Three Mile Island (pics!) [Archive]

marko138

03-13-2009, 09:53 AM

We are coming up on the 30th Anniversary of the 'accident' on Three Mile Island. For those who dont know...Unit 2 reactor core partially melted down and released radioactive material into the atmosphere.

Anyway...on Wednesday I went to TMI for work. The press people there wanted to tout how safe the plant was 30 years later.

Interestingly...my station didn't go right away when the accident happened. We didnt think it was a big deal at the time...and the crew even stopped at McDonalds on the way there. :lol: Hindsight, right?

Pics of TMI.

Unit 1...still fully functional.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0198.jpg

Looking at the plant:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0199.jpg

Unit 1 cooling towers, you can see the shut down Unit 2 towers in the background:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0200.jpg

The media walking toward the plant:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0201.jpg

Me on the island...with batman and Buell.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0202.jpg

Another look at Unit 1 cooling tower:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0203.jpg

MELTDOWN...GET THE FUCK OUT!!!!!!!
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0204.jpg

Amorok

03-13-2009, 09:58 AM

Dude, awesome.
:x:
Fucking military server.

marko138

03-13-2009, 09:58 AM

Dude, awesome.
:x:
Fucking military server.
Bah.

Rider

03-13-2009, 10:00 AM

Use a normal pic host guy. I cant see shit.

marko138

03-13-2009, 10:01 AM

You motherfuckers. Alright. Standby.

PhiSig1071

03-13-2009, 10:01 AM

Huh, and I always thought you were a black guy with goofy teeth.

G-Rex

03-13-2009, 10:09 AM

I can see the pics just fine.

Is the camera you're holding a Sony HDR-FX?

My best friend has an HDR-FX1 that we use for filming the movies we make on our cross country trips.

NICE camera. :D

goof2

03-13-2009, 10:11 AM

I have never seen it from that close before. I moved to the area a couple of years after the accident. I doubt they do it anymore, but people flying in to Harrisburg International on commuter planes always had a comment when the plane would bank right over the cooling towers on approach.

marko138

03-13-2009, 10:13 AM

Alright asshole, now hosted on PB.

marko138

03-13-2009, 10:14 AM

Rider

03-13-2009, 10:17 AM

Cool pics except for that goofy bastard holding the camera.

marko138

03-13-2009, 10:18 AM

I can see the pics just fine.

Is the camera you're holding a Sony HDR-FX?

My best friend has an HDR-FX1 that we use for filming the movies we make on our cross country trips.

NICE camera. :D
Thats a Sony Beta Cam SX. They are a little old now...but they take a good picture. I'd love to upgrade to Sony XD cam...but probly won't happen for several years.

Cool pics except for that goofy bastard holding the camera.
You son of a bitch. That goofy bastard is a nationally recognized, award winning photographer, you fucker.

ericr

03-13-2009, 10:21 AM

You son of a bitch. That goofy bastard is a nationally recognized, award winning photographer, you fucker.

I didn't recognize him, who is he??? :idk:

:D

z06boy

03-13-2009, 10:23 AM

Cool pics. Hard to believe it's been 30 years.

marko138

03-13-2009, 10:24 AM

Huh, and I always thought you were a black guy with goofy teeth.

:lol

Cool pics. Hard to believe it's been 30 years.

:lol: I wasn't even alive when it happened.

z06boy

03-13-2009, 10:36 AM

:lol: I wasn't even alive when it happened.

Me either...

http://blog.tystoybox.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/pinocchio.jpg

goof2

03-13-2009, 10:40 AM

You still live in the area?

I was only there for a few years when I was a kid. My parents have lived there a couple more times since then, but don't live there anymore either.

Trip

03-13-2009, 12:10 PM

Looni2ns

03-13-2009, 12:25 PM

Wow, it's been 30 years? I remember that day, watching the news and hoping the melted core didn't hit the groundwater.

marko138

03-13-2009, 12:40 PM

This thread = fail, I don't like it when my work appears on this site. TMI is the same style plant that I work at. Things changed greatly once that happened. My plant was the last new nuke plant to come online in the USA thanks to TMI
Fail? How so? This whole event was a big dog and pony show for 'how safe' the industry is now. There was absolutely no news value. I've always been fasicinated by TMI...so it was cool for me to see it up close and be on the island.

Trip

03-13-2009, 12:47 PM

Fail? How so? This whole event was a big dog and pony show for 'how safe' the industry is now. There was absolutely no news value. I've always been fasicinated by TMI...so it was cool for me to see it up close and be on the island.

It fails cause it reminds me about work and I am at home already for the weekend. I press the off button when I leave work.

TMI is an interesting event. I have had training on it and how it relates to my plant.

marko138

03-13-2009, 12:53 PM

It fails cause it reminds me about work and I am at home already for the weekend. I press the off button when I leave work.

TMI is an interesting event. I have had training on it and how it relates to my plant.
Oh...sorry then. :lol:

TMI is cool...but they didn't show us anything cool. Except the training simulator. But I wanted to see the real thing.

Here's a fun fact...TMI has it's own vegetable garden that they use to test radiation levels.

Trip

03-13-2009, 01:16 PM

Oh...sorry then. :lol:

TMI is cool...but they didn't show us anything cool. Except the training simulator. But I wanted to see the real thing.

Here's a fun fact...TMI has it's own vegetable garden that they use to test radiation levels.

The real control room would look exactly like the training sim. The nuke industry goes through great detail to make it look the same. Nuke plants are really interesting places and would be awesome to play paintball in. It looks like something out of first person shooter games inside them.

I wonder how hot unit 2 is.

Trip

03-13-2009, 01:20 PM

This is where you don't want to go.

marko138

03-13-2009, 01:22 PM

The real control room would look exactly like the training sim. The nuke industry goes through great detail to make it look the same. Nuke plants are really interesting places and would be awesome to play paintball in. It looks like something out of first person shooter games inside them.

I wonder how hot unit 2 is.

Yeah they told us it's identical. They did an alarm deal with us there. I'll see if I can find the link to the vid.

And not knowing much about nuclear power...would unit 2 still be fucked up? And they say it's "permanently" shut down. Can it not be fixed and re used?

This is where you don't want to go.

Yeah...they told us thats where the shit is. I wanted to go there.

marko138

03-13-2009, 01:24 PM

Here's a link to the story I did on Wednesday. You can see the control room toward the beginning.

http://cfc.whtm.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=35495

Trip

03-13-2009, 01:30 PM

Yeah they told us it's identical. They did an alarm deal with us there. I'll see if I can find the link to the vid.

And not knowing much about nuclear power...would unit 2 still be fucked up? And they say it's "permanently" shut down. Can it not be fixed and re used?

Yeah...they told us thats where the shit is. I wanted to go there.

Unit 2 would still be hot, don't know how clean they got it, they had one hell of an accident. They probably cleaned up some, but it's pretty much a tomb for that reactor.

There isn't much to see in the reactor building. It's really tight quarters and most everything in there is really fuckin hot and you don't want to get near it for a long time unless you want to die of radiation poisoning. I go out of my way to try to stay out of them at my plant. The spent fuel pools are cool though because the water is a creepy bluish color. I have gotten to climb all in a reactor building because only one of our units is active and the other never got finished cause of TMI, so we get to do walkdowns on the nonactive unit to learn about the other unit where you can't spend time in it. They are starting to rebuild it now though.

marko138

03-13-2009, 01:31 PM

Unit 2 would still be hot, don't know how clean they got it, they had one hell of an accident. They probably cleaned up some, but it's pretty much a tomb for that reactor.

There isn't much to see in the reactor building. It's really tight quarters and most everything in there is really fuckin hot and you don't want to get near it for a long time unless you want to die of radiation poisoning. I go out of my way to try to stay out of them at my plant. The spent fuel pools are cool though because the water is a creepy bluish color. I have gotten to climb all in a reactor building because only one of our units is active and the other never got finished cause of TMI, so we get to do walkdowns on the nonactive unit to learn about the other unit where you can't spend time in it. They are starting to rebuild it now though.
Interesting. I didnt' know that. Would unit 2 be like super hot at this point? Liker several thousand degrees or what?

Trip

03-13-2009, 01:37 PM

Here's a link to the story I did on Wednesday. You can see the control room toward the beginning.

http://cfc.whtm.com/videoondemand.cfm?id=35495

Oh shit they are replacing the steam generators. That's gonna suck, we just did that a few years ago. This is one of the fuckin biggest cranes I have ever seen and will ever see in person.

Trip

03-13-2009, 01:38 PM

Interesting. I didnt' know that. Would unit 2 be like super hot at this point? Liker several thousand degrees or what?

not temperature hot, radiation hot. It's a slang term we use to describe how radioactive something is.

Particle Man

03-13-2009, 01:38 PM

Interesting. I didnt' know that. Would unit 2 be like super hot at this point? Liker several thousand degrees or what?

I think he means "hot" as in radioactive...

ETA: damn, he beat me to it. :lol:

I went to college by the Nine Mile reactors in Oswego, NY. We used to jog by ever morning. The ice at the base of the cooling tower in the winter was pretty neat.

marko138

03-13-2009, 01:39 PM

Ok...got ya.

marko138

03-13-2009, 01:41 PM

Oh shit they are replacing the steam generators. That's gonna suck, we just did that a few years ago. This is one of the fuckin biggest cranes I have ever seen and will ever see in person.
Yeah...their license is about up. That guy toward the end is a wacko...he opposes everything about TMI. He's nuts.

Trip

03-13-2009, 01:44 PM

The wiki on the TMI accident is actually really detailed if you want to know more about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Mile_Island_accident

marko138

03-13-2009, 01:47 PM

Nuclear power plants are cool.

Trip

03-13-2009, 01:48 PM

marko138

03-13-2009, 01:51 PM

Looks like the reactor vessel is still in Unit 2, but they took the fuel out. The reactor building is too radioactive for people to walk in because of the coolant that spilled everywhere and seeped into the concrete. The cost was too high to decommish it and they left a lot to be cleaned up when they retire Unit 1 and clean the site up.
I see. Your description explains alot to me. I do know the fuel from Unit 2 is now in Idaho.

Question...how do they transport the fuel? Seems like that would be a risky endevour.

Another thing....so the water thats rushing at the bottom of the cooling towers...that is to replentish the water lost in the cooling process...as in the stuff coming out of the top of the tower?

Trip

03-13-2009, 01:59 PM

I see. Your description explains alot to me. I do know the fuel from Unit 2 is now in Idaho.

Question...how do they transport the fuel? Seems like that would be a risky endevour.

Another thing....so the water thats rushing at the bottom of the cooling towers...that is to replentish the water lost in the cooling process...as in the stuff coming out of the top of the tower?

Transporting fuel is very secretive. I think they do it by trucks, I have never seen and if I have I never knew what they had in them.

The cooling tower is to cool the water before they put it back in the river or back to the plant. The plant operates better with colder water so they cool some to put back in the plant, but a lot of it goes back into the river at least here anyway. It depends on the license of the plant and what temp they can discharge water back into the river. A lot of ecological laws that I know nothing about. The water in it is clean, it never got radioactive cause of the seperation through the steam generators in a Pressurized Water Reactor. Boiling Water Reactors have radioactive water throughout the plant and I would never want to work in one. They have a different cooling setup.

Here's a good pic for you to see the basic systems of the plant.

(wtf is a transformator??? I think they mean transformer.)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Tmi-2_schematic.svg/744px-Tmi-2_schematic.svg.png

marko138

03-13-2009, 02:09 PM

I saw that drawing on Wiki.

According to that article...the severity of the problem wasn't known until the next shift came it. I would have loved to know what their reaction was when they came to work and discovered this. I bet they lost their minds.

Porkchop

03-13-2009, 02:19 PM

Nuclear power plants are cool.

They are creepy as fuck. Very ominous. I have always been fascinated with the Chernobyl accident. Yet again, very creepy.

We have a power plant near our lake house in Port Clinton, Ohio. The Davis Besse Electrical Nuclear Power Plant? I sit on the beach and watch it at night. The red lights on top make the smoke red at night. I always wonder about it when i'm out running the boat or the Yami waverunners.

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/large_besse.jpg
http://www.wired.com/news/images/full/undercut-area-toward-nozzle_f.jpg

[2003]"Davis-Besse nuclear power plant shut down after workers discovered that boric acid had eaten away at 70 pounds of steel, leaving a 6-by-5-inch hole in its reactor head. Only a thin, 3/8-inch strip of stainless steel lining protected the reactor from rupturing and causing what could have been the most devastating nuclear accident since Three Mile Island.

"We could have had the worst nuclear catastrophe this nation had ever experienced."

Trip

03-13-2009, 02:23 PM

I have heard a lot about davis besse as well.

marko138

03-13-2009, 02:24 PM

They are creepy as fuck. Very ominous. I have always been fascinated with the Chernobyl accident. Yet again, very creepy.

We have a power plant near our lake house in Port Clinton, Ohio. The Davis Besse Electrical Nuclear Power Plant? I sit on the beach and watch it at night. The red lights on top make the smoke red at night. I always wonder about it when i'm out running the boat or the Yami waverunners.

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/large_besse.jpg
http://www.wired.com/news/images/full/undercut-area-toward-nozzle_f.jpg

[2003]"Davis-Besse nuclear power plant shut down after workers discovered that boric acid had eaten away at 70 pounds of steel, leaving a 6-by-5-inch hole in its reactor head. Only a thin, 3/8-inch strip of stainless steel lining protected the reactor from rupturing and causing what could have been the most devastating nuclear accident since Three Mile Island.

"We could have had the worst nuclear catastrophe this nation had ever experienced."

Holy shit. That is fucking crazy. This is the first I've heard of it.

ericr

03-13-2009, 02:25 PM

I'm a few miles from Plant Bowen, but it's coal fired. It does have the honor of being the largest coal fired power plant in the world (or was 15 yrs ago, may not be now).

Particle Man

03-13-2009, 02:28 PM

The red lights on top make the smoke red at night. I always wonder about it when i'm out running the boat or the Yami waverunners

it's steam, not smoke ;)

Trip

03-13-2009, 02:31 PM

I much rather work at a hydro plant. Working in the nuke industry is a pain in the ass. Hydro is like my dream job. They are so laid back and have it easy.

Where do you work particle?

Porkchop

03-13-2009, 02:34 PM

it's steam, not smoke ;)

Oh well... aren't we mister smarty panties! redflip

I know its steam.........

Particle Man

03-13-2009, 03:19 PM

I much rather work at a hydro plant. Working in the nuke industry is a pain in the ass. Hydro is like my dream job. They are so laid back and have it easy.

Where do you work particle?

not at one of those :lol:

I'm just a lowly consultant in an entirely differnet industry. Physics was a hobby in college and, as an extension, anything having to do with those babies

Trip

03-13-2009, 03:25 PM

not at one of those :lol:

I'm just a lowly consultant in an entirely differnet industry. Physics was a hobby in college and, as an extension, anything having to do with those babies

lucky SOB :lol:

Bluestreak

03-13-2009, 04:06 PM

Great pictures Marko. I took a tour of the island when I was in elementry school. A bus tour if I remember correctly. Now, you can't do that anymore.

I was just over a year old when the accident happend. Since we live within 10 miles of the plant, my mom got me the hell outta town. My father was a dairy farmer so he stayed behind. Cows don't milk them selves!

I can see the stacks from where I type this now. :)

z06boy

03-13-2009, 04:16 PM

Holy shit. That is fucking crazy. This is the first I've heard of it.

:jd: Same here...I live close to a nuclear plant here in the Lake Norman area in NC and boat near it most of the summer and don't really worry about it but every now and then think "what if". :panic: :lol:

marko138

03-13-2009, 04:45 PM

Trip

03-13-2009, 04:48 PM

:jd: Same here...I live close to a nuclear plant here in the Lake Norman area in NC and boat near it most of the summer and don't really worry about it but every now and then think "what if". :panic: :lol:

Don't worry, if anything happens, you won't care for long. Just remember if something happens, drive towards it. :lol: I'd rather die quickly than slowly from radiation poisoning.

Bluestreak

03-13-2009, 04:57 PM

We should get together man.

I agree. Check your PM's.

Porkchop

03-13-2009, 07:58 PM

:jd: Same here...I live close to a nuclear plant here in the Lake Norman area in NC and boat near it most of the summer and don't really worry about it but every now and then think "what if". :panic: :lol:

I've always thought that from the first time at the lake. I dont know much about the spread of radiation, but i figure that with the lake and how close we are, we'd be dead before we even knew anything.

Don't worry, if anything happens, you won't care for long. Just remember if something happens, drive towards it. :lol: I'd rather die quickly than slowly from radiation poisoning.

Thats just awful.... :idk:

When your at work, do you feel weird? Like can you feel the radiation?

Cutty72

03-13-2009, 11:42 PM

Ok... first, i know nothing of how a nuke plant works.
From a quick look at that drawing, it looks like the power is created by the steam spinning a turbine?

and back on the original topic (kinda)
marko, do you have to provide your own camera? I figured the company provided them :idk:

Trip

03-14-2009, 12:58 AM

Thats just awful.... :idk:

When your at work, do you feel weird? Like can you feel the radiation?

No, I have never had any recorded radiation exposure. It's really safe now thanks to TMI. I don't really have any worries at work.

Ok... first, i know nothing of how a nuke plant works.
From a quick look at that drawing, it looks like the power is created by the steam spinning a turbine?

reactor heats up radioactive water at a very high pressure so it's still water. That high pressure water heats up clean water by passing near it in tubes and turns it into steam. That steam turns a turbine, that turbine turns the generator. Generator produces electricity.

marko138

03-14-2009, 10:22 AM

and back on the original topic (kinda)
marko, do you have to provide your own camera? I figured the company provided them :idk:

Yeah work provides them. They are Sony Beta-SX cams. Like I said before, they are now several years old, in fact, Sony doesn't even make them anymore...but they still take decent video. I bring my little point and shoot for my own purposes.

reactor heats up radioactive water at a very high pressure so it's still water. That high pressure water heats up clean water by passing near it in tubes and turns it into steam. That steam turns a turbine, that turbine turns the generator. Generator produces electricity.

Your av rules.

Bluestreak

03-18-2009, 04:37 PM

Speaking of TMI, just read this in our local paper today. The sheer size (510 tons) of these steam generators is amazing.

This will be coming right past my house!

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/235213

the chi

03-18-2009, 04:55 PM

That is too damn cool Marko. Cant say I ever even heard of the event but its interesting seeing the basics of this stuff.

njchopper87

03-18-2009, 05:11 PM

Transporting fuel is very secretive. I think they do it by trucks, I have never seen and if I have I never knew what they had in them.

They had a TV show about this on Discovery, History or National Geographic. Nuclear waste is transported by trucks and trains, and although they are clearly labeled their routes and transport times are very hush hush. I wish I could remember the show's title; I've seen it on several times.

Everything about nuclear power plants catches my attention too. Nice article and pics.

Porkchop

03-19-2009, 02:50 AM

They had a TV show about this on Discovery, History or National Geographic. Nuclear waste is transported by trucks and trains, and although they are clearly labeled their routes and transport times are very hush hush. I wish I could remember the show's title; I've seen it on several times.

Everything about nuclear power plants catches my attention too. Nice article and pics.

I might have seen the same thing. It showed where they took the stuff, to that mountain where they dug the tunnels into and down deep. I remember security was tight, and the doors were thick as hell, but not much else.

VatorMan

03-19-2009, 07:29 AM

They actually test the stainless steel used for reactors here at NIST. We have a 90 ft tall 12,000,000 lb. press they use to stress the steel and the crack it. It makes the whole building jump when they break it. :panic: We also have a small 20 MW neutron research reactor here. I have been down at the rod pool-as stated before,it has a blue tint not green. Also the walls in the pool are perfectly clean where the rods are and algae right above them.

We still have a lot of the steel from the WTC examination.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/vatorman/NIST/MVC-003F.jpg

z06boy

03-19-2009, 10:51 AM

Don't worry, if anything happens, you won't care for long. Just remember if something happens, drive towards it. :lol: I'd rather die quickly than slowly from radiation poisoning.

:lol: I work about 20 miles from it and live about 10 miles from it...as the crow flies...not driving mileage so I may have a chance to drive away from it if I know there is an issue right after it happens but if on the boat...forget it I'm fried. :zowned:

Particle Man

03-19-2009, 11:09 AM

:lol: I work about 20 miles from it and live about 10 miles from it...as the crow flies...not driving mileage so I may have a chance to drive away from it if I know there is an issue right after it happens but if on the boat...forget it I'm fried. :zowned:

I live about 60 miles from the one around here and figure I'm in a worse place than those closer to it.

z06boy

03-19-2009, 11:14 AM

I live about 60 miles from the one around here and figure I'm in a worse place than those closer to it.

They have the magical "10 mile radius ring" map here and we live just outside of it so I guess that's like our force shield or something. :lol:

Particle Man

03-19-2009, 11:24 AM

They have the magical "10 mile radius ring" map here and we live just outside of it so I guess that's like our force shield or something. :lol:

kinda like duck and cover :lol:

z06boy

03-19-2009, 11:28 AM

kinda like duck and cover :lol:

No kidding !! :lol:

ericr

03-19-2009, 11:29 AM

Cant say I ever even heard of the event but its interesting seeing the basics of this stuff.

Ok, that made me feel fuking old :(

damn kids :lol:

Hydrant

03-19-2009, 10:17 PM

On the National Geographic Channel, there is a show called World's Toughest Fixes. On one of the episodes they replace the turbine on a nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania.

Here is some Youtube vid's I found that have some parts of the show, there is 5 videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Owb3_ODek Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Soht5bfEA Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozSz1gyLaLY Part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9I3PNGsn54 Part 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSCNPZK_Iuw Part 5

njchopper87

03-20-2009, 12:13 AM

I saw that one too, it was cool to see the host was actually standing inside a part of the turbine or w/e it was.

marko138

03-20-2009, 07:48 AM

Damn...I'm gonna have to check those out when I have a few minutes.

marko138

03-28-2009, 05:07 PM

I was back at the Island yesterday. Today is the 30 Anny. I snapped a few more pics. Mostly of the damaged Unit 2.

Unit 2:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0228.jpg

Working Unit 1:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0229.jpg

Unit 2 cooling towers:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0230.jpg

Unit 2:
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/markgraves138/TMI/DSCN0231.jpg

Porkchop

03-28-2009, 10:23 PM

Have they basically dismantled the bottom of 2's cooling towers? Is that why its open at the bottom?

marko138

03-20-2011, 09:41 AM

Trip...question....the nuc plants that don't have big ass cooling towers like TMI...how do they cool them or release the steam or whatever?

Particle Man

03-20-2011, 10:08 AM

Have they basically dismantled the bottom of 2's cooling towers? Is that why its open at the bottom?
Water flows down the bottom as the steam condenses. It's open for more cooling I believe. It's cool when the water vapor freezes.

azoomm

03-20-2011, 01:10 PM

I'm fascinated by that industry. My father worked for GE in the 60's and early 70's... Japan, San Jose and then Joliet. I've been looking for the old pictures of him with his white lab coat in front of the endless panels of switches.

Thanks for a great thread Marco.

Trip

03-20-2011, 02:45 PM

Trip...question....the nuc plants that don't have big ass cooling towers like TMI...how do they cool them or release the steam or whatever?

All plants have a means of cooling. They just all don't look like Westinghouse cooling towers of Simpson fame. My plant and TMI are Westinghouse designed PWRs. Some plants don't have to use them all the time either. We have a sister plant in TVA and they don't run their cooling towers all the time. It just depends on the design. Even similarly designed plants can have vast differences in how they operate.

The design of the Japan plant and TVA's Mark I GE BWR won't have those type cooling towers. TVA's version has what looks like warehouse buildings that are it's cooling "towers."

Trip

03-20-2011, 02:46 PM

Have they basically dismantled the bottom of 2's cooling towers? Is that why its open at the bottom?

That design is open, but they have took out a lot of stuff. May have sold it off because they won't use that unit again. Atmosphere cooled water falls into a big pool in the bottom. Might be weather conditions that force some of the northern plants to cover theirs.

Ours are still open.

http://www.nukeworker.com/pictures/albums/North_America/usa/NRC_Facilities/Region_2/watts_bar/watts4.jpg

marko138

03-20-2011, 08:39 PM

All plants have a means of cooling. They just all don't look like Westinghouse cooling towers of Simpson fame. My plant and TMI are Westinghouse designed PWRs. Some plants don't have to use them all the time either. We have a sister plant in TVA and they don't run their cooling towers all the time. It just depends on the design. Even similarly designed plants can have vast differences in how they operate.

The design of the Japan plant and TVA's Mark I GE BWR won't have those type cooling towers. TVA's version has what looks like warehouse buildings that are it's cooling "towers."
I knew there had to be some cooling just wasn't sure what it was instead of the big cooling towers.

Zoomie...I'm also very fascinated with nuclear power. I've always been interested in Three Mile Island. I wanted to tour the island when I was young but never did. After 9/11 they stopped the tours but I was lucky enough to get on the island when I still worked in TV.

It's one of my favorite assignments I ever got. Way cooler than meeting pro athletes or politicians or whatever.