Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2926

BTW North Anna is only served by one offsite power line as well.
by Peter 1/30/2012 10:53:28 PM

@MaryW I had looked into Wiki not long ago. I still rememberer most of the text, haha. Was looking into its decay chain inside nuclear reactors.
by Pedro Jesus 1/30/2012 10:54:19 PM

@Peter So does that mean, Lake Michigan, which is West of Rockford, will possibly get hit with tritium? And what about snow?
by MaryW 1/30/2012 10:55:12 PM

@Peter The steam release will be ongoing all day, I had read. And who knows how long.
by MaryW 1/30/2012 10:56:44 PM

Byron plant has been subject to some controversy since its construction began, starting with a 1981 lawsuit and continuing into the present with concerns over tritium contaminated groundwater. Tritium contamination at Byron and other Illinois nuclear power plants led the state of Illinois to pass legislation requiring plants to report such contamination to the state within 24 hours.
by MaryW 1/30/2012 10:59:48 PM

The Byron Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located in Ogle County, Illinois, 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the Rock River. The reactor buildings were constructed by Babcock and Wilcox and house two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors, Unit 1 and Unit 2, which first began operation in September 1985 and August 1987 respectively. en.wikipedia.org
by MaryW 1/30/2012 11:00:46 PM

Fire crews called to Byron nuclear plant for rare, unusual event. Updated: Jan 30, 2012 4:43 PM CST <script type='text/javascript' src='http://www.wrex.com/global/video/videoplayer.js?rnd=594258;hostDomain=www.wrex.com;playerWidth=480;playerHeight=270;isShowIcon=true;clipId=6688940;flvUri=;partnerclipid=;adTag=News;advertisingZone=;enableAds=true;landingPage=;islandingPageoverride=false;playerType=STANDARD_EMBEDDEDscript;controlsType=overlay;galleryType=wnstory;galleryId=16632193'></script> www.wrex.com
by MaryW 1/30/2012 11:07:15 PM

greetings to every one
by dean 1/30/2012 11:09:14 PM

This video link that did not work for me, is very interesting
by MaryW 1/30/2012 11:10:13 PM

Because of what I wrote, we may find some tritium released at just about any plant. As long as the amounts are very small, it dilutes with the water around the plants below detectable levels. But as we see, it sometimes also does not, and I have not seen one proper explanation yet.
by Peter 1/30/2012 11:12:57 PM

@MaryW , so the steam we see stems from cooling the main turbine loop.
by Peter 1/30/2012 11:15:13 PM

@dean, Is there a link available for the exact numbers of allowable atmospheric and effluent releases from nuclear power plants?
by eyes 1/30/2012 11:44:08 PM

@eyes, we could try to find something from the nrc regulations which would be a REG guide
by dean 1/30/2012 11:46:12 PM

Illinois....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKpyvhLXTy8 www.ens-newswire.com www.redicecreations.com ok I'll stop now, after all, it's just Byron today...
by eyes 1/30/2012 11:49:12 PM

REG guide, ok, thanks dean
by eyes 1/30/2012 11:50:03 PM

hps.ne.uiuc.edu some historical data @ eyes.. look in the references and that may lead to a common document.. I will also
by dean 1/30/2012 11:50:03 PM

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Fact sheet on tritium,
radiation protection limits, and drinking water standards
[online]. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office;
2006b. Available at: www.nrc.gov
doc-collections/fact-sheets/tritium-radiation-fs.html. Accessed
2 July 2006.
by dean 1/30/2012 11:52:05 PM

www.nrc.gov § 50.36a Technical specifications on effluents from nuclear power reactors
by dean 1/30/2012 11:54:00 PM

@dean Hi. I got a 'Page not Found' on the NRC link:(
by MaryW 1/30/2012 11:54:09 PM

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) evaluates abnormal releases of tritium-
contaminated water from nuclear power plants, particularly those that result in groundwater
contamination. The NRC has repeatedly determined these releases either do not leave the power
plant property or involve such low levels of tritium that they do not pose a threat to public health
and safety. Nonetheless, the NRC takes these unanticipated and unmonitored releases very
seriously, and continues to review these incidents to ensure that nuclear power plant operators
take appropriate action. pbadupws.nrc.gov
by Peter 1/30/2012 11:54:57 PM

@dean OK, its the fact sheet link. The other NRC technical specs is working:)
by MaryW 1/30/2012 11:55:52 PM

@Peter Just so they don't start bowing and apologizing
by MaryW 1/30/2012 11:57:00 PM

I quote from the doc: "For liquid effluent releases, such as diluted tritium, the ALARA annual offsite dose objective is 3 mrem to the whole body and 10 mrem to any organ of a maximally exposed individual who lives in close proximity to the plant boundary. This ALARA objective is 3% of the annual public radiation dose limit of 100 mrem. "
100 mrem = 1milliSv
by Peter 1/30/2012 11:59:57 PM

pbadupws.nrc.gov document from 93 with reference to the 10CFR part 20 and 50
by dean 1/31/2012 12:00:16 AM

@Peter they may have these limits at the site boundary and then out in increments on distance from the boundary
by dean 1/31/2012 12:01:10 AM

The steam at Byron is being released to 'reduce pressure'. So does that mean a rise in temperature?
by MaryW 1/31/2012 12:03:55 AM

BYRON, Ill. — A nuclear reactor at a northern Illinois plant shut down Monday after losing power, and steam was being vented to reduce pressure, according to officials from Exelon Nuclear and federal regulators.

Unit 2 at Byron Generating Station shut down around 10:18 a.m., after losing power from an off-site source, Exelon officials said. Diesel generators began supplying power to the plant equipment and operators began releasing steam from the non-nuclear side of the plant to help cool the reactor, officials said.
by dean 1/31/2012 12:07:25 AM

Even though the turbine is not turning to produce electricity, “you still need to cool the equipment.” said U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng. Releasing steam helps “take away some of that energy still being produced by nuclear reaction but that doesn’t have anywhere to go now.”

The steam contains low levels of radioactive tritium, but the levels are safe for workers and the public, federal and plant officials said.
by dean 1/31/2012 12:07:49 AM

Mitlyng said Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors were in the control room at Byron and in constant contact with the agency’s incident response center in Lisle, Ill.

Byron Generating Station is in Ogle County, about 95 miles northwest of Chicago.

In March 2008, federal officials said they were investigating a problem with electrical transformers at the plant after outside power to a unit was interrupted.

In an unrelated issue last April, the commission said it was conducting special inspections of backup water pumps at the Byron and Braidwood generating stations after the agency’s inspectors raised concerns about whether the pumps would be able to cool the reactors if the normal system wasn’t working. The plants’ operator, Exelon Corp., initially said the pumps would work but later concluded they wouldn’t.
by dean 1/31/2012 12:09:41 AM

The State of Wisconsin is monitoring the loss of power to the northern Illinois nuclear power plant and officials report there is no danger to plant employees or nearby residents.
by MaryW 1/31/2012 12:10:03 AM

So do some of these US reactors only have 1 incoming power source or have an electrical system inside the plant that isn't redundant?
by lillymunster 1/31/2012 12:15:34 AM

www.oglecountynews.com NRC gives Byron Generating Station high marks May 12, 2011
by dean 1/31/2012 12:17:24 AM

@lilly.. hi.. please check gmail
by dean 1/31/2012 12:17:42 AM

www.propublica.org NRC INSPECTION RESULTS AT COMMERCIAL POWER PLANTS ... JUNE 2011
by dean 1/31/2012 12:20:33 AM

@peter, what data was used to establish the dose objectives for ALARA? This seems to be the information that should be the center of the internal exposure discussion. Are there actual medical studies on tritium exposure in the human body?
by eyes 1/31/2012 12:29:32 AM

mail sent @ lilly
by dean 1/31/2012 12:30:17 AM

"Unusual Event" occurred at northern Illinois nuclear plant. 5:20 PM. MADISON - An incident occurred Monday morning at the Byron Nuclear Generating Station, in northern Illinois, and was declared an "Unusual Event", according to Wisconsin Emergency Management.

They say that the state of Wisconsin is monitoring the loss of power to the northern Illinois nuclear power plant and officials report there is no danger to plant employees or nearby residents.
...Wisconsin Emergency Management assists with nuclear offsite emergency plans for the Byron plant for Walworth, Rock, Lafayette and Green Counties. www.todaystmj4.com
by MaryW 1/31/2012 12:30:22 AM

good find @ Mary
by dean 1/31/2012 12:30:51 AM

Tritium, an Excelon spokesman said, is formed naturally in the upper atmosphere, is a component of rain and is found in virtually all of the Earth's surface water. It naturally breaks down into helium, said spokesman Paul Dempsey.

The "unusual event" is the lowest of four levels of the NRC's emergency classification system. Inspectors said they're monitoring the situation.

There have been no evacuations.

Byron Generating Station is in Ogle County, about 95 miles west of Chicago

....... Sure wish EXC
ELON representative would study what radioactive tritium is
by dean 1/31/2012 12:33:21 AM

www.shanghaidaily.com FROM SHANGAI DAILY.COM
by dean 1/31/2012 12:36:40 AM

@dean, maybe the residents downwind of Byron could just go out and take some deep breaths and see if radioactive tritium breaks down and leaves them talking like chipmunks...
by eyes 1/31/2012 12:37:45 AM

one critical point.. has the power been restored to the facility? what's going on with that is equally important to supply power to all non diesel powered components
by dean 1/31/2012 12:38:19 AM