By DINA CAPPIELLO and MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

 

WASHINGTON (AP) – The closest nuclear power plant to the tornado-ravaged Joplin, Mo., was singled out weeks before the deadly storm for being vulnerable to twisters.

Inspections triggered by Japan’s nuclear crisis found that some emergency equipment and storage sites at the Wolf Creek nuclear plant in southeastern Kansas might not survive a tornado. Plant operators and federal inspectors say the plant did not secure equipment and vehicles needed to fight fires, retrieve fuel for emergency generators and resupply water to keep nuclear fuel cool as it’s being moved.

Despite these findings, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the plant still met requirements put in place after the Sept. 11
attacks.

The plant operator pledges to take action to correct problems at the plant, which is about 150 miles northwest of Joplin.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)