By Ryan Randazzo
The Arizona Republic
The East Valley is getting a $15 million to $20 million warehouse of emergency equipment to help U.S. nuclear reactors should they experience a catastrophic event like the one at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in Japan last year.
The warehouse is one of two that the U.S. nuclear industry plans to open by August 2014 in an effort to bolster emergency preparedness. It is one of many changes taking place globally to make the industry safer after the Japanese meltdown.
The exact location hasn’t been determined, but it will be in the region east of Phoenix. It and another warehouse in Memphis, Tenn., will be in locations with a low probability of natural disasters and quick access to the 104 reactors in the U.S., officials said.
They will contain portable safety equipment, radiation protection, portable generators, water pumps and other equipment to help keep nuclear fuel cool and repair damaged reactors, said Randy Edington, the chief nuclear officer at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix.
