Susquehanna

[Rennhack]

Don't forget to vote.  Keep your comments civil.

[trailorqueen]

I really enjoy working at Susquahanna.  It is nice to work at a plant where the house backs up contractors.  I am about to go back there for the fourth time, and even thought the area ain't nothin special, I look forward to it.  Not only are the house people nice, they for the most part have the same contractors year after year, so you usually know most of the people from day 1, instead of right before you get laid off.    

[DesertRad]

The House techs and supervisors are good bunch of folks, lots of friends there. Plenty of outdoor activities. If you have a weight problem as do I, then this probably isn't the place to go. They are costantly buying Pizza, Calzone, Wings and on and on.

[Roll Tide]

February 17, 2004
AREVA License Renewal Team Wins Contract at PPL Nuclear Power Plant


AREVA's joint subsidiary with Siemens, Framatome ANP, has been awarded a contract to provide license renewal application services for PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant. This project will be performed by Framatome ANP with its license renewal teammate, Entergy Nuclear. Submittal of the license renewal application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is scheduled for the third quarter of 2006.

The current term of the operating licenses for Susquehanna units 1 and 2 ends in 2022 and 2024. Once the NRC approves PPL's application, the licenses will be renewed until 2042 and 2044 respectively.

Entergy Nuclear and AREVA's Framatome ANP have teamed to provide unmatched license renewal services. This team has supported six of the eight license renewal applications approved to date and is currently providing support and preparation services for twelve more applications.

The team has been involved in nuclear plant license renewal since the initial regulatory discussions began more than fifteen years ago. Entergy Nuclear and AREVA's Framatome ANP have also assisted both nuclear plant licensees and the NRC in developing and assessing programs and performing tasks related to the regulatory challenge of continued nuclear power facility operation beyond the initial forty-year license period


(THANKS, C. Jethro)

[BuddyThePug]

Which company staffs rad techs for Susquehanna outages? Thanks.

[vikingfan]

bartlett is the contractor for hp techs.

[712s]

Talk About: Susquehanna

Heads up.Susquehanna has an outage coming up september 30th if anyone is interested.Great place to work.Pretty good pay and diem etc.Area has many resonable places to rent.Call Joey for details.

[RRhoads]

i worked there a lot in the early/mid 90's and it was fantastic but I'm not getting the C_ _ _ _ _ _ thing. Is that one of the supervisors or what?

This guy is an ex-road tech turned house..kinda made working the DW sucky the LAST outage i was at last year...Micky & Rich or Kurt & Rich was way better...I think one could poll almost anyone from the DW on nites from last years outage & they would say the same thing...
When i first started going to susquehanna, we got fed at least once a week & got treated better than 95% of the plants out there..you didn't mind doing 4 or 5 hr. jumps in the DW 'cause it wasn't every nite & then they told ya to get lost for a couple of hrs...treated super good....
now when ya want a break, ya got sit the DW access check point to verify peeps are on the correct RWP...wonder why we started doing that in the first place??? C_ _ _ _ _ Sucks!...It ain't like it used to be..& just 'cause i went house dosen't mean i don't know how this years outage went, i heard plenty every day!

[712s]

For helpful information if your going to Susquehanna.Visit this website.


                        www.susquehannainfo.blogspot. com

[712s]

Helpful information on the following site if your going to Susquehanna for an outage.


                             www.susquehannainfo.blogspot. com

[retired nuke]

Dang, if every plant did something like this, it would make life on the road nice - whoever put this together and posted the blog sure is at the head of the class.

[biloxoi blues]

I agree thanks 712, I justed booked a room.  And of course thanks nukeworker.

[jowlman]

 SSES has always been the best. I've never been treated better anywhere, they treat you just like they treat their house techs. Just beware of their meter reading test if you're a dope. 

[craps7]

The cordinator is the best "dog" cooker ever.   Things are winding down.  Dont work the refuel floor heard its not very fun.  Meter reading seems to be an issue.  The house techs have been great cant say too much about the weather.  It has stunk.  The towns will make you homesick, but overall not a bad place to work at all.  Wages need to go up though

[blackballedsnake]

I always had a good time @ SSES. The house techs are friendly and will work with ya. If yer a tech in your 20's, I suggest heading into Bloomsburg to stay...or on yer day or nite off. (itsa college town!! wink, wink) But remember...No booze within 6 hrs. of reporting for duty!!   Don't hate the playa...hate tha game!

[Ron102nj]

 I find it quite interesting that the so called SUPERVISORS for DZNPS stated when we first processed in the he was "for the men"
To me his name is all over this outage, and is doing his rattest to make sure it does come in under budget or whatever you call it.  At last weeks safety meeting one of his cronies conducted the meeting and attempted to implement a 36hr. straight time rule. "Due to the absenteeism of the job, DZNPS is instituting a 36hr. rule. You must work 36 straight time hours in order to work on SATURDAY or SUNDAY." I must say that when this outage happens THEY will need everyone here on 7/10's or 7/12's, No matter what.  Local 163 is doing a great job. Believe you me, DZNPS will do whatever they can to bring in "The Atlantic Group"( an open shop outfit). I hope that does not happen.

[Already Gone]

I had a lot of bosses whose policy was that if you are "too sick" to work on Friday, you are too sick to work the weekend.  Most of the people on this site don't get any OT until after 40 hours - meaning that any day they take off is an overtime day.  They're getting screwed both ways, but it is their choice to work non-union.
Still, you aren't getting any sympathy because you can't be bothered to show up for less than time and a half.  The job requires your attendance during the weekday too, and you are actually getting a break if you can work 36 hours of straight time and still collect overtime.  That is one of the benefits of joining a union.  But if you abuse it, they'll bring in Atlantic.  If they do that, you have showed us right here why they have a legitimate reason to do that.  You want the pay, do the job.  Quit whining.  It isn't DZNPS's fault or Atlantic's, or Susquehanna's that you banged in a bunch of sick days and expected to come in on Sunday alongside all the guys who worked all week.  Don't EVEN try to turn this into a union vs. non-union issue.  You are showing a prime example of why some union guys are constantly working, and some others are on the bench so much that they don't even have their insurance.  There is more to earning a paycheck than showing up with a membership card in your pocket.  You have to pick up the tools too.

[azna]

I had to leave Susquehanna early...      It is one, I will not return to. So many workers leaving because of the disrespect of management toward the workers. They were only concerned with their paperwork being filled out correctly, not about the safety of the workers.    I hope and pray all those I left behind will be safe and able to finish the outage.

[Ron102nj]

You are not the only one that has left. Theres many more behind you. Safety is only a concern when it is COST PROHIBITIVE. Now that the outage is in effect, their backs are up against the wall. Rumor mill has it that the outage might get extended 10-15 more days. Steam Dryer didn;t fit. OOOOOOOpppps. We werte on the feed waer heaters on Sunday and this guy (name removed by moderator) was in such a rush for us to get our work done on SUNDAY> It was Sunday morning when we completed our task, and the FWH's didnt come out until Tuesday Afternoon. Some planning huh.   AND WE ARE WORKING SUNDAYS!!!!!!!!!! 7/10's  Please be safe. You are your own safety man.

[Touche]

From an HP perspective, the house HP's are still a great bunch of folks.

However, things are changing as far as procedures and the budget. "No Meal Neil" has been hired to reduce the overall budget here and it appears one of the first decrees was to remove the line item for buying HP's food (not that it really matters, but most of us like food  )

In addition, a procedure prohibiting the wearing of jewelry (watches, rings...including wedding bands, necklaces, ear rings etc) while wearing PPE...read....no jewelry in the RCA, has been instituted midstream of the outage.

In a knee-jerk reaction to an INPO concern over Susquehanna's higher-than-the-norm PCE rate, a procedure was written requiring full PC's in a CA regardless on work activity except for inspections.

These are a few examples of the mindset of upper management here and may not be a good sign for future employment here at Susquehanna

[Cathy]

In addition, a procedure prohibiting the wearing of jewelry (watches, rings...including wedding bands, necklaces, ear rings etc) while wearing PPE...read....no jewelry in the RCA, has been instituted midstream of the outage.

Any idea why? Did someone really think this contributed to contaminations? AND, with no watch how are you supposed to know what time it is? You are out covering a job and fire up the air sample and you put on the air sample form "started about 1500 or so and ended maybe 30 minutes later"?

[Bonds 25]

Why these places listen to INPO is beyond me....INPO is about a useless as it gets.  Very stupid, unbelievably idiotic suggestions come out of that group.....and these plants take it all in....BTW I wanna give a shout out to the Susquehanna RP's (Bartlett and House)  Will always be one of my favorite places.  I always knew the "Budget Fever" would hit eventually...Too bad

[desertdog]

BTW I wanna give a shout out to the Susquehanna RP's (Bartlett and House)  Will always be one of my all time favorites.

Right on Bonds.  SSES was my first stop out of the Canoe Club.  I am quite appreciative of them for getting me started on the commercial side.  I always felt at home their even though I didn't live in the state.  They made sure you were taken care of and would let you go to another job if it was a better deal for you.

As for INPO and the PCE issue...  Making such a huge deal about minor skin contams that cause no measurable dose to the individual vs worrying about the true TEDE/ALARA issues portrays the wrong message to the workers.

First it needlessly scares and humiliates the workforce.  The people who will go home and spread this message to their friends and families.  How does this help our industry when we are in "The Nuclear renaissance."

Secondly and just as importantly, how much money and DOSE are we spending to limit these PCE's?  At a plant last fall (that myself and some others affectionately refer to as "The Bad Place") supervisors were having us send crews into RCP shrouds that were <10 K dpm/100cm2  wearing PC's, plastics, and faceshields to do routine fit up work.  Another supervisor in the Rad Waste Bldg was sending crews into areas with no smears > 1K dpm/100cm2 in double PC's to prevent any possible chance of the big bad PCE.

While I agree we don't want unnecessary contams and we definitely need to make a fuss about uptakes,  making a big deal about minor ones that come about due to doing real work in a nuclear plant does more harm than any perceived good.

[Touche]

Hi Cathy, watches have been deemed necessary equipment now...but still must be removed while wearing PPE...soooo folks have resorted to wearing them on their lanyard (a.k.a. a necklace, ugly and breakway but a necklace nonetheless....hehe i am evil). I believe the issue is safety related, but it has no real merit: I looked up the lost time injuries from jewelry, watches and glasses from the latest data and discovered that 40 out of ~1.2 million injuries occurred in 2006 from those causes. Obviously this "risk" doesn't warrant this procedure. More likely it is a budget issue, since they can't fire a union worker they can begin a campaign in order to make it "difficult" to work here and thus reduce the budget by getting folks to voluntarily quit...but that is just a guess.

As I understand it Bonds, (and if I am wrong someone please correct me) INPO ratings drive the public perception of the plant and more importantly the insurance classification. The better INPO rating a plant has, the lower their premiums. And, knowing human nature, it is an ego boost for the plant upper management to taunt other utilities about their poor INPO ratings.

Desertdog, well said on the adverse effects of a knee-jerk contamination control procedure.
To demonstrate how poorly they have reacted, a RWP here calls for double PC's, power visor, and bza while working in an area of general contamination >50k dpm/100cm^2   

I hope they get their act together, as Susquehanna was a place where the HP department was respected and trusted by the workers. Both may be in jeopardy if this type of upper management interferes with radiation protection.

[Bonds 25]

I understand what a good INPO rating does for a plant, and I find it quite ironic that some of the worst plants I have been to were INPO 1's, while some of the best were INPO 3's.  In my eyes INPO is worthless, but I really don't care about good insurance rates.  The majority of the public think its smoke coming out of the cooling towers, so I'm pretty sure they have no idea what the hell INPO is.

[Cathy]

Desertdog, well said on the adverse effects of a knee-jerk contamination control procedure.
To demonstrate how poorly they have reacted, a RWP here calls for double PC's, power visor, and bza while working in an area of general contamination >50k dpm/100cm^2   

Oh, I get it, we may kill someone from heat stress but at least the body will be clean! Definite overkill for 50K. I would hope that heat stress issues are taken into account and balanced against a relatively harmless contamination. Heat stress does incredibly more damage to someone than a 50K contamination.

[Already Gone]

Thank you Cathy.  Please repeat that at work as often as possible.

Remember everyone, INPO is the place where the power plants send the employees for a couple of years whom they won't miss.

[Already Gone]

No, but the body would be mixed waste.

[azna]

This past week a union labor was fired for asking to talk with the NRC.  He saw boundaries being moved without HP, people wanted him to hand out materials without Hp checking them (thats the way we do it here) he was told. He was put off the property without his exit body count. And was not allowed the talk with anyone.                           As a union worker RP's and HP's are my best friends while I am working an outage. They are part of my safety, the people I can trust and count on to help me work safe. While I was at Susquehanna during this outage I saw very few HP's. When I left on Saturday, I had seen and talked to none. I returned on sunday for my exit body count and finally saw some in unit 2.
This kind of management at Susquehanna will destroy all work for all of us.  I love working in the Nuclear world but will not stay at a plant were the environment was like it is at Susquehanna.
I will hope and pray that ALL workers who stay to finish this outage will be safe.

[Melrose]

Hmmmmmm....

[RDTroja]

This past week a union labor was fired for asking to talk with the NRC.  He saw boundaries being moved without HP, people wanted him to hand out materials without Hp checking them (thats the way we do it here) he was told. He was put off the property without his exit body count. And was not allowed the talk with anyone.

If this is true, he needs to contact the NRC in Rockville, MD (or King of Prussia, PA) IMMEDIATELY and let them know what happened. I guarantee fireworks if he was denied access to the NRC.

[safetyguy]

I'm gonna hafta throw the BS flag here!  Just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense....sounds like someone is unhappy at being let go, because if it was
100% true, that person (if they had any brains at all) would know how
to contact the NRC and would have already done it.......

[shovelheadred]

...I agree with RD,,,,, anyone that has ever took the time to read the posted NRC material at the entrance to any Nuclear facility knows this would be highly illegal,,,and I am not the brightest light on the tree, but this sounds like a 3AM, break room story to me....red

[HydroDave63]

This past week a union labor was fired for asking to talk with the NRC.  He saw boundaries being moved without HP, people wanted him to hand out materials without Hp checking them (thats the way we do it here) he was told. He was put off the property without his exit body count. And was not allowed the talk with anyone.                           As a union worker RP's and HP's are my best friends while I am working an outage. They are part of my safety, the people I can trust and count on to help me work safe. While I was at Susquehanna during this outage I saw very few HP's. When I left on Saturday, I had seen and talked to none. I returned on sunday for my exit body count and finally saw some in unit 2.
This kind of management at Susquehanna will destroy all work for all of us.  I love working in the Nuclear world but will not stay at a plant were the environment was like it is at Susquehanna.
I will hope and pray that ALL workers who stay to finish this outage will be safe.

So when this was reported to www.nrc.gov , what did they say?

[azna]

Well it is true. I left Susquehanna, myself, after talking with "Jeff" the on-site NRC for almost two hours. Which I was told they would be in contact with me, by mail. Which still has not happened. Even after I contacted him a second time.
I was told while on site concerning their safety harnesses, just pick the least out of service dated one and use that one.
One question that was raised while I was on-site was HOW does a persons dose (yearly total) go backwards on the computer. When you PAD out for break at 158, the go back in, PAD out again for lunch, then HOW do you only have 111?  Seams no one has yet to answer this question...still waiting for answers.
But, yes I know the person who was fired and he has OFF-Site contacted the NRC, but was not allowed to see them on site.
I found Susquehanna to be a nightmare, and no procedure being followed while I was in the RRA. That was my main complaint to the NRC. Six days in, three trips a day into the RRA and only once did I see or talk with any HP. And that was because I forced the ones working  with me that night to find someone to talk with before we continued.  Funny when I went back to do my exit body count, I found HP control point and saw there really was one at this plant. Why, pray tell, did new people who had never before been in a Nuclear plant before this be led to believe that this is the way it is? It is not the way I enter RRA's in other plants. Maybe because HP control point was in unit 2 and workers are entering from unit1, there should be more control. I saw these things myself, therefore I know them to be true.
Susquehanna will be a plant I never return to and warn others to be VERY careful.
Yes, we union labors know it is illegal, we have a right to talk with the NRC. Hopefully the person who fired someone for asking to talk with the NRC will soon be fired himself. I will watch closely as it all unfolds.  And will keep all posted as to what happens.  As I told "Jeff" from the NRC it is not my place to give others names out but, if it is okay after I talk with the person. I will let everyone know.

[Mnemorath]

The first episode of this series deals with a turbine changeout at a plant in PA. Security concerns prevented seeing any of the good stuff, but there was some interesting stuff none the less.

Though setting up a CSCA to remove a turbine casing is odd in my book. Unless we knew we had a primary to secondary leak, we have no reason to do that in the Navy. The info seemed to indicate the the steam came right off of the core itself. No steam generator, no primary to secondary separation. Just a separation between the steam and the heatsink.


Anyone on here worked on that job that can give us some more info or even tell us what its like to be on TV?

[Nuclear NASCAR]

Susquehanna is a BWR (Boiling Water Reactor) and that's the reason for the CA and the concrete walls around the turbine. 

[Mnemorath]

Susquehanna is a BWR (Boiling Water Reactor) and that's the reason for the CA and the concrete walls around the turbine. 

Damn. Just watching the episode made me wince at the needed radcon. I am DAMN glad we used pressurized water for our plants aboard ship. BWR's look like they are a radcon nightmare.

[Already Gone]

Oh! I think my eyes are bleeding.

Dude, out of over 100 commercial nuke plants in the US, about half of them are BWR's.

Yes, they are challenging from a radiation perspective, but they don't have any Steam Generators to screw around with.  According to some of the Operators here, they are easier to control and more stable than PWR's.

Of course, the PWR's aren't exactly what you'd expect either.  Three Mile Island Unit 1 has such leaky S/G's that their turbine building has as many CA's as some BWR's.

But none of this is a nightmare.  It is just a job.  It is how we pay the rent.  You probably would die of shock if you saw some of the stuff that exists in DOE facilities.  They have RCA's as big as some counties.

[Mnemorath]

Ugh, I am having enough trouble wrapping my head around how such a design would work. That and I HATE radcon. I was a secondary mechanic aboard ship. Radcon was only as needed for watchstanding.

[JustinHEMI05]

Ugh, I am having enough trouble wrapping my head around how such a design would work. That and I HATE radcon. I was a secondary mechanic aboard ship. Radcon was only as needed for watchstanding.

Once you get your head around the voids, its easy.

I was at Palo Verde for 6 months, then Peach (pwr/brw respectively), and I can say that when you remove the steam generators, pressurizer and charging/letdown systems and their associated control systems, things get relatively easy, in my opinion.

Justin

[RRhoads]

Ugh, I am having enough trouble wrapping my head around how such a design would work. That and I HATE radcon. I was a secondary mechanic aboard ship. Radcon was only as needed for watchstanding.

It isn't that hard...if a land lubber with NO -navy time can get the concept it shouldn't be that hard for a train'd individual.

[Already Gone]

Ugh, I am having enough trouble wrapping my head around how such a design would work. That and I HATE radcon. I was a secondary mechanic aboard ship. Radcon was only as needed for watchstanding.

Here's the good part.  Aside from the fact that 98% of the commercial nukes do not use the term "RadCon", there is also the fact that you don't have to do it.  You won't be allowed to do it if it is not your job.  People out here are not as cross-trained as the Navy.  We pick one job and do that as well as possible.  There is somebody else to do the surveys and decon and the dose tracking, etc.  You put on the yellow suit, do your job, clean up your own tools, and go have coffee.  The HP takes care of the stuff you hate.

Then again, you could always work in a fossil plant.  The work of a mechanic is basically the same.

Or, you could be an operator.  Those guys don't have much to worry about radiation either.  They do their jobs pretty much the same in either type of plant - they just have to wear a dosimeter a lot more in a BWR, and sometimes they need booties and gloves to go into some areas.  No big deal.  But again, the Radiation Protection is somebody else's job - not yours.

[Mnemorath]

Thats good to hear. PVO was always a hated part of my watchstanding. It was worse when I had to do a gage changeout in the chargeing system. THAT was a pain in the ass.

[JustinHEMI05]

Speaking of Susquehanna, I know someone who's goal it is to someday work there as a licensed operator. Anyone on nukeworker from there with any contacts?

Thanks

Justin

[Already Gone]

Thats good to hear. PVO was always a hated part of my watchstanding. It was worse when I had to do a gage changeout in the chargeing system. THAT was a pain in the ass.

If you are an operator out here, you will be the one turning valves.  Sometimes they will be in contaminated areas - so you'll be wearing the kit just to get to them.  But, you aren't going to have to take a five pound cap off one first.  You just turn the wheel.  The I&C techs handle the gauges.

This is nothing like a ship. Nothing.  Nothing.  Nothing.

I say again, NOTHING.

[Mnemorath]

Good to hear

[geoman076]

Hello all!

I've been lurking for a long time, and this is my first post. I'm a licensed RO at a Northeastern BWR thinking about making a jump to SRO at Susquehanna. Looks like I'll be taking a trip down early in 2009 for interviews and testing. Any information and suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[JustinHEMI05]

Hey let me know if you get in, I want to be an SRO there one day. 

Justin

[lucky nuke]

From the results of the voting is this a good plant to work for?  I am looking into operations or training.  Thanks