Posted on 03/30/2005 6:52:42 AM PST by Calpernia
A search for clues in the latest shutdown of the Hope Creek nuclear reactor.
A radioactive steam leak caused the shutdown Sunday night. The plant's operator says the slow leak began in February. That was just weeks after the trouble-plagued plant had been shut for three-and-a-half months because of a bigger leak.
P-S-E-and-G Nuclear said yesterday the problem could be diagnosed and fixed within the next few weeks.
The company also said no radioactivity was released outside the plant and no workers were harmed in either of the steam leaks.
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission put Hope Creek and two other reactors in Lower Alloways Creek under additional oversight indefinitely, requiring more frequent and more stringent inspections.
I bet a cancer patient gets more rads of radiation than what is released accidentally in the steam.
"I must admit to not having a clue what "Oscar 8" or "Alpha 7" are. ??"
Minuteman silos. When you drive through the midwest you sometimes see from the highways a fence with the designation (letter/number A7, O8) They were Launch Facilities. The LCF's were better(More roomy) but also more out of the way.
I don't think the steam was released out of the nuke plant: it was probably contained within the containment shell.
D*mn.
This isn't going to help anything.
Admittedly, slo wleaks are difficult to trace, but it also shows a reason why we need to replace the old power plants. Begin recycling spent fuel.
Start using the energy we're planning on throwing away based on Carter's 70's-era decisions.
that was a civilian operator on a very early design, small Army experimental plant deliberately pulling the rod up into his belly, not following procedures, and not doing anything any rational person would think of.
Can't tell from the very bad description in this story.
How often could that happen...
Not a word on the radio.
I know people hear 'radioactive steam' and they think its bad, but remember this -- radioactive steam can cook a hotdog in mere seconds, and will clean your patio deck much more efficiently than a traditional pressure washer.
Interesting, thanks!
This is a Boiling Water Reactor, all of it's steam is radioactive.
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