Re: Hanford cleanup strategy

[Chasmig <Chasmig@aol.com>]

I have a few things to say about your note:

In a message dated 98-03-05 22:18:15 EST, you write:

<< Sandy is partly right, but the NRC has to take some responsibility for the
 problems.  They tried to managed (almost hands on sometimes) every function
at a
 commercial reactor facility with people mostly with experience with the
nuclear
 navy, none to very little hands on operating experience with large reactors
built
 on a budget,>>

A tractor is a tractor, I say. A budget? Back in the "good old days" when they
were actually building those things,  money was no object. "we'll make a
million dollars a day when this thing is operating.." remember that? 

<< and degrees from journalism to zoology.>>

Its amazing to me just how many former pizza slingers (and their wives) I run
into in my nuclear travels. Its like the utilities took any kid off the
streets (especially if you were a "good old boy"), gave them a few weeks
training, and said "you're qualified, heres 60k a year." The managers were the
ones with the liberal arts degrees.  

<< Most of the early nuclear engineers out the Rickover era got their total
nuclear engineering training in a matter of 6 months.>>

Better than a pizza slinger with 3 weeks of training.

<< Combine that with their issuance of conflicting requirements for the past
20 or so years.  Someday ask a manager of a BWR or a gas cooled  reactor about
the learning curve they went through with their Canoe U folks.>>

I'll bet the learning curve is even steeper for pizza slingers.... at least
Canoe U has _some_ standards.

<<Three Mile Island was a direct result of nuclear navy training and
experiences (both operators and HP were blow away by the events).>>

No.  TMI happened because the operators and HP's were either sleeping or on
drugs or both. Wow, man, look at the pretty alarm lights. Cool. (NO FFD.) Um,
and ignorance of steam tables. God Bless 10CFR26.

<<  If you review the events following TMI you will find that Harold Denton
was the only qualified nuclear engineer/physicist that understood what the
plant was going through and what the end results would be. >>

Not surprising considering all of the $5 an hour (what they paid HPs then)
former pizza slingers.

Drifter, identify yourself! Stop hiding behind your handle.

Charles Migliore
Chasmig@aol.com
(graduate of Canoe U)