With reporters watching and cameras recording, Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant recently welcomed a special visitor – Rep. Joe Barton.
“I'm a proponent of nuclear power; it's providing about 20 percent of our electricity here in the United States and there's every indication in the next 10 years or so that we'll begin to get new plants online,” said Congressman Barton.
Together, Barton and Rafael Flores, Luminant's chief nuclear officer, held a brief news conference, highlighting the plant's – and the industry's – committed focus on safety.
“Nuclear power is very safe; its safety record is 100 percent,” Barton told reporters. “Our safety systems in the U.S. are much more robust than those in Japan.”
“The plant is very well protected, very safe and we continuously check the emergency actions we would take based on any of those situations,” shared Flores.
Following the media event, Rep. Barton and a select group of reporters were invited beyond security for a rare look at Comanche Peak's operations and multiple layers of safety features.
The group toured the fuel building, checked out the emergency diesel generators and the control room, getting an in-person look at the plant's redundant safety capabilities.
“I've always said if there's ever an earthquake, I want to be in the control room at Comanche Peak because that is the absolute safest place to be,” Barton said.
Click here to view behind-the-scenes video from the event and here for a photo gallery available now on Flickr.