Most people don’t imagine camping in the shadow of a nuclear power plant, but that’s what some workers at Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman, Mich., are preparing to do.
This story by Alexandra Newman originally appeared in The Herald-Palladium.
“Being part of the nuclear industry, we have to be prepared for everything,” plant spokesman Bill Downey said. “We have to protect the plant and keep the power running. To do that, we’ve got to have some critical employees that are here and available in a moment’s notice.”
Cook employees with access to travel trailers have toted them over to the parking lot at the plant in case the need should arise for them to be sequestered in place on site during the coronavirus pandemic.
Nuclear plants have pandemic plans in addition to their natural disaster plans.
“We go through apocalyptic scenarios all the time in partnership with the state and the county,” Downey said. “So when this one came along, and we started planning on where to house critical employees, people started asking if they could bring campers, and we said, ‘sure’ and ‘how many people have them and would want to bring them?’”
As it turned out, 80 travel trailers rolled into the plant, they were moved into position, and hooked up to water and power.
“We’re even setting up a dumping station and ways to feed everyone,” Downey said. “It’s like a mini campground, but no one is living in them yet.”
He said the plant has gone overboard with the full expectation they will never need it.
