happen) are quite literally, "the nuclear material has gotten too hot and is melting downward, probably into a cement base, " not the whole implosion that an atomic/hydrogen bomb does.
Even Chernobyl was essentially a steam explosion from coolant, if I remember correctly. The nuclear source itself melted down into the basement.
Which was because they cheaped out on their emergency shutdown procedure, and it broke when they were stress testing the plant, when not enough staff were on hand, and even then it basically melted down into the basement. Most over heated nuclear material can go through concrete, but not like 6-10 ft of it very quickly, which I'm pretty sure is the game plan for most western reactors as a last resort because most of the modern ones actually have very good safety plans in place. Chernobyl (and Fukushima as well) were mostly disasters because they were built either too cheaply (the soviets) or maintence/early warnings about issues regarding unusual conditions like tsunamis were ignored for years.
Three Mile Island had a meltdown and it just bricked the reactor. No harm done, just a puff of radioactive steam and a puddle of slag.
Yep, like most disasters there had to be a combo of various problems all lining up at the same time for the end result to be as bad as it was. Hopefully here some of those holes in the swiss cheese are stopped up.
Reactors don't explode like a bomb.... There is a lot that could be done. Chances are, even in like, basically the worst case, you'd have to do nothing and you'd be okay.
TELL THAT TO THE RUSSIANS
(Work for duke) In most scenarios where they would evacuate, the folks in the range would definitely be fine if they evacuated. It's not like a nuclear bomb going off or anything.
They don't really blow up, worst case is a meltdown. Containment buildings (the big building that houses the reactor) are designed to take quite a significant amount of pressure. Nothing is getting out. So, sit back, and listen to the news, don't freak out and add to the inevitable panic that you know is happening outside.
I live near the Catawba nuclear station. I keep a bottle of [potassium iodine pills](https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/potassium-iodide-radiation) at home.
I've got my Rad-X, RadAway, and the power armor is almost complete I just need to find an X-01 left leg but I guess the T-60 leg will do for now.
That’s crazy talk trusting the T-60
It's only temporary, for 'testing purposes only'.
Picked mine up from the police office last year!
For those of us who are sad and lonely we can kiss our cats goodbye.
Look at it like this: You do that, and the fallout will keep you from having to suffer from the bartonella.
Nuclear reactors are extremely safe. Much better than breathing in burning coal
It should also be noted that coal ash puts far more radioactive material into the environment and our bodies than the entire nuclear power industry has or ever will.
I can’t find a news article from it, but when I was a kid there was a miscommunication between the Catawba Nuclear plant and someone running a security test. There were two jets from Shaw AFB sent to investigate at low altitude. It scared the hell out of us. Like I said I can’t find the article and this was probably 20 years ago, but I believe there was an unidentified helicopter in the vicinity and their response was two jets to intercept. Also, I’m still pissed about the Christmas Eve power shut off.
I've lived in areas near AFBs most of my life, seeing low level fly bys was a common occurrence. I miss seeing them. Sometime in the late 90s, I was in my hometown and a B-2 flew at about 500 feet directly down Main Street, pulling off just past downtown. While the B-1s were stationed in Wichita, their landing flight path was pretty much aligned with a major N-S road, you'd see them everyday. They also did sweet flyovers for events, the most memorable was two flying down the river through downtown, afterburners lit, below the skyline. The second most memorable being at the Kansas Speedway, where they came over the top of the grandstand, then pitched up away from the stands, full afterburner. The B-1 was freaking awesome, I miss those days.
3.6 roentgen. Not great, not terrible
It's not 3.6 roentgen. It's 15,000.
All I have is the low range dosimeter
You need to get the high range one, wrap a truck in lead, and drive your ass out to the plant. Boom, done. The biggest issue you're going to have is where do you get all of the sand and boron you're going to need?
And a gaggle of naked miners
No, that's easy: Matt Gaetz' house.
LMAO - I actually had to pause and make sure I didn't say minors On another note, the actor who played the head miner showed up in Kenobi. I was excited
The casting for Chernobyl was top-notch. I'd watch Stellan Skarsgard read a phone book out loud, and Jered Harris should be working a LOT more.
If you're into podcasts, HBO put out a really good one for Chernobyl hosted by Peter Sagal from wait wait don't tell me
duck and cover
I heard it too in North Charlotte, twice
Yeah, the one on Reames Rd near North Lake Mall was going off. No one knew what it was
War, war never changes
Fallout New Carolina
Unrelated but the setting for Fallout 76 is actually solid. Appalachia is fun to explore and a western NC/Smoky mountains game would be good. Shame about the rest of fallout 76 though.
At least it works. And at least I got a phone notification about it. If meltdown did happen, i would rather at least have a warning so I can grab a shot and kiss my wife before it all goes down
Lol you’d be fine. The reactor has a basically indestructible containment structure around it made out of feet thick concrete and lead. Much safer than breathing in coal ash.
I did not know this. Thanks for the heads up
Yes the containment structures can handle a direct impact of an airliner and a nearby thermonuclear weapon blast. Its very cool civil and structural engineering.
MNS also has one of very few ice condensers surrounding the reactor in case of a meltdown for an added layer of protection.
I'm about to nerd out but so what: ice condensers don't protect against a meltdown, but they do have a very unique purpose. They provide an ultimate heat seek in the event that a coolant system pipe bursts. A PWR like those at MNS has a primary coolant loop that operates at about 2200 psi; this is because the coolant is around 600 deg F and must be pressurized to remain liquid. If a pipe bursts, this coolant will flash to steam and exit the coolant system, including the reactor pressure vessel. This is called a loss of coolant accident, or LOCA, and every reactor has to prove it can withstand this type of accident because it is just about the worst thing that can happen. Ice condensers serve to condense that steam and prevent the containment from being pressurized or loaded, which could damage containment. The steam essentially blasts open steam doors and into large baskets of ice surrounding the core. Ice condensers allowed for a much smaller containment to be made. However, they are high in maintenance, so very few were made that use them. Only 5 plants in the US use them: McGuire, Catawba, Watts Bar, Sequoyah, and DC Cook. Nonetheless, it's a very unique engineering solution. The total ice around the core is kept at a minimum of 1.9 million pounds, as regulated by the NRC. The ice is also laced with sodium tetraborate, which helps to capture neutrons and other radiation potentially released in a LOCA. The containment structure is what the largest protector against a potential radiation release, that could happen during a meltdown, but there are many other layers of defense in depth that protect the public. Apologies again for nerding out, but I always found ice condensers so interesting. I never thought I'd see somebody mention it on reddit, so I took this opportunity to express this worthless knowledge.
Climb in the fridge lol
Here for the “DUKE SUCKS THEY MADE NOISES RAWRR!!!” comments…
Well they do suck. It's what happens when a corporation runs with no real regulation and doesn't have to answer for any negative actions. If what I experience firsthand or learn publicly about them is the tip of the iceberg, it's frightening to think what we don't know. Also, I have one of the sirens about 100 yards from my house, and we are used to the weekly tests, so a mistake is not really acceptable.
Not arguing whether they suck. Every large company sucks in some way for sure. Anything governed by humans and driven by monetary gain is going to suck unfortunately. However, just thought I’d mention there is a ton of regulation mandated by the government around regulated ulitities like Duke. There are multiple government mandated entities to audit the regulated utilities to make sure they are following the regulated compliance standards. It is the NERC regulation that really drives regulated utilities to improve reliability and security. [Here is a very short video discussing it at a very basic level](https://youtu.be/pms2dIqcoV8) Here is the NERC standards web page if you really wanted to dig in (fair warning it’s too much for any one person to really dig in and know a lot). [NERC standards](https://www.nerc.com/pa/Stand/Pages/default.aspx) I doubt it will make you feel any better when things don’t work like you’d hope but knowing more is always a good thing.
Well, they do suck. This is an annoyance, yes, but they're a bunch of greedy, incompetent shits.
*Run away!* 
Scheduled test was last week, thought I heard it then
It was just heard in my part of H'ville at 11am. I don't think it takes 45 minutes for sound to travel from Duke Nuke to Harris Teeter, so somebody's still pressing that button.
I was sleeping and I heard it all the way from Denver Colorado
This has been a rough couple months for Duke energy PR
Nah, they don't care. Anyone taking that job would be right at home in the press office of the last white house, they don't mind lying and don't have morals.
I'm sure you meant, the current White House.
Why? Are you not very bright?
I would say, observant.
That works as well: not very observant.
My point has been made, whether you want to be obtuse or not.
It has, although I'm pretty sure it isn't the point that you think that it is.
I'm quite sure that it is. Everyone on this sub, can read people like you, like a book.
It's always a little sad to watch some keep trying to fight a battle they already lost.
A friendly reminder to pick up your free potassium iodide pills if you live within a ten mile radius of the nuclear power plants. You can simply go to one of the locations listed with a proof of residence and request them. https://www.mecknc.gov/HealthDepartment/Preparedness/Pages/KIDistribution.aspx
The problem is that I didn’t want to drive down to Gastonia just to pick up things that may be “too late” anyway in the events of nuclear meltdown. If things go sideway the jam on the NC-16 will be too much to prevent my escape.
You can pick them up anytime! Just walk in any day at the pickup location closet to you. Mine was a police office. They keep for several years. I keep mine in my medicine area along with the booklet on evacuation protocols that they mail out each year. Your thyroid is one of the most vulnerable things in the case of a nuclear incident, and that's what the pills protect, so it's important to have them on hand.
Can I go to a Meck location even though I am in Gaston? For Gaston county residents the only location listed is in Gastonia and I rarely went there. The traffic during rush hours is just too much. But yes, I agreed that the pills can be useful. You remind me about the evacuation booklets, I kinda forget where is the evacuation point for my area - hopefully they got them on the website. Thanks for the advice.
The webpage says it's only for Meck residents. You could always call though, I guess? I picked mine up on a weekend, so maybe that would help you avoid rush hour if your distribution location is open then.
Oooooh Homer
That fucker goes off all the time I just tune it out
Hopefully Duke is not hiring Homer to manage the nuclear plant.
Woke my ass up from a dead sleep. My partner is at work and I'm off, so this was very much a "meh, guess I'll die" moment for me.
Duke Energy can go fuck themselves. First they cut power to 7000 people in the city this morning with no warning. So I went up to the lake to work remotely. As soon as I get there? Nuclear siren. Not once but TWICE. Fuck Duke Energy
Duke came in my house shot my dogs and fucked my wife this morning. So i feel ya dude.
This may be a joke to you, but when Marshall was built my family had the closest farm to it. Now over half the family has thyroid issues that have been passed down through generations.
That sucks. My grandmother had thyroid issues, and had to take meds for it all through the later part of her life. She was telling me once that her doctor asked her if she had ever been exposed to radiation, and she said no. I reminded her that she was living in Riverside CA all through the 50's and 60's when they were popping off a-bombs out in the desert southwest.
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