How a solar storm could lead to a US nuclear disaster worse than Chornobyl | Mark Leyse

Solar storms as intense as a 1921 superstorm have the potential to cause a nightmare scenario - and we are unpreparedOn 14 May 1921, a powerful solar storm - called the New York Railroad storm - caused the northern lights to illuminate New York City's night sky. On Broadway, crowds lingered, enjoying "flaring skies" that remained undimmed by city lights. The following morning, excess electric currents shut down the New York Central Railroad's signal and switching system in Manhattan, stopping trains. A fire broke out in a railroad control tower that was located at Park Avenue and 57th Street. Smoke filled the air. Along a stretch of Park Avenue, residents "were coughing and choking from the suffocating vapors which spread for blocks".When a solar storm's electrically charged particles envelop Earth, they cause geomagnetic storms that generate electric fields in the ground, inducing electric currents in power grids. Solar storms as intense as the 1921 superstorm have the potential to cause a nightmare scenario in which modern power grids, communication systems, and other infrastructures collapse for months. Such a collapse of power grids would likely also lead to nuclear power plant accidents, whose radioactive emissions would aggravate the overall catastrophe.Mark Leyse is a nuclear power safety advocate with a degree in nuclear engineering Continue reading...