Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2588

IEEE (electrical engineering magazine) has excellent timeline with details I have not seen elsewhere, I am incorporating into my timeline. Only one fire engine was available to pump water into unit 1. spectrum.ieee.org
by artnuke 11/1/2011 10:51:28 PM

Hi all! Long time... Level 3 emergency at San Onofre just declared. Does anyone know anything? This is the only thing I could find. I just heard about it on our local news..... losangeles.cbslocal.com
by LM 11/1/2011 11:12:17 PM

@LM ooooo hi lm I will look with you
by elainekirk 11/1/2011 11:21:39 PM

latimesblogs.latimes.com
A level-3 emergency was declared Tuesday afternoon at the San Onofre Nuclear plant, officials said.

It was unclear what sparked the emergency alert. The Orange County Fire Authority said that it was alerted about the problem but that the incident was being handled by the power plant's Fire Department.

The Fire Department referred all calls to Southern California Edison. A utility media spokesman did not return calls for comment.
latimesblogs.latimes.com
by elainekirk 11/1/2011 11:22:57 PM

www.10news.com
www.10news.com SAN DIEGO -- An ammonia leak in the steam system used to drive the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station's turbines prompted an alert at the plant Tuesday, but Southern California Edison officials insisted there was no threat to the public.
San Diego County officials released the following statement regarding the reported leak:
At 2:50 p.m. today, the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station notified the County of San Diego of an ALERT at the station. The plant reports that the ALERT is related to the release of a gas at the plant and that current conditions do not threaten public safety. The County of San Diego, in response to this Alert, has activated and staffed the Operational Area Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with County agency representatives, in order that it may be prepared should the situation at the power plant deteriorate.
At this time, there is no recommended action for the public. We will continue to monitor the situation very closely and advise the public of any changes. The Public Information Hotline has been staffed and is ready to accept questions regarding the current events at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. The Emergency Operations Center has asked that all persons requesting additional information regarding the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station emergency contact the Public Information Hotline at 2-1-1. Unless there is a life-threatening emergency, do not call 9-1-1.
All resources and support personnel have been identified and are on standby, ready to be mobilized, if needed.
by elainekirk via 10news 11/1/2011 11:24:51 PM

@elainekirk Thanks! That's what they're saying on the news. Keep your fingers crossed. We're 33 miles from there. I hate nuclear now!
by LM 11/1/2011 11:27:43 PM

Ammonia www.washingtonpost.com
by bojack54 11/1/2011 11:28:38 PM

@LM oh my goodness LM that is close toes/fingers crossed
by elainekirk 11/1/2011 11:29:54 PM

@bojack54 hi bojack
by elainekirk 11/1/2011 11:30:09 PM

back finally. why is san onefre level3 if it is no big deal?
by lillymunster 11/1/2011 11:30:55 PM

@lillymunster hey good question
by elainekirk 11/1/2011 11:31:20 PM

@Lilly That's a really good question.
by LM 11/1/2011 11:31:29 PM

If anyone has SILVERLIGHT plug-in, would you please download the livestream video of the breaking news at San Onefre? Its on losangeles.cbslocal.com
by MaryW 11/1/2011 11:43:09 PM

@MaryW they are yakking about alcohol and breast cancer
by lillymunster 11/1/2011 11:46:38 PM

from the la station site. still not sure why this is an alert Southern California Edison tells CBS 2 that the incident is “an ammonia leak that is being contained.” The leak occurred in a steam system used to drive the station’s turbines, SCE said. The leak is not nuclear.

No radiation is currently escaping from the power plant, Lt. Roland Chacon said. The Orange County Emergency Operations Center has been activated.

No evacuations have been ordered and there is no danger to the public, SCE said.
by lillymunster 11/1/2011 11:47:58 PM

updated-San Onofre gas leak prompts alert bit.ly/tTUNGt
by MaryW 11/1/2011 11:50:12 PM

bit.ly
by MaryW 11/1/2011 11:50:41 PM

@lillymunster 'no radiation is currently escaping'
by elainekirk 11/1/2011 11:51:42 PM

the unit is a Combustion Engineering PWR - info onthem www.nirs.org

Still unsure why they have ammonia
by lillymunster 11/1/2011 11:53:32 PM

"Ammonia is used routinely to purify the steam system." it also says the turned on emergency sirens?
by lillymunster 11/1/2011 11:55:27 PM

[edit]Level 3: Serious incident
Impact on people and environment
Exposure in excess of ten times the statutory annual limit for workers.
Non-lethal deterministic health effect (e.g., burns) from radiation.
Impact on radiological barriers and control
Exposure rates of more than 1 Sv/h in an operating area.
Severe contamination in an area not expected by design, with a low probability of significant public exposure.
Impact on defence-in-depth
Near accident at a nuclear power plant with no safety provisions remaining.
Lost or stolen highly radioactive sealed source.
Misdelivered highly radioactive sealed source without adequate procedures in place to handle it.
Examples:
THORP plant Sellafield (United Kingdom) – 2005.
Paks Nuclear Power Plant (Hungary), 2003; fuel rod damage in cleaning tank.
Vandellos Nuclear Power Plant (Spain), 1989; fire destroyed many control systems; the reactor was shut down.
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (United States), 2011; Ammonia leak. No evacuation called for. en.wikipedia.org
by LM 11/1/2011 11:57:09 PM

@all Doesn't this imply radiation leak if it's level 3?
by LM 11/1/2011 11:57:55 PM

@LM OMG. That does NOT read like "meh, minor ammonia leak in the turbine building"
by lillymunster 11/1/2011 11:59:24 PM

I have one more thing to do real quick and I will start trying to compile what we know and post it so we can tweet it out and update as we find out info.
by lillymunster 11/2/2011 12:00:21 AM

@Lilly That's what bothers me. They've had other chemical leaks and it's always been level 1.
by LM 11/2/2011 12:00:45 AM

i don't think they mean ines level 3.
by Edano 11/2/2011 12:00:55 AM

they mean a local emergency level.
by Edano 11/2/2011 12:02:16 AM

NRC has event/alert levels
by lillymunster 11/2/2011 12:03:17 AM

They're saying that the reason it's an incident is that the workers can't work in the area because of the ammonia fumes. They're not claiming here that it's a local alert only.
by LM 11/2/2011 12:03:45 AM

"They do not believe any nuclear material has leaked" www.ktla.com hope link works
by MaryW 11/2/2011 12:04:02 AM

NRC Alerts
Further information: Nuclear safety in the United States#Emergency Classifications
Events are in process or have occurred which involve an actual or potential substantial degradation of the level of safety of the plant. Any releases expected to be limited to small fractions of the EPA Protective Action Guideline exposure levels.
Indian Point Unit 2, Buchanan, New York, 15-Feb-2000.[48]
[edit]

NRC Site Area Emergencies
Events are in process or have occurred which involve actual or likely major failures of plant functions needed for protection of the public. Any releases not expected to exceed EPA Protective Action Guideline exposure levels except near site boundary.
LaSalle County Nuclear Generating Station Unit 1, Seneca, Illinois, 20-Feb-2006.[49]
Honeywell International, Metropolis, Illinois, 22-Dec-2003.[50]
Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 27-Jul-2000 and 17-Sep-2000.[51][52]
Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 12-Jul-1999.[53]
Nuclear Fuel Services, Erwin, Tennessee, 2-Apr-1996.[54]
Nine Mile Point Unit 2, Oswego, New York, 13-Aug-1991.[55]
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant Unit 1, Burke County, Georgia, 20-Mar-1990.[56]
Davis-Besse, Oak Harbor, Ohio, 09-Jun-1985. Originally declared as an "Unusual Event" but upgraded by NRC findings.[57]
Ginna, Ontario, New York, 25-Jan-1982.[58][59][60]
[edit]

NRC General Emergencies
Events are in process or have occurred which involve actual or imminent substantial core degradation or melting with potential for loss of containment integrity. Releases can be reasonably expected to exceed EPA Protective Action Guideline exposure levels offsite for more than the immediate site area.
Three Mile Island Unit 2, 28-Mar-1979.
by lillymunster 11/2/2011 12:05:31 AM

www.huffingtonpost.com they do mean ines level 3. but no radioation released ?
by Edano 11/2/2011 12:07:45 AM

I'm going to assume for my own sanity that they've labelled it 3 simply because if they can't get workers in there that the situation could degrade. Hopefully they will stop the ammonia leak before that happens.
by LM 11/2/2011 12:10:03 AM

So is it an NRC alert or an INES level 3 alert? There is a BIG difference and people were screwing that up during ft. calhoun
by lillymunster 11/2/2011 12:10:29 AM

I am guessing they mean NRC alert rather than INES 3 based on what they are saying www.nbclosangeles.com
by lillymunster 11/2/2011 12:12:20 AM

i think it can't be ines 3 because ines 3 affords radiation emissions..
by Edano 11/2/2011 12:13:00 AM

nitrogen and hydrogen = ammonia
by elainekirk 11/2/2011 12:13:43 AM

@Edano I was wondering if it was this situation which comes under level 3
Near accident at a nuclear power plant with no safety provisions remaining.
by elainekirk 11/2/2011 12:15:25 AM

"All resources and support personnel have ben identified and are on standby, ready to be mobilized, if needed." San Diego Co Emergency Site sdcountyemergency.com
by MaryW 11/2/2011 12:19:57 AM

@Edano Is ammonia flammable? Do you know?
by MaryW 11/2/2011 12:20:21 AM

This is calling it a level 2 emergency - could get get anymore vague? It sounds like the media is just making things up. latimesblogs.latimes.com

Maybe it is a double secret super alert?
by lillymunster 11/2/2011 12:20:22 AM