Two South Florida nuclear power plants lie in Irma’s path. Are they ready?

The last time a major hurricane hit the Turkey Point nuclear power plant, it caused $90 million in damages but left the nuclear reactors along southern Biscayne Bay unscathed.

In anticipation of powerful Hurricane Irma, which projections on Wednesday showed headed straight for South Florida, Florida Power & Light’s two nuclear plants were finalizing staffing plans and cleaning up the grounds. But neither Turkey Point nor the St. Lucie plant further up the coast had made the call yet to shutting down the plants.

Peter Robbins, spokesman for FPL, said shutting down a reactor is a gradual process, and the decision will be made “well in advance” of the storm making landfall.

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