I feel better about our nuclear security now, don't you?

[Shockeye]

Officer accidentally shoots foot while at nuclear plant training
Injury was not life-threatening

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

A woman accidentally shot herself in the foot last week at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant’s shooting range.

The injury was non-life-threatening. The woman’s name was not released.

The incident happened about 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, said MNGP spokeswoman Kelli Huxford. The woman, a Wackenhut security officer who works at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant in Red Wing, was in Monticello for training on the plant’s shooting range.

Huxford said the woman was practicing at the range when a hot shell casing popped out of her gun and went down the back of her shirt.

As she attempted to remove the casing, she accidentally pressed the trigger of her weapon, shooting herself in the foot, Huxford said.

Monticello and Prairie Island plant employees at the range, who are trained as EMTs, administered first aid until a Monticello-Big Lake Ambulance arrived. The security officer was transported to Monticello-Big Lake Community Hospital and later transferred to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale. She was released late last week.

“She is expected to make a full recovery,” Huxford said. “It was an unfortunate thing, but she’s going to be fine. That’s the most important thing right now.”

Huxford said Prairie Island security officers come up to Monticello for training and certification because the Prairie Island plant does not have a shooting range of its own. The officers from both plants frequently train together on various exercises, she added.

This is the first time such an accidental shooting has occurred in Monticello, Huxford said. Both Monticello and Prairie Island reported the incident to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

[Xerapis]

I've had hot shell casings go down my shirt before. It hurts likes a mother. Got second degree burns on my back.

But oddly enough, I managed to ignore it and continue with the range....as opposed to SHOOTING MYSELF!

She better be going back for some extensive retraining.

[Paelos]

Wouldn't the instinct be to, I don't know, drop the weapon and put an effort into getting the shells out? I guess my reactions are a bit different than others.

[Murgos]

I've had it happen.  It's usually not a casing from your weapon but from who ever is to your left's weapon.  I found it easy enough to ignore and unless your doing some rapid fire with a lot of rounds they usually don't get hot enough to cause burns.

Basic range saftey (at least for the USMC and I am sure the army is similar) is that unless you are pointing the weapon down range and fully intending to destroy whatever might be in front of the business end of the weapon then you safe the weapon BEFORE doing anything else.  So besides shooting herself in the foot she would, if she had been a Marine, potentially be facing range saftey violation charges.

[HaemishM]

Wait, our nuclear plants are being guarded by Wacken-fucking-hut?

Holy shit, I might as well just light my own ass on fire right fucking now.