Watts Bar

[Rahrah]

We're opening the box tomorrow.  Then we'll know what caused the 2 R reading.  Mr. Areva's telepole only saw half of that.  Should be interesting

[RAD-GHOST]

MrHazmat........Correct, Their always a Keeper! 

I'm still looking for that S#*t Happens clause in the Regs, must be in the new edition.

A Telepole for a Shipping Survey?  Does anybody else use a Telepole for Shipping Surveys?

I know why Teletector aren't used for shipments and I'm assuming the Telepole has the same deficiencies!

RG

[TN-Man]

I can tell you from experience while working in Rad Waste at VC Summer. You use the instrument that SCDHEC used at Barnwell and that was the Teletector. In my shipping class taught by Duretek (now EnergySolution) the instructor told us  to use the teletector, because the shipping index is not a doserate??!! Yes there is a huge difference in reading with an Ion Chamber vs. a GM, but the instrument of choice is the teletector. I don't know what instrument they use at Bear Creek(EnergySolution), but SCDHEC still uses the good old 6112B. The Telepole should never be used for anything. *He wrote, looking at the one in the corner of his office.*

[Dream Tar Heel]

The best part was that noone got a "Dose Rate Alarm" during the survey!

[MrHazmat]

I can tell you from experience while working in Rad Waste at VC Summer. You use the instrument that SCDHEC used at Barnwell and that was the Teletector. In my shipping class taught by Duretek (now EnergySolution) the instructor told us  to use the teletector, because the shipping index is not a doserate??!! Yes there is a huge difference in reading with an Ion Chamber vs. a GM, but the instrument of choice is the teletector. I don't know what instrument they use at Bear Creek(EnergySolution), but SCDHEC still uses the good old 6112B. The Telepole should never be used for anything. *He wrote, looking at the one in the corner of his office.*

I agree that a 6112 is not my choice either, when I left CN we were using RO-2's and SCDHEC used the same or a PIC-6. BTW I left in 1991, so I can not say what they do now.

RG, What I was referring to was I sent a box of equipment to, I believe Turkey Point in the late 80's and it left with a max reading of 125 mrem and got there reading 350 mrem on the bottom. After unloading the box it still had the 350 mrem on the bottom. They found a "Hot Particle" in the empty box and the NRC inspector was the one that said OH WELL S*^T happens, and nothing else was said or written about the incident.

[Dream Tar Heel]

Rumor is that WBN is throwing a "Frisking Party" this summer!

They are going to "Free Release" their U-2 CTMT building, that has previously just been the best ice condenser mockup in the country, until now.

I heard 20 techs showed up today, with friskers in hand, gonna soak up some of that "Summer Per Diem" along with the Friday Pizza Parties and some RPM furnished "Chick-Fillet" lunches squeezed in there somewhere - I'm sure. If not the Site Coordinator has promissed Hardies Thick Burgers every other Tuesday, until the Domed Building is released.

Supposedly, it was gonna take 3 months with 48 techs, right now it looks like summer work until the fall outage season starts, if thats what you want.

Didnt know if any of those "Senior Techs" who love to frisk for $39/hr knew about this gig!

[country_heaven]

I'm just wondering when the workers are coming and what their needs will be?
Are all 2300 coming at one time?
Are there going to be some that come, do a job and then leave?

[nuketarded]

I'm just wondering when the workers are coming and what their needs will be?
Are all 2300 coming at one time?
Are there going to be some that come, do a job and then leave?

I understand there are 1100 on the project right now.  There is actually quite a bit of work going on right now.  Building up to 2300 or so will take about the next 18 months and the peak will last about 2 years.  They will not all be in Spring City.  Some will work out of Knoxville.  Others out of Chattanooga.

[nuketarded]

It looks like there may also be hearings for the Construction Permit and Operating License.....  Hopefully all that falls within the schedule.  It's been a while since the NRC issued and OL.

[UTnuke]

NRC NEWS
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415-8200
Washington, DC 20555-0001 E-mail: opa@nrc.gov
www.nrc.gov



No. 08-130 July 11, 2008 


NRC EXTENDS CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR WATTS BAR UNIT 2


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the construction permit for the unfinished Unit 2 at the Watts Bar nuclear power plant to March 31, 2013. The Tennessee Valley Authority, which operates Unit 1 at the plant about 10 miles south of Spring City, Tenn., requested the extension May 8.

The NRC staff's environmental assessment of the extension request, which found no significant impact on the environment, was published in the Federal Register on June 26. The agency issued the staff's safety evaluation of the extension, as well as an order extending the construction permit, in the Federal Register on July 11.             Any person adversely affected by the order may request a hearing by Sept. 8,   specifically listing whether TVA failed to show good cause for the extension and why the NRC should not have issued the order. Those interested in filing a hearing request can find instructions in the order, which will be available on the NRC's Web site here:  http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/plant-specific-items/watts-bar.html.

TVA has informed the NRC it intends to complete Unit 2 and request an Operating license in 2012. The NRC will decide whether to issue a license for Unit 2 in accordance with the agency's regulations. Unit 2, if completed, would be an 1,100-MWe, Westinghouse-designed pressurized water reactor essentially the same as the operating Unit 1.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NRC news releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site.




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Friday, July 11, 2008

[shehane]

Just an up date from the "Bar".  The frisking party is alive and well.  It's still going and going and going.......should be going for awhile yet.  It may be like that hotel, we checked in but we can never check out

[DDMurray]

I interviewed at Watts Bar last week (Thursday) for an SRO trainee position (I understand this makes me lower than whale dung to some nukeworkers).  They offered me a position Monday.  I interviewed at Millstone over a month ago and they say they're still interested (when pinged by me).  I have an interview Friday at Vermont Yankee and a possible interview at Fitzpatrick next week (an oversight postion-sounds a lot like a navy squadron job).  I have had calls from other utilities trying to set up phone interviews.  I'm reluctant to quit looking at offers but I don't want to lose any goodwill I've gotten at TVA.  I've read many of the posts on the different companies.  I've been impressed by Entergy and very impressed by TVA.  Other than my daughter going to college in New Hampshire and my family in Northern Kentucky I have no ties anywhere.  I'm willing to relocate just about anywhere north of Atlanta and east of the Mississppi (though I love the western U.S.).

How would the nukeworkers compare TVA/Dominion/Entergy/FPL/Constellation as far as the type of company most guys like working for?  Other than the heat, the Watts Bar area was very nice and seemed affordable.  I like the overall quality of life in the Northeast, but the cost of living worries me.  I'd appreciate any advice from those who've been there.
-Derek

[Fermi2]

TVA is great, Entergy, I guess it depends. FPL sucks, Dominion seems ok, Constellation I've never had any experience with.

Do not take an oversight job. It'll be a dead end for you and you'll get zero respect considering your experience.

Mike

[Laundry Man]

Wow, I actually agree with Mike on this one.

"Do not take an oversight job. It'll be a dead end for you and you'll get zero respect considering your experience".

Mike,  Looks like we left Fermi to early, we could have seen McCain the other day.
LM

[Fermi2]

Hey you better agree with me!!

While it would have been great to see McCain I'm pretty sure I left Fermi at the right time frame, at least for then, I simply could not stand WT and another Manager there and in my mind staying there was ethically wrong on my part Given the other manager is still in the industry I won't give his initials On the other hand I liked Don Cobb and Kevin Hlavaty and a few of the other higher ups there, in fact Don and I had a nice phone conversation about a month ago. If the conditions are right I'd probably go back there sometime.

Mike

[Laundry Man]

If I recall you left in the Spring of 2005 and I left in the fall.  I liked the plant and there were some great people but they are really changing the faces there.  Where is Don at?  I liked him quite a bit.
LM

[qballew]

A quick inquiry... Does anyone know if candidates have been interviewed for the the latest group of Nuclear SGPO's (posted in June) for Watts Bar ?   I know it is probably a little early yet, but I have another interview with TVA at the Kingston Fossil plant and am debating what to do. I really would prefer to work at WBN, but hate to pass on another foot in the door type opportunity.  On that note,  I know of at least one case of personnel who have transferred from Fossil to Nuclear operation positions.  However, I would like the general Nukeworker opinion on this type of venture. Is it more of an impedance or does it really help to at least already work for TVA ?  Do you recommend this type of indirect route to someone with no Nuclear experience?   

Thanks again for having such a great Nuclear resource,

Q

[DDMurray]

I went to Vermont Yankee interview yesterday.  It was with two people.  It was pretty close to the other three interviews I've been to.  Like a bonehead I forgot my resume and one of the guys asked for it.  He obviously knew nothing about me.  They made it pretty clear that SRO was out of the question.  Based on when they are starting classes, it would probably be at least a year until I could class up.  That's fine with me, but their questions, and answers to my questions, led me to believe that they were trying to lower my expectations.  At Watts Bar and Millstone they asked me questions to probe into my experiences.  I spoke more than I normally would when answering their questions trying to prove myself.  At the end they gave me an opportunity to add anything in my defense, then one of them had to leave for some training.  Right after my interview a guy from Virginia was waiting to interview.  It appeared no one knew he was coming. 

At TVA they had an itinerary waiting for me, a presentation on the company, a tour of the simulator, and a meet and greet lunch with the interview team before we started the actual interview/screening process.

I'm leaning very heavily towards Watts Bar.  I owe them an answer Wednesday.  I've yet to get offers from anyone else though Millstone and Brookfield Renewable say formal offers are days away.  It's been over a month since my intial interview at Millstone and three weeks since my interview at Brookfield.  Based on my upcoming underway schedule, accepting an offer before 25AUG08 would be a big boost for my upcoming transfer to the fleet reserve.

[HydroDave63]

I went to Vermont Yankee interview yesterday.  It was with two people.  It was pretty close to the other three interviews I've been to.  Like a bonehead I forgot my resume and one of the guys asked for it.  He obviously knew nothing about me.  They made it pretty clear that SRO was out of the question.  Based on when they are starting classes, it would probably be at least a year until I could class up.  That's fine with me, but their questions, and answers to my questions, led me to believe that they were trying to lower my expectations.  At Watts Bar and Millstone they asked me questions to probe into my experiences.  I spoke more than I normally would when answering their questions trying to prove myself.  At the end they gave me an opportunity to add anything in my defense, then one of them had to leave for some training.  Right after my interview a guy from Virginia was waiting to interview.  It appeared no one knew he was coming. 

At TVA they had an itinerary waiting for me, a presentation on the company, a tour of the simulator, and a meet and greet lunch with the interview team before we started the actual interview/screening process.

I'm leaning very heavily towards Watts Bar.  I owe them an answer Wednesday.  I've yet to get offers from anyone else though Millstone and Brookfield Renewable say formal offers are days away.  It's been over a month since my intial interview at Millstone and three weeks since my interview at Brookfield.  Based on my upcoming underway schedule, accepting an offer before 25AUG08 would be a big boost for my upcoming transfer to the fleet reserve.

I've had similar interviewing experiences in the past. It looks like VY ran theirs like a filter, and Watts Bar wants to select and attract skilled professionals, and treat them as such. I know which place I'd select.

[shehane]

By the way......

I heard 20 techs showed up today, with friskers in hand, gonna soak up some of that "Summer Per Diem" along with the Friday Pizza Parties and some RPM furnished "Chick-Fillet" lunches squeezed in there somewhere - I'm sure. If not the Site Coordinator has promissed Hardies Thick Burgers every other Tuesday, until the Domed Building is released.

how come we haven't seen any of this?

[UTnuke]

A quick inquiry... Does anyone know if candidates have been interviewed for the the latest group of Nuclear SGPO's (posted in June) for Watts Bar ? 

I am in the SGPO class that was hired last August, as far as I know there have not schedule any interviews for the posting.  As far as the question on taking a job as fossil and moving up,  I think you would be in fossil for a while before you would get the chance to move to Nuclear.  I am pretty sure you would have to finish the fossil training before being eligible to move jobs.  I am lock into this position until I finished the program which I hope will be sometime in March of '09.  Either fossil or nuclear be prepared to study weekly for the exams.  Also Oral boards are not very pleasant.

[Fermi2]

I have a friend who applied via the dirtburner side. When they interviewed him and realized he was a former Navy Nuke. They then said they really weren't interested in a Nuke because in their view a nuke would just end up eventually bidding a nuke job and to them it'd be a net loss. I doubt that's official TVA Policy but he was told that about 3 years ago.

Mike

[Dream Tar Heel]

All is good at WBN !

[TN-Man]

But on the bright side of things, rumor is the site coordinator is presenting to each contract tech, upon completion of their assignment, a "Bonus", unlike any you have ever seen before in your Nuclear Career. 

Keep us informed as to what that "bonus" is. You just have to love that Willie.....
Promise and not deliver; never heard of such a thing at the Bar .. must have been a communication error.

[Limited Quanity]

By the way......

I heard 20 techs showed up today, with friskers in hand, gonna soak up some of that "Summer Per Diem" along with the Friday Pizza Parties and some RPM furnished "Chick-Fillet" lunches squeezed in there somewhere - I'm sure. If not the Site Coordinator has promissed Hardies Thick Burgers every other Tuesday, until the Domed Building is released.

how come we haven't seen any of this?

Fall fun is fixin to start up at Sequoyah for any of our locals leaving the Bar anytime soon.  Be looking out for yourselves if you want to get in, you know who you are.  I'm afraid you'll get bit in the butt if your not vigilant.  You might not get fed as good but it's a hecka lot closer to home for you.  We have one contractor in right now and should bring in 3 more to supplement for the drycask and shared resources when we support Browns Ferry Unit 1 this fall.  We're dropping a crew at the end of next month and going to a four week rotation and the Bartlett folks will shore up the dayshift.  Should be a little OT also to go around too.  Plus changes going on here with the shift supervisors,,,that effect next outage.  Have they given a drop dead date on when the Ctmt is supposed to be released??