Video (time elapsed) from security camera on Sunday November 17, 2013 when a tornado struck Diamond IL. At TD Pete’s Shell/Dairy Queen. NO INJURIES at this location. The house was a display/model house.
The November 17, 2013 tornado outbreak was the deadliest and most violent tornado outbreak on record during the month of November in Illinois.
The Coal City/Diamond area tornado is reported have been an EF2 Tornado with a path length of 12.9 miles (3-mile path in Grundy and Will counties) and a width of 200 yards.
The tornado destroyed buildings, uprooted trees, caused numerous dangerous downed power lines dangling and closed roads with debris. The tornado path that was very close to the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant, just north of Diamond and Coal City, Illinois.
U.S model building codes is believed to protect against hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and the extreme wind speeds of tornadoes (230 mph winds in the Midwest) at nuclear power plants. Of course, a tornado could disrupt power in the area, and nuclear power plants need their own power to keep the nuclear power plant functioning safely. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan was caused by tsunami-produced equipment failures that resulted in a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) which progressed to nuclear meltdowns and releases of radioactive materials beginning on March 12, 2011.
In the United States for planning purposes, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) defines two emergency planning zones (EPZs) around each nuclear power plant. The exact size and configuration of the zones vary from plant to plant due to local emergency response needs and capabilities, population, land characteristics, access routes, and jurisdictional boundaries.
The NRC defines to types of EPZs — The Plume Exposure Pathway and the Ingestion Pathway.
Plume Exposure Pathway
The plume exposure pathway EPZ extends about 10 miles in radius around a nuclear power plant. Its primary concern is the exposure of the public to, and the inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination.
Ingestion Pathway EPZ
The ingestion pathway EPZ extends about 50 miles in radius around a nuclear power plant. Its primary concern is the ingestion of food and liquid that is contaminated by radioactivity.
Northwest Highway in Arlington Heights is about 50 miles from the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant in Grundy County near Morris, Illinois.
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Red A marker locates TD Pete’s Shell/Dairy Queen on Division Street, just west of I-55.
See also …
NRC DESIGN-BASIS TORNADO AND TORNADO MISSILES FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
NRC Backgrounder on Emergency Preparedness at Nuclear Power Plants
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