All posts by ed

Who said 2014?

I think it was Arnie Gundersen!

The whistler blower the nuclear industry loves to hate, Fairewinds Energy Education’s engineer Arnie Gundersen gets it right again.

Arnie correctly predicted that Entergy would refuse to spend the money needed to replace ENVY’s worn-out steam condenser.

http://www.fairewinds.com

This announcement to close the Vernon reactor deflects attention from ENVY’s radiation monitors going off again. The “faulty monitors” giving high radiation signals in June and July were replaced, and the new monitors are signaling high doses in August.

http://digital.vpr.net/post/ya…

Entergy wants to wait sixty years before the cleanup gets going in earnest, using the NRC approved “Safstor” plan to leave the mess for people not yet living.

And Vernon will be a nuclear waste dump, forever.

Entergy’s Arkansas reactor death

Photos are surfacing showing the results of the tragedy at

Entergy’s nuclear reactor in Arkansas, where a worker was killed Sunday.

Eight other people were injured, when a 500 ton replacement stator dropped while being moved. It’s not yet clear whether this calamity was caused by failure of the crane or by an electrical failure.

http://www.couriernews.com/vie…

Mad Cow

The Wall St Journal is reporting that the USDA found a new case of mad cow disease in a California dairy cow. First US case since 2006.

Entergy Nuclear Cuts Power:The Anniversary Edition

( – promoted by BP)

I have added information from the Rutland Herald after the jump in addition to the original diary.BP

Well Entergy’s Vermont Yankee continues what could well become a series of 40th anniversary celebratory repair events, including a hopefully festive epoxy removal from the malfunctioning condenser unit. What do you get a nuclear power plant for its 40th anniversary? Perhaps a traditional gift such as a Ruby or Garnett? Maybe something useful, a new condenser or dry casks might be a safe bet.

Susan Smallheer at the Rutland Herald is doing a great job of keeping this story alive but got to kick the rest of Vermont media in the knees. Only six days ago the big demonstration at the plant was big all over Vermont news now the media seems to have moved on.

original diary starts: As of this morning, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee is operating at only 31% of capacity, while attempts are made to clean up the mess they’ve made of their condenser.

Susan Smallheer in the Rutland Herald has the details as of Monday, hidden behind a paywall.

Key quote:

The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is again operating at reduced power, and has been ever since its 40th anniversary last week, because of continuing problems with its condenser, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

In its continuing effort to defer needed maintenance and postpone spending, ENVY wants to wait till 2016 to replace the condenser. Replacement is projected to cost between $150 million and $200 million.

Last Fall, Entergy coated the condenser tubes with epoxy in an effort to continue operating with worn out equipment. In what seems to have come as a surprise to ENVY, coating the tubes reduced their heat transfer ability to such a degree that the reactor has been forced to cut power repeatedly.

Now ENVY has begun the laborious process of removing the recently applied epoxy.

ENVY: NOT Clean, NOT Safe, NOT Reliable

Additional bits from the Rutland Herald.

The plant was at 94 percent power Monday morning and records on file with the NRC show that ever since last Wednesday, the plant has slowly been reducing power after a short period at 100 percent.

And this comment about the plant’s condenser issue from spokes-flack-person Larry Smith is deserving of more explanation:

Entergy Nuclear spokesman Larry Smith declined to comment about the most recent problem with the condenser, and said he could talk about the issue today. He said the delay was for “proprietary reasons” but declined to elaborate.

And more to follow in the coming weeks as things warm up:

On Monday, Sheehan said that as the temperatures warm up, and the temperature of the Connecticut River increases, Yankee will have to reduce power.

Arnie Gundersen [a nuclear engineer and consultant with Fairewinds Associates of Burlington] said that now is the time for Entergy to remove the epoxy, since Entergy would lose even more revenue in the summer at reduced power.

But he warned that removing the epoxy is much more difficult than putting it on.

VY’s 40th is off to a special start.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/a…

ENVY Cooling Pump Fails

(Case in point. – promoted by Sue Prent)

Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee reported output at only 36% this morning. The reactor was forced to reduce power after one of the recirculation pumps, which cool the aging reactor, failed Sunday night.

ENVY has 24 hours to repair the pump, or it must shut down the reactor.

A planned shutdown for refueling had been scheduled for early October. ENVY changes out 1/3 of its fuel every 18 months.

As the end of the 18 month fuel cycle nears, the build up of fission products within the fuel bundles makes it more difficult to control the reactor. ENVY has reduced power slightly each week over the last several weeks. Last week, the reactor operated at 96% power.

Of course, that’s still 15% higher output than the Fukushima-style GE reactor was originally designed for. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Public Service Board allowed ENVY to increase output by 20% in the middle of the last decade.

Susan Smallheer is following the story at the Rutland Herald.

http://rutlandherald.typepad.c…

Entergy Files Suit vs. VT

(To the courts !

Entergy and VY show their hand – promoted by BP
)

Just in:

Entergy Corporation announced that two of its subsidiaries, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC and Entergy Nuclear Operations, have filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont seeking a judgment to prevent the state of Vermont from forcing the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to cease operation on March 21, 2012.

http://www.theflyonthewall.com…

Shumlin to Entergy: Keep Pumping

( – promoted by odum)

Gov-elect Shumlin has written Michael Colomb, on-site chief at the Vernon reactor, and requested that Entergy Nuclear resume pumping radioactive water to hamper contamination of the Vernon aquifer.

Shumlin also requested increased testing for tritium and other radionuclides, at various depths, including at bedrock level and beneath it.

The Gov-elect’s action follows news late Friday that tritium has been detected at bedrock, about sixty feet below the surface. The original leak was about fifteen feet below ground.

Entergy stopped its extraction wells after removing 300,000 gallons of contaminated water, which will be shipped to an out of state disposal site.

Previous tests found tritium around 200 feet below the surface, in the well column of a drinking water well. Entergy discontinued use of the drinking water earlier in 2010.

ENTERGY tritium found in drinking water

The Friday news dump included the word that radioactive tritium has been found much deeper under the Vernon reactor, in the aquifer used by nearby residents for drinking water.

http://www.boston.com/news/loc…

http://www.dailymail.com/ap/Ap…

Have you seen the lawn signs put out by ENVY supporters?

They read “VY4VT”.

It’s not clear if this is an attempt to influence public opinion, or a “feel good” operation to keep up morale to keep present employees from changing jobs before Entergy is ready to close down.

In any event, the signs seem to be sparking creative re-framing.

So far, my favorite is from my grandson, who says the signs should read, “Tritium4VT”.

Another friend suggested “26-4”, the vote count in the Senate when Entergy lost big time.

What do you think? What should those lawn signs say?