Brits Lose Control of Nuke Reactors: UnbelievableSeriousness of a Major Radioactive ReleaseMac Slavo Apparently, this is not the case, according to a new report from the United Kingdom. Nearly the exact same scenario played out in the Devonport Dockyard last summer, when the primary and secondary power sources for nuclear cooling fuel became inexplicably inoperable. It was a situation kept secret because the implications were so serious that the entire country of Britain could have been turned to a radioactive wasteland overnight. If you think nuclear facilities in the United States and other Western nations are any safer than Fukushima or Devonport, youd be mistaken. Because these facilities often operate under the cloak of secrecy, it is impossible for us to know how many times such incidents have occurred in the United States. What we do know is that on March 28, 1979 the 3-Mile Island nuclear facility in Pennsylvania experienced the worst nuclear power plant accident in American history when a meltdown occurred in one of the facilitys two reactors. Thus, accidents at these facilities are not unprecedented. There are currently 65 commercially operating nuclear power plants with 104 nuclear reactors in 31 states around the country. Given the sheer concentration of these facilities around major population centers, especially in the eastern United States, one cant ignore the potential for an emergency on U.S. soil that irradiates a huge portion of our population and forces region-wide evacuations. Consider a situation where the United States comes under attack by a Super-EMP (electro magnetic pulse) weapon or a powerful solar flare that takes down the power grid. In such a scenario, a collapse of our banks, stock markets, economy, and systems of commerce would be the least of our worries. We already know that the processes and procedures in place to test and maintain back-up power generators is lacking, as evidenced by the failure of similar generators at medical facilities following Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Couple those system failures with an EMP or solar flare that renders the system completely inoperable, and people living within a 100-mile radius of a nuclear reactor would have about 90 minutes to evacuate before radiation spews all over them. While a nuclear disaster of this magnitude is an outlier, it is not out of the question. Weve experienced one in the last few years, and its still not under control and continues to contaminate ocean water, as well as the residents of Japan (and perhaps even the United States). The threat of a nuclear meltdown if you live within several hundred miles of a nuclear facility is one worthy of consideration, planning and preparation. Youll need to have a bug out plan in place and be ready to put it into action in seconds not minutes. Youll have to move fast very fast at the first sign that a nuclear event is imminent. Tens of thousands of scared and panicked people will be trying to figure out what to do, how to get out of town, and where they will go. If you have a plan in place ahead of time youll at least be able to move a few minutes sooner than the rest of the golden horde. And when were talking 90 minutes until meltdown, even 5 minutes could be a life saver. Nuclear disasters can happen. Weve seen it with our own eyes. It will happen again. That is just about guaranteed. Be prepared to act when it does. Hattip Underground Medic 