http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddofspeed/
There are some crazy pictures. Makes me glad I live where I do.
Cool story about a girl and Chernobyl
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MainEvent212
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dr!ft
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That is an awesome website. So many amazing images, from the feelings of love scratched into the building wall to the family pictures left in the homes. Must be a very creepy journey.
BTW, I thought this was very interesting...
Quote »From the site..."]This town might be an attractive place for tourists. Some tourists companies have been trying to arrange extrim tours in this town, but people- their customers scared and complaining about silence which is hard to stand in empty town. They charged 1200 hryvnas for 2 hours excursion and town guard says, they all were leaving in some 15 mins, complaining that silense is tremendous as if one got deaf and it ring them in ears and place is bad...[/quote]
BTW, I thought this was very interesting...
Quote »From the site..."]This town might be an attractive place for tourists. Some tourists companies have been trying to arrange extrim tours in this town, but people- their customers scared and complaining about silence which is hard to stand in empty town. They charged 1200 hryvnas for 2 hours excursion and town guard says, they all were leaving in some 15 mins, complaining that silense is tremendous as if one got deaf and it ring them in ears and place is bad...[/quote]
Cool story. Did anyone else think that lady was crazy though? She was all like talking about how bad it was to go into buildings, then sure enough, next thing you know she is going to the roof of a building that had been in the line of site of the plant.
She's got balls... or will have some pretty soon from all that radiation.
That would be awesome to see though. I have always wanted to walk through a ghost-town, so to speak.
She's got balls... or will have some pretty soon from all that radiation.
That would be awesome to see though. I have always wanted to walk through a ghost-town, so to speak.
Fascinating.
The scariest thing is that that reactor is still very much "alive". I saw a show on PBS (Frontline?) outlining the deep concerns that the sarcophagus containing the atomic pile is beginning to fall apart. It was hurriedly built and has begun to split apart. Tons of sand were dropped on the reactor to contain the radioactive smoke pouring out and then the containment structure was built upon the sand. Not good.
Ukraine is not a rich country and this problem has been left to deteriorate.
And to think, we narrowly escaped the same fate at Three Mile Island. That atomic pile is still alive as well.
I might check out that place once but no way would I keep going back in. This gal is only in her 20s. She has lots of time for the radiation to do its thing to her. Maybe wait till you're in your 60s before visiting.
The scariest thing is that that reactor is still very much "alive". I saw a show on PBS (Frontline?) outlining the deep concerns that the sarcophagus containing the atomic pile is beginning to fall apart. It was hurriedly built and has begun to split apart. Tons of sand were dropped on the reactor to contain the radioactive smoke pouring out and then the containment structure was built upon the sand. Not good.
Ukraine is not a rich country and this problem has been left to deteriorate.
And to think, we narrowly escaped the same fate at Three Mile Island. That atomic pile is still alive as well.
I might check out that place once but no way would I keep going back in. This gal is only in her 20s. She has lots of time for the radiation to do its thing to her. Maybe wait till you're in your 60s before visiting.
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Axel Grungy
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lessthanjakejohn
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This has been on many differen't forums for the past few days. Ive read a lot of about it and what not.
This is basically went wrong with the nuclear power plant:Quote »They were going to change the fuel rods in the #3 reactor. Of course to do that you have to power down the reactor. So as they were reducing the power in the reactor they decided to do some testing to see how "slow" they could get it to run without stopping the reaction altogether.
So they started slowing down the reactor, which reduces power output, and the reactor automatic control systems are like "hey, the reactor is going too slow" so it tried to bring up the power. The controllers were like "Hm. The computer is interfering with our experiment" so they crawled behind the panel and disconnected the safety system.
So they're slowing down the reactor again, which reduces the power output, and the reactor starts cooling off a little. So the other reactor safety system reduces coolant flow to the core, thinking "hey, the core is too cool, so that must mean there is too much water in there." So the water flow goes down, and the reactor warms up again and the power output goes back up again. So the guys disconnect that automatic system too and again reduce power.
So now the reactor is slowing down, water flow is being reduced, which reduces water *pressure* in the core... as the pressure drops, suddenly it flashes to steam, which is much less able to transport heat out of the core, so the core starts heating up, and fast. But the automatic water system is disconnected now, so the heat is going up and the reaction rate is going up, which makes the heat go up faster. The controllers go "oh ****" and hit the emergency control-rod release, which should allow the control rods to free-fall into the reactor core and stop the reaction. Except that due to the now very high heat the fuel rods have expanded and the control rods only get in a little ways before they get stuck.
So the heat is going up and up, and the middle of the core starts to melt and drip into the bottom of the reactor vessel, which causes some chemical reaction and hydrogen starts being created from other mollecules that are there. Lots of it. Meanwhile the controllers hit the "emergency core flood" button, which is supposed to allow thousands of gallons of water to flow into the reactor vessel... except that the high pressure in the vessel basically keeps that water out. Some kind of spark in the vessel ignites the hydrogen and explodes the vessel, blowing the roof off the reactor building and the rest is history.
The first part of this experiment lasted a few hours... the runaway part only took about 30 seconds from the guys going "hmm... somethings not quite right" to the explosion.[/quote]More info on what the reactor core did from here http://muller.lbl.gov/teaching....htmlQuote »The China Syndrome
The term "China Syndrome" was originally invented by someone with a strange sense of humor to describe the worst possible nuclear reactor accident. (Most people seem to think there is something worse: a reactor becoming a nuclear bomb. But, as I described above, that is not possible because the uranium is not sufficiently enriched.)
In the China Syndrome, the water that is usually being boiled by the chain reaction, suddenly leaks away. There is no water to boil. What would happen in this "loss of coolant" accident? Can you guess?
The first thing is surprising to most people: the chain reaction stops. The reason is that the cooling water is also a moderator; it slows neutrons. So when the water is gone, the neutrons are not moderated. That means that most neutrons are absorbed on U-238, which does not give a chain reaction. So the chain reaction stopped.
Interesting flub by Senator: When the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor underwent a similar accident, the Russians announced that the chain reaction had stopped. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee announced on television that this was a "blatant lie." I cringed. He was confusing the chain reaction with the decay of the remaining fission fragments. He knew the radioactivity hadn't stopped, but didn't realize that the Soviet's were being completely honest. The fact that the chain reaction had stopped was important; it meant that the level of power being produced had dropped enormously. (Remember this, if you become a Senator!)
The chain reaction stops, but there is still the "waste heat" from the fission fragments. Without the cooling water, the reactor gets hotter and hotter. The fuel finally melts. It melts through its containers and forms a puddle at the bottom of the steel reactor vessel. The fuel puddle keeps on getting hotter and hotter. The steel reactor vessel melts. The fuel falls into the ground. It keeps on getting hotter. The soil and rock melts. The fuel just keeps on going -- all the way "to China".
No, obviously it won't reach China. (Besides, China isn't on the other side of the Earth.) It won't get too far, because it spreads out, and that allows it to cool. But in doing this, it has broken through the steel vessel that is supposed to keep it from the environment. Any gases that are in the fuel pellets will escape into the atmosphere. It is these gases (and some volatile elements, such as iodine) that caused the most damage at Chernobyl.----------Incidentally, the Chernobyl power plant had a terrible design. It didn't even have a containment building, like we have in the US. If it did, there may very well have been virtually no deaths. So is it fair to think of US Nuclear Power plants in terms of Chernobyl? [/quote]Quote from someone who closeQuote »I was living about 500 miles from Chernobyl at the time, and lemme tell you something, that was some scary **** to go through even for someone living relatively far from the accident. Believe it or not, we were the last to find out what happened, or even that something did happen. The whole world knew before we did!
For days, all we heard were rumors that something unspeakable happened, and thousands of people are running for their lives. But from what? No one knew. The politicians claimed nothing happened, and international broadcasts were blocked. They were planning to keep the disaster a secret up until Germany picked up on the radiation and sounded the alarms.
I've heard horrible stories about that day. You should be able to find photos of entire fields filled with scrapped military choppers. Each was used to drop sandbags into the inferno. Nearly everyone involved in that effort has died. Take a look at this picture of a secondary school in Chernobyl, and try to imagine what those kids went through in their last moments there:[/quote]Another account:Quote » was only 2 yrs old and about 250KM from Chernobyl when it happened. Of course the soviets didnt tell anyone anything before western europe started alarming. I was sent from the city of Kharkiv (eastern Ukraine) to my grandparents countryhouse. When USSR fell apart they were showing documentaries about it and you would just see a helicopter spraying water onto the reactor and then the helicopter just falls down straight into the reactor[/quote]This is how we've tried to help.Quote »To make things worse, those idiots are setting themselves up for another disaster.
The sarcophagus is in danger of collapsing and they are dragging their feets. It is weak in many places, has ****ing holes that has allowed rain water to collect inside. The structure is so weak, a moderate earthquake will knock it down.
The US, G-7 countries pledged their support and as a start contributed 300+ million dollars to build a new sarcophagus. Hell Ukraine/Russia wouldn't have had to spend a single dime, the international community said they would pay for the entire thing. This was in 1997-1998.
Environment Minister DISMISSED THE ****ING IDEA and said no decision would be made until THREE YEARS LATER
and here we are 6 years later, after we gave them several 100 millions of dollars, they are still dragging their ****ing feet. Nothing has gotten accomplish other than constantly revising ideas.[/quote]
This is basically went wrong with the nuclear power plant:Quote »They were going to change the fuel rods in the #3 reactor. Of course to do that you have to power down the reactor. So as they were reducing the power in the reactor they decided to do some testing to see how "slow" they could get it to run without stopping the reaction altogether.
So they started slowing down the reactor, which reduces power output, and the reactor automatic control systems are like "hey, the reactor is going too slow" so it tried to bring up the power. The controllers were like "Hm. The computer is interfering with our experiment" so they crawled behind the panel and disconnected the safety system.
So they're slowing down the reactor again, which reduces the power output, and the reactor starts cooling off a little. So the other reactor safety system reduces coolant flow to the core, thinking "hey, the core is too cool, so that must mean there is too much water in there." So the water flow goes down, and the reactor warms up again and the power output goes back up again. So the guys disconnect that automatic system too and again reduce power.
So now the reactor is slowing down, water flow is being reduced, which reduces water *pressure* in the core... as the pressure drops, suddenly it flashes to steam, which is much less able to transport heat out of the core, so the core starts heating up, and fast. But the automatic water system is disconnected now, so the heat is going up and the reaction rate is going up, which makes the heat go up faster. The controllers go "oh ****" and hit the emergency control-rod release, which should allow the control rods to free-fall into the reactor core and stop the reaction. Except that due to the now very high heat the fuel rods have expanded and the control rods only get in a little ways before they get stuck.
So the heat is going up and up, and the middle of the core starts to melt and drip into the bottom of the reactor vessel, which causes some chemical reaction and hydrogen starts being created from other mollecules that are there. Lots of it. Meanwhile the controllers hit the "emergency core flood" button, which is supposed to allow thousands of gallons of water to flow into the reactor vessel... except that the high pressure in the vessel basically keeps that water out. Some kind of spark in the vessel ignites the hydrogen and explodes the vessel, blowing the roof off the reactor building and the rest is history.
The first part of this experiment lasted a few hours... the runaway part only took about 30 seconds from the guys going "hmm... somethings not quite right" to the explosion.[/quote]More info on what the reactor core did from here http://muller.lbl.gov/teaching....htmlQuote »The China Syndrome
The term "China Syndrome" was originally invented by someone with a strange sense of humor to describe the worst possible nuclear reactor accident. (Most people seem to think there is something worse: a reactor becoming a nuclear bomb. But, as I described above, that is not possible because the uranium is not sufficiently enriched.)
In the China Syndrome, the water that is usually being boiled by the chain reaction, suddenly leaks away. There is no water to boil. What would happen in this "loss of coolant" accident? Can you guess?
The first thing is surprising to most people: the chain reaction stops. The reason is that the cooling water is also a moderator; it slows neutrons. So when the water is gone, the neutrons are not moderated. That means that most neutrons are absorbed on U-238, which does not give a chain reaction. So the chain reaction stopped.
Interesting flub by Senator: When the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor underwent a similar accident, the Russians announced that the chain reaction had stopped. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee announced on television that this was a "blatant lie." I cringed. He was confusing the chain reaction with the decay of the remaining fission fragments. He knew the radioactivity hadn't stopped, but didn't realize that the Soviet's were being completely honest. The fact that the chain reaction had stopped was important; it meant that the level of power being produced had dropped enormously. (Remember this, if you become a Senator!)
The chain reaction stops, but there is still the "waste heat" from the fission fragments. Without the cooling water, the reactor gets hotter and hotter. The fuel finally melts. It melts through its containers and forms a puddle at the bottom of the steel reactor vessel. The fuel puddle keeps on getting hotter and hotter. The steel reactor vessel melts. The fuel falls into the ground. It keeps on getting hotter. The soil and rock melts. The fuel just keeps on going -- all the way "to China".
No, obviously it won't reach China. (Besides, China isn't on the other side of the Earth.) It won't get too far, because it spreads out, and that allows it to cool. But in doing this, it has broken through the steel vessel that is supposed to keep it from the environment. Any gases that are in the fuel pellets will escape into the atmosphere. It is these gases (and some volatile elements, such as iodine) that caused the most damage at Chernobyl.----------Incidentally, the Chernobyl power plant had a terrible design. It didn't even have a containment building, like we have in the US. If it did, there may very well have been virtually no deaths. So is it fair to think of US Nuclear Power plants in terms of Chernobyl? [/quote]Quote from someone who closeQuote »I was living about 500 miles from Chernobyl at the time, and lemme tell you something, that was some scary **** to go through even for someone living relatively far from the accident. Believe it or not, we were the last to find out what happened, or even that something did happen. The whole world knew before we did!
For days, all we heard were rumors that something unspeakable happened, and thousands of people are running for their lives. But from what? No one knew. The politicians claimed nothing happened, and international broadcasts were blocked. They were planning to keep the disaster a secret up until Germany picked up on the radiation and sounded the alarms.
I've heard horrible stories about that day. You should be able to find photos of entire fields filled with scrapped military choppers. Each was used to drop sandbags into the inferno. Nearly everyone involved in that effort has died. Take a look at this picture of a secondary school in Chernobyl, and try to imagine what those kids went through in their last moments there:[/quote]Another account:Quote » was only 2 yrs old and about 250KM from Chernobyl when it happened. Of course the soviets didnt tell anyone anything before western europe started alarming. I was sent from the city of Kharkiv (eastern Ukraine) to my grandparents countryhouse. When USSR fell apart they were showing documentaries about it and you would just see a helicopter spraying water onto the reactor and then the helicopter just falls down straight into the reactor[/quote]This is how we've tried to help.Quote »To make things worse, those idiots are setting themselves up for another disaster.
The sarcophagus is in danger of collapsing and they are dragging their feets. It is weak in many places, has ****ing holes that has allowed rain water to collect inside. The structure is so weak, a moderate earthquake will knock it down.
The US, G-7 countries pledged their support and as a start contributed 300+ million dollars to build a new sarcophagus. Hell Ukraine/Russia wouldn't have had to spend a single dime, the international community said they would pay for the entire thing. This was in 1997-1998.
Environment Minister DISMISSED THE ****ING IDEA and said no decision would be made until THREE YEARS LATER
and here we are 6 years later, after we gave them several 100 millions of dollars, they are still dragging their ****ing feet. Nothing has gotten accomplish other than constantly revising ideas.[/quote]
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lessthanjakejohn
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lessthanjakejohn
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MainEvent212 wrote:wow...i went through the entire thing...that's just amazing...i wanna go there...drift town! :ylsuper
lol, one of the most dangerous sports, in one of the most abandoned places. Have fun if you crash, or better yet, crash into the side of something highly radioactive (many buildings and basements have been holding the radiation)
when she said the buildings hold radiation and then she went up, she said the closed ones did. she didnt go into the ones full of stuff. but yeah, that would be very disturbing driving thourhg that town.
oh, and i saw that too Mike, about the plant being still alive. the material was burning so hot, they didnt fully put it out when they built the case for it. they also had guys going down into the lower levels and they couldnt be there more than a few minutes cause its still so deadly. crazy stuff. and to think, we want to refine this technology to create power for ourselves.
oh, and i saw that too Mike, about the plant being still alive. the material was burning so hot, they didnt fully put it out when they built the case for it. they also had guys going down into the lower levels and they couldnt be there more than a few minutes cause its still so deadly. crazy stuff. and to think, we want to refine this technology to create power for ourselves.
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lessthanjakejohn
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the USSR didn't tell anyone about the incident and blocked any international news about it. THe people of the USSR were the last ones to know about it. After the incident they called most of the military there to build the sarcophagus and clean up (and then die quickly) THe people going had no idea what they were going to do and they had no choice either.
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lessthanjakejohn
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Nuclear power in the US is very very safe.
The only accident(Three Mile Island) we have had was completely contained by safety systems in place. Since the Three Mile Island incident numerous other systems have been added and improved.
THe paranoia surrounding nuclear power stems from ignorance and is really uncalled for.
The only accident(Three Mile Island) we have had was completely contained by safety systems in place. Since the Three Mile Island incident numerous other systems have been added and improved.
THe paranoia surrounding nuclear power stems from ignorance and is really uncalled for.
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Onizuka
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Durring the summer I work in a warehouse 1/3 of a mile away from the Limerick Nuclear power plant. I have no worries at all, and the hundreds of residents or buisnesses are not worried either. Its pretty cool being so close to the enourmous cooling towers. Its the largest Nuke in PA, and one of the largest in the country.
It was nip and tuck at Three Mile Island. The main danger was that the pressure build up of hydrogen in the containment building was coming very close to blowing the top off and there was huge concern about a spark igniting the hydrogen as well. We came within a whisker of Chernobyl.
Can you imagine a deserted stretch of the US and probably parts of Canada as well in the most heavily populated area of the continent? Scary stuff.
Can you imagine a deserted stretch of the US and probably parts of Canada as well in the most heavily populated area of the continent? Scary stuff.
1200 hryvnas?for those that don't know thats approx 240 dollars US. And its a huge sum of money in Ukraine. I've spent nearly half a year there over the past couple years, part of it in Kiev, the capitol city, which is relatively close to Kiev. My fiancee and her family were in the country when it happened. No one in Ukraine is concerned about Cherynobyl... it happened, and the area around it is completely deserted. Their government is democratic socialist, and very corrupt. But it is a very beautiful country, and welcoming to outsiders. No where in the US have I traveled where people are so willing to welcome you into their hearts and homes and quickly develop intense friendships. I have actually considered leaving everything in the US behind to move there and live a simpler life.
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lessthanjakejohn
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TMI:
Quote »Fact Sheet on the Accident at Three Mile IslandPrintable Version
On this Page:
Additional Information Sources Glossary Plant Diagram The accident at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1979, was the most serious in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history(1), even though it led to no deaths or injuries to plant workers or members of the nearby community. But it brought about sweeping changes involving emergency response planning, reactor operator training, human factors engineering, radiation protection, and many other areas of nuclear power plant operations. It also caused the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to tighten and heighten its regulatory oversight. Resultant changes in the nuclear power industry and at the NRC had the effect of enhancing safety.
The sequence of certain events - - equipment malfunctions, design related problems and worker errors - - led to a partial meltdown of the TMI-2 reactor core but only very small off-site releases of radioactivity.
Summary of EventsThe accident began about 4:00 a.m. on March 28, 1979, when the plant experienced a failure in the secondary, non-nuclear section of the plant. The main feedwater pumps stopped running, caused by either a mechanical or electrical failure, which prevented the steam generators from removing heat. First the turbine, then the reactor automatically shut down. Immediately, the pressure in the primary system (the nuclear portion of the plant) began to increase. In order to prevent that pressure from becoming excessive, the pilot-operated relief valve (a valve located at the top of the pressurizer) opened. The valve should have closed when the pressure decreased by a certain amount, but it did not. Signals available to the operator failed to show that the valve was still open. As a result, cooling water poured out of the stuck-open valve and caused the core of the reactor to overheat.
As coolant flowed from the core through the pressurizer, the instruments available to reactor operators provided confusing information. There was no instrument that showed the level of coolant in the core. Instead, the operators judged the level of water in the core by the level in the pressurizer, and since it was high, they assumed that the core was properly covered with coolant. In addition, there was no clear signal that the pilot-operated relief valve was open. As a result, as alarms rang and warning lights flashed, the operators did not realize that the plant was experiencing a loss-of-coolant accident. They took a series of actions that made conditions worse by simply reducing the flow of coolant through the core.
Because adequate cooling was not available, the nuclear fuel overheated to the point at which the zirconium cladding (the long metal tubes which hold the nuclear fuel pellets) ruptured and the fuel pellets began to melt. It was later found that about one-half of the core melted during the early stages of the accident. Although the TMI-2 plant suffered a severe core meltdown, the most dangerous kind of nuclear power accident, it did not produce the worst-case consequences that reactor experts had long feared. In a worst-case accident, the melting of nuclear fuel would lead to a breach of the walls of the containment building and release massive quantities of radiation to the environment. But this did not occur as a result of the Three Mile Island accident.
The accident caught federal and state authorities off-guard. They were concerned about the small releases of radioactive gases that were measured off-site by the late morning of March 28 and even more concerned about the potential threat that the reactor posed to the surrounding population. They did not know that the core had melted, but they immediately took steps to try to gain control of the reactor and ensure adequate cooling to the core. The NRC’s regional office in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, was notified at 7:45 a.m. on March 28. By 8:00, NRC Headquarters in Washington, D.C. was alerted and the NRC Operations Center in Bethesda, Maryland, was activated. The regional office promptly dispatched the first team of inspectors to the site and other agencies, such as the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, also mobilized their response teams. Helicopters hired by TMI's owner, General Public Utilities Nuclear, and the Department of Energy were sampling radioactivity in the atmosphere above the plant by midday. A team from the Brookhaven National Laboratory was also sent to assist in radiation monitoring. At 9:15 a.m., the White House was notified and at 11:00 a.m., all non-essential personnel were ordered off the plant's premises.
By the evening of March 28, the core appeared to be adequately cooled and the reactor appeared to be stable. But new concerns arose by the morning of Friday, March 30. A significant release of radiation from the plant’s auxiliary building, performed to relieve pressure on the primary system and avoid curtailing the flow of coolant to the core, caused a great deal of confusion and consternation. In an atmosphere of growing uncertainty about the condition of the plant, the governor of Pennsylvania, Richard L. Thornburgh, consulted with the NRC about evacuating the population near the plant. Eventually, he and NRC Chairman Joseph Hendrie agreed that it would be prudent for those members of society most vulnerable to radiation to evacuate the area. Thornburgh announced that he was advising pregnant women and pre-school-age children within a 5-mile radius of the plant to leave the area.
Within a short time, the presence of a large hydrogen bubble in the dome of the pressure vessel, the container that holds the reactor core, stirred new worries. The concern was that the hydrogen bubble might burn or even explode and rupture the pressure vessel. In that event, the core would fall into the containment building and perhaps cause a breach of containment. The hydrogen bubble was a source of intense scrutiny and great anxiety, both among government authorities and the population, throughout the day on Saturday, March 31. The crisis ended when experts determined on Sunday, April 1, that the bubble could not burn or explode because of the absence of oxygen in the pressure vessel. Further, by that time, the utility had succeeded in greatly reducing the size of the bubble.
Health EffectsDetailed studies of the radiological consequences of the accident have been conducted by the NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now Health and Human Services), the Department of Energy, and the State of Pennsylvania. Several independent studies have also been conducted. Estimates are that the average dose to about 2 million people in the area was only about 1 millirem. To put this into context, exposure from a full set of chest x-rays is about 6 millirem. Compared to the natural radioactive background dose of about 100-125 millirem per year for the area, the collective dose to the community from the accident was very small. The maximum dose to a person at the site boundary would have been less than 100 millirem.
In the months following the accident, although questions were raised about possible adverse effects from radiation on human, animal, and plant life in the TMI area, none could be directly correlated to the accident. Thousands of environmental samples of air, water, milk, vegetation, soil, and foodstuffs were collected by various groups monitoring the area. Very low levels of radionuclides could be attributed to releases from the accident. However, comprehensive investigations and assessments by several well-respected organizations have concluded that in spite of serious damage to the reactor, most of the radiation was contained and that the actual release had negligible effects on the physical health of individuals or the environment.
Impact of the AccidentThe accident was caused by a combination of personnel error, design deficiencies, and component failures. There is no doubt that the accident at Three Mile Island permanently changed both the nuclear industry and the NRC. Public fear and distrust increased, NRC's regulations and oversight became broader and more robust, and management of the plants was scrutinized more carefully. The problems identified from careful analysis of the events during those days have led to permanent and sweeping changes in how NRC regulates its licensees - - which, in turn, has reduced the risk to public health and safety.
Here are some of the major changes which have occurred since the accident:
Upgrading and strengthening of plant design and equipment requirements. This includes fire protection, piping systems, auxiliary feedwater systems, containment building isolation, reliability of individual components (pressure relief valves and electrical circuit breakers), and the ability of plants to shut down automatically;
Identifying human performance as a critical part of plant safety, revamping operator training and staffing requirements, followed by improved instrumentation and controls for operating the plant, and establishment of fitness-for-duty programs for plant workers to guard against alcohol or drug abuse;
Improved instruction to avoid the confusing signals that plagued operations during the accident;
Enhancement of emergency preparedness to include immediate NRC notification requirements for plant events and an NRC operations center which is now staffed 24 hours a day. Drills and response plans are now tested by licensees several times a year, and state and local agencies participate in drills with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and NRC;
Establishment of a program to integrate NRC observations, findings, and conclusions about licensee performance and management effectiveness into a periodic, public report;
Regular analysis of plant performance by senior NRC managers who identify those plants needing additional regulatory attention;
Expansion of NRC's resident inspector program - first authorized in 1977 - whereby at least two inspectors live nearby and work exclusively at each plant in the U.S to provide daily surveillance of licensee adherence to NRC regulations;
Expansion of performance-oriented as well as safety-oriented inspections, and the use of risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities of any plant to severe accidents;
Strengthening and reorganization of enforcement as a separate office within the NRC;
The establishment of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), the industry's own "policing" group, and formation of what is now the Nuclear Energy Institute to provide a unified industry approach to generic nuclear regulatory issues, and interaction with NRC and other government agencies;
The installing of additional equipment by licensees to mitigate accident conditions, and monitor radiation levels and plant status;
Employment of major initiatives by licensees in early identification of important safety-related problems, and in collecting and assessing relevant data so lessons of experience can be shared and quickly acted upon;
Expansion of NRC's international activities to share enhanced knowledge of nuclear safety with other countries in a number of important technical areas.
Current StatusToday, the TMI-2 reactor is permanently shut down and defueled, with the reactor coolant system drained, the radioactive water decontaminated and evaporated, radioactive waste shipped off-site to an appropropriate disposal site, reactor fuel and core debris shipped off-site to a Department of Energy facility, and the remainder of the site being monitored. The owner says it will keep the facility in long-term, monitored storage until the operating license for the TMI-1 plant expires at which time both plants will be decommissioned. Below is a chronology of highlights of the TMI-2 cleanup from 1980 through 1993.
Date Event July 1980 Approximately 43,000 curies of krypton were vented from the reactor building. July 1980 The first manned entry into the reactor building took place. Nov. 1980 An Advisory Panel for the Decontamination of TMI-2, composed of citizens, scientists, and State and local officials, held its first meeting in Harrisburg, PA. July 1984 The reactor vessel head (top) was removed. Oct. 1985 Defueling began. July 1986 The off-site shipment of reactor core debris began. Aug. 1988 GPU submitted a request for a proposal to amend the TMI-2 license to a "possession-only" license and to allow the facility to enter long-term monitoring storage. Jan. 1990 Defueling was completed. July 1990 GPU submitted its funding plan for placing $229 million in escrow for radiological decommissioning of the plant. Jan. 1991 The evaporation of accident-generated water began. April 1991 NRC published a notice of opportunity for a hearing on GPU's request for a license amendment. Feb. 1992 NRC issued a safety evaluation report and granted the license amendment. Aug. 1993 The processing of accident-generated water was completed involving 2.23 million gallons. Sept. 1993 NRC issued a possession-only license. Sept. 1993 The Advisory Panel for Decontamination of TMI-2 held its last meeting. Dec. 1993 Post-Defueling Monitoring Storage began.
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Quote »Fact Sheet on the Accident at Three Mile IslandPrintable Version
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Additional Information Sources Glossary Plant Diagram The accident at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1979, was the most serious in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history(1), even though it led to no deaths or injuries to plant workers or members of the nearby community. But it brought about sweeping changes involving emergency response planning, reactor operator training, human factors engineering, radiation protection, and many other areas of nuclear power plant operations. It also caused the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to tighten and heighten its regulatory oversight. Resultant changes in the nuclear power industry and at the NRC had the effect of enhancing safety.
The sequence of certain events - - equipment malfunctions, design related problems and worker errors - - led to a partial meltdown of the TMI-2 reactor core but only very small off-site releases of radioactivity.
Summary of EventsThe accident began about 4:00 a.m. on March 28, 1979, when the plant experienced a failure in the secondary, non-nuclear section of the plant. The main feedwater pumps stopped running, caused by either a mechanical or electrical failure, which prevented the steam generators from removing heat. First the turbine, then the reactor automatically shut down. Immediately, the pressure in the primary system (the nuclear portion of the plant) began to increase. In order to prevent that pressure from becoming excessive, the pilot-operated relief valve (a valve located at the top of the pressurizer) opened. The valve should have closed when the pressure decreased by a certain amount, but it did not. Signals available to the operator failed to show that the valve was still open. As a result, cooling water poured out of the stuck-open valve and caused the core of the reactor to overheat.
As coolant flowed from the core through the pressurizer, the instruments available to reactor operators provided confusing information. There was no instrument that showed the level of coolant in the core. Instead, the operators judged the level of water in the core by the level in the pressurizer, and since it was high, they assumed that the core was properly covered with coolant. In addition, there was no clear signal that the pilot-operated relief valve was open. As a result, as alarms rang and warning lights flashed, the operators did not realize that the plant was experiencing a loss-of-coolant accident. They took a series of actions that made conditions worse by simply reducing the flow of coolant through the core.
Because adequate cooling was not available, the nuclear fuel overheated to the point at which the zirconium cladding (the long metal tubes which hold the nuclear fuel pellets) ruptured and the fuel pellets began to melt. It was later found that about one-half of the core melted during the early stages of the accident. Although the TMI-2 plant suffered a severe core meltdown, the most dangerous kind of nuclear power accident, it did not produce the worst-case consequences that reactor experts had long feared. In a worst-case accident, the melting of nuclear fuel would lead to a breach of the walls of the containment building and release massive quantities of radiation to the environment. But this did not occur as a result of the Three Mile Island accident.
The accident caught federal and state authorities off-guard. They were concerned about the small releases of radioactive gases that were measured off-site by the late morning of March 28 and even more concerned about the potential threat that the reactor posed to the surrounding population. They did not know that the core had melted, but they immediately took steps to try to gain control of the reactor and ensure adequate cooling to the core. The NRC’s regional office in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, was notified at 7:45 a.m. on March 28. By 8:00, NRC Headquarters in Washington, D.C. was alerted and the NRC Operations Center in Bethesda, Maryland, was activated. The regional office promptly dispatched the first team of inspectors to the site and other agencies, such as the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, also mobilized their response teams. Helicopters hired by TMI's owner, General Public Utilities Nuclear, and the Department of Energy were sampling radioactivity in the atmosphere above the plant by midday. A team from the Brookhaven National Laboratory was also sent to assist in radiation monitoring. At 9:15 a.m., the White House was notified and at 11:00 a.m., all non-essential personnel were ordered off the plant's premises.
By the evening of March 28, the core appeared to be adequately cooled and the reactor appeared to be stable. But new concerns arose by the morning of Friday, March 30. A significant release of radiation from the plant’s auxiliary building, performed to relieve pressure on the primary system and avoid curtailing the flow of coolant to the core, caused a great deal of confusion and consternation. In an atmosphere of growing uncertainty about the condition of the plant, the governor of Pennsylvania, Richard L. Thornburgh, consulted with the NRC about evacuating the population near the plant. Eventually, he and NRC Chairman Joseph Hendrie agreed that it would be prudent for those members of society most vulnerable to radiation to evacuate the area. Thornburgh announced that he was advising pregnant women and pre-school-age children within a 5-mile radius of the plant to leave the area.
Within a short time, the presence of a large hydrogen bubble in the dome of the pressure vessel, the container that holds the reactor core, stirred new worries. The concern was that the hydrogen bubble might burn or even explode and rupture the pressure vessel. In that event, the core would fall into the containment building and perhaps cause a breach of containment. The hydrogen bubble was a source of intense scrutiny and great anxiety, both among government authorities and the population, throughout the day on Saturday, March 31. The crisis ended when experts determined on Sunday, April 1, that the bubble could not burn or explode because of the absence of oxygen in the pressure vessel. Further, by that time, the utility had succeeded in greatly reducing the size of the bubble.
Health EffectsDetailed studies of the radiological consequences of the accident have been conducted by the NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now Health and Human Services), the Department of Energy, and the State of Pennsylvania. Several independent studies have also been conducted. Estimates are that the average dose to about 2 million people in the area was only about 1 millirem. To put this into context, exposure from a full set of chest x-rays is about 6 millirem. Compared to the natural radioactive background dose of about 100-125 millirem per year for the area, the collective dose to the community from the accident was very small. The maximum dose to a person at the site boundary would have been less than 100 millirem.
In the months following the accident, although questions were raised about possible adverse effects from radiation on human, animal, and plant life in the TMI area, none could be directly correlated to the accident. Thousands of environmental samples of air, water, milk, vegetation, soil, and foodstuffs were collected by various groups monitoring the area. Very low levels of radionuclides could be attributed to releases from the accident. However, comprehensive investigations and assessments by several well-respected organizations have concluded that in spite of serious damage to the reactor, most of the radiation was contained and that the actual release had negligible effects on the physical health of individuals or the environment.
Impact of the AccidentThe accident was caused by a combination of personnel error, design deficiencies, and component failures. There is no doubt that the accident at Three Mile Island permanently changed both the nuclear industry and the NRC. Public fear and distrust increased, NRC's regulations and oversight became broader and more robust, and management of the plants was scrutinized more carefully. The problems identified from careful analysis of the events during those days have led to permanent and sweeping changes in how NRC regulates its licensees - - which, in turn, has reduced the risk to public health and safety.
Here are some of the major changes which have occurred since the accident:
Upgrading and strengthening of plant design and equipment requirements. This includes fire protection, piping systems, auxiliary feedwater systems, containment building isolation, reliability of individual components (pressure relief valves and electrical circuit breakers), and the ability of plants to shut down automatically;
Identifying human performance as a critical part of plant safety, revamping operator training and staffing requirements, followed by improved instrumentation and controls for operating the plant, and establishment of fitness-for-duty programs for plant workers to guard against alcohol or drug abuse;
Improved instruction to avoid the confusing signals that plagued operations during the accident;
Enhancement of emergency preparedness to include immediate NRC notification requirements for plant events and an NRC operations center which is now staffed 24 hours a day. Drills and response plans are now tested by licensees several times a year, and state and local agencies participate in drills with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and NRC;
Establishment of a program to integrate NRC observations, findings, and conclusions about licensee performance and management effectiveness into a periodic, public report;
Regular analysis of plant performance by senior NRC managers who identify those plants needing additional regulatory attention;
Expansion of NRC's resident inspector program - first authorized in 1977 - whereby at least two inspectors live nearby and work exclusively at each plant in the U.S to provide daily surveillance of licensee adherence to NRC regulations;
Expansion of performance-oriented as well as safety-oriented inspections, and the use of risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities of any plant to severe accidents;
Strengthening and reorganization of enforcement as a separate office within the NRC;
The establishment of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), the industry's own "policing" group, and formation of what is now the Nuclear Energy Institute to provide a unified industry approach to generic nuclear regulatory issues, and interaction with NRC and other government agencies;
The installing of additional equipment by licensees to mitigate accident conditions, and monitor radiation levels and plant status;
Employment of major initiatives by licensees in early identification of important safety-related problems, and in collecting and assessing relevant data so lessons of experience can be shared and quickly acted upon;
Expansion of NRC's international activities to share enhanced knowledge of nuclear safety with other countries in a number of important technical areas.
Current StatusToday, the TMI-2 reactor is permanently shut down and defueled, with the reactor coolant system drained, the radioactive water decontaminated and evaporated, radioactive waste shipped off-site to an appropropriate disposal site, reactor fuel and core debris shipped off-site to a Department of Energy facility, and the remainder of the site being monitored. The owner says it will keep the facility in long-term, monitored storage until the operating license for the TMI-1 plant expires at which time both plants will be decommissioned. Below is a chronology of highlights of the TMI-2 cleanup from 1980 through 1993.
Date Event July 1980 Approximately 43,000 curies of krypton were vented from the reactor building. July 1980 The first manned entry into the reactor building took place. Nov. 1980 An Advisory Panel for the Decontamination of TMI-2, composed of citizens, scientists, and State and local officials, held its first meeting in Harrisburg, PA. July 1984 The reactor vessel head (top) was removed. Oct. 1985 Defueling began. July 1986 The off-site shipment of reactor core debris began. Aug. 1988 GPU submitted a request for a proposal to amend the TMI-2 license to a "possession-only" license and to allow the facility to enter long-term monitoring storage. Jan. 1990 Defueling was completed. July 1990 GPU submitted its funding plan for placing $229 million in escrow for radiological decommissioning of the plant. Jan. 1991 The evaporation of accident-generated water began. April 1991 NRC published a notice of opportunity for a hearing on GPU's request for a license amendment. Feb. 1992 NRC issued a safety evaluation report and granted the license amendment. Aug. 1993 The processing of accident-generated water was completed involving 2.23 million gallons. Sept. 1993 NRC issued a possession-only license. Sept. 1993 The Advisory Panel for Decontamination of TMI-2 held its last meeting. Dec. 1993 Post-Defueling Monitoring Storage began.
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MainEvent212
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lessthanjakejohn wrote:lol, one of the most dangerous sports, in one of the most abandoned places. Have fun if you crash, or better yet, crash into the side of something highly radioactive (many buildings and basements have been holding the radiation)
:thinker i'd bring a pit crew, a big truck to follow me around w/ a spare car, and mroe spare parts, tires already mounted on wheels, lots of duct tape and zip ties :pface, EMS team...camera crew of course....
and japan's top 10 drifters to duke it out in Chernobyl!
D1 goes to Ukraine :ylsuper
It would suck to have to leave all of that stuff there b/c it was saturated with radiation. It sucks that the Russian govt. doesn't put more effort into containing their accident. Does anyone know what the radiation #'s she gave mean. I don't and would like to know. Google time I guess.MainEvent212 wrote::thinker i'd bring a pit crew, a big truck to follow me around w/ a spare car, and mroe spare parts, tires already mounted on wheels, lots of duct tape and zip ties :pface, EMS team...camera crew of course....
This was/is a disaster of gigantic proportion. Literally 100s if not 1000s of people gave their lives to contain the reactor. Ukraine is an independent nation now and not a very rich one.
What is truly incredible is the way the technicians defeated safety device after safety device to run their distasterous experiment. The reactor fought to save itself (which is a testiment to the Soviet designers and engineers) only to be defeated by its operators.
What is truly incredible is the way the technicians defeated safety device after safety device to run their distasterous experiment. The reactor fought to save itself (which is a testiment to the Soviet designers and engineers) only to be defeated by its operators.
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Movingviolation240
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'93 Lexus SC300 w/ SP66 turbo kit
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MainEvent212
- Posts: 4182
- Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2003 1:21 pm
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