Duane Arnold

[58er]

Electrician

[Roll Tide]

I would guesstimate working 40 hours the first week (GET/RCAT). If you come in with the first wave, you could work a week of 5 or 6 10s. After that, it will likely be 7-10's or 7-12's (which requires a waiver of the 72 hour in 7 day limit).

I haven't worked as an electrician, but that should be close.

[cef]

Who has the HP contract at Duane Arnold and how do you reach them.

[retired nuke]

A quick check of the websites for the 2 major HP contract companies will tell you the answer. 

[Lorrie Henson]

Hey there cinci....

Whomever you contact, tell them you are working at the plant, the will give you a discount.  We are paying $60 a night at the Hawthorne.  Last outage, we stayed at Baymont Inn for about $48 a night, but they don't have the full kitchens, only a fridge and microwave.  Since we travel with 2 babies now, we couldn't go that route.  The Residence Inn by Marriot gave me a quote of $60 also, and I believe they also have the full kitchens, but they are a totally smoke-free hotel, so that didn't work for us, but it may for you.  Those are the only ones that I have first-hand knowledge about.  But I'm sure if you call any of them and tell them that you are working at the plant, they will give you a good discount, especially if you will be there long term.  Ask them for a weekly rate and also a monthly rate.  Sometimes they will give you an even bigger discount if they know you are staying more than 30 days.

Hope this helps!!

Good luck,
Lorrie

[Mike McFarlin]

i was at daec last outage.(last under nmc ownership)

very small hp staff but great house techs and supervisors .(you will keep busy)

john ,clark and denny supported the roadtechs and did things right.

fpl group now owns daec , i don't know how this will effect things.

clean / not too expensive lodging nearby.

payrates at or above avg.

i will consider returning if pay is right.

How are things under the new ownership?

[iamarine]

It is too early to tell how we are doing under the new ownership.  Ask again about July/August when FPL will really start pushing their influence out here.  When they bought us, they said they weren't going to make any major changes in how we did things for 18 months.  Those 18 months are up this summer.  So we'll see!  So far, they've thrown us money to build new sidewalks around the plant, built a new Maintenance Facilities building and a new parking lot.  They also just installed new bus-stops (3 inside the protected area and a couple outside the PA).  These are actually smoker huts, but as of yet, we aren't required to smoke only inside the bus-stops but that is coming VERY soon. 

We are a week or so from the start of RFO-20.  Things are really beginning to jump, especially come next week during the final week of ramp-up.  I hope all the contractors who have come, or are coming, enjoy themselves and have a good experience.

iamarine

[Cathy]

It was 'bring your dog to work day' at Duane Arnold yesterday.

That would be "bring your local police department drug dog to work day" at Duane Arnold. I have to say that this is the first time I have seen drug dogs in a nuke.

[Oly]

Must be fallout from the "controlled substance found inside the protected area" that was posted in yesterday's event report.

[shovelheadred]

...better check your stash .."spanky"...it wasnt mine, didnt go in the protected area, Thursday.....FP&L did take over last month, might be from one of those "100$ Cheeseburgers" from the Roach Coach at Turkey Point...I have noticed alot of Spanglish being spoken around Cedar Rapids............red

[Wonderful]

Dude, when will  the refueling outage be over?

[vikingfan]

check with the occ they'll tell you when its over !!!!!

[evil-leprachaun]

How's FPL treating you folks down there?

This week brings an FPL entourage to the Beach. They have a four man transition team here since January and they act like the own the facilty allready.   

[shovelheadred]

...they do already own the facility...

[Mike McFarlin]

Welcome to FPL!

[shovelheadred]

...1930..02/24/2007...D.A.E.C. all work stopped due to weather....last time I was in the Drywell the sunroof was shut....did I miss something.....

[Mike McFarlin]

...1930..02/24/2007...D.A.E.C. all work stopped due to weather....last time I was in the Drywell the sunroof was shut....did I miss something.....

Good weather, bad weather, wind? Have you been out yet? Spanky

[shovelheadred]

..power lines were snapping due to ice....hadda keep that NUKLAR fule kool......am I starting to talk like a certain Pennsylvania RP.....when I quit sayin "Yall"..and start sayin "Youns"...you will know I have been north of Dixie tooo long.....red

[Mike McFarlin]

Give me a Rebel yell. You'll be alright.

[Wonderful]

When will the Duane Arnold unit come back on line? This refueling outage is so long................

[Neutron234]

I have been doing some searches on the boards and haven't been able to find any recent info on Duane Arnold.

With that said, I have a few questions regarding operations.

1) How long does it typically take to get into a license class there? RO? Instant SRO?

2) Does FPL's recent acquisition mean that the operating license is going to be extended beyond 2014?

3) What is the work enviroment for operations like at D.A. under FPL's ownership. I have found info on this topic previously, but it is almost a year old, so I thought an update would be informative to myself and others that may be curious.

[Cathy]

I have been following the flooding in Cedar Rapids on the news. It looks like the plant declared an unusual event due to partial loss of response and communications capability.
My heart goes out to the people in Cedar Rapids dealing with the flooding. I hope everyone there stays safe and dry.

[retired nuke]

I have been following the flooding in Cedar Rapids on the news. It looks like the plant declared an unusual event due to partial loss of response and communications capability.
My heart goes out to the people in Cedar Rapids dealing with the flooding. I hope everyone there stays safe and dry.

Not all are safe and dry - I know some that have been evacuated, and have heard that one house was on the news with a picture of a boat tied up in the front yard. Many there will need help recovering after the waters go down. It will take all summer to get things stabilized in some parts of town, if not longer. Unlike Katrina, I'm not sure the gov't will be stepping in as much.

If you have some spare money, contact local charities there. If you are off for the summer, maybe a week or two road trip to help cleanup would be rewarding. If you believe in God, prayers would be in order.

Since most of us in commercial nuclear power have been to the plants along the rivers and lakes, we can all probably imagine similar circumstances in our areas. The weather is a funny thing, and can affect many people in many ways.

Never worked at DAEC, but through curious circumstances, I know a few folks there. It's a beautiful area, full of wonderful people. I hope that the area can recover quickly, in the usual midwestern sturdy fashion. They don't call it the heartland for nothin'....

[nickscott13]

The flood has been a disaster.  DAEC is still running at 100% but they were taking precautions if the water had gotten any higher.  to put it in perspective, 93 was a bad flood for the cedar river, 19.3 ft.  the other day the river in cedar rapids crest at 31.12 ft.  hundreds of homes and businesses in the downtown area have been destroyed.  this was also into if not beyond the 500 year flood plain, which most people in that 500 year flood plain didnt have flood insurance, for its only required in the 100 year flood plain.  i heard a stat today that said something like only 30% of those that lost thier home or business had flood insurance.  the hall for IBEW 204, which is DAEC's union, was completely underwater.  for a while we didnt think we would even have drinking water, but now we are back up to 50% capacity.  its been a terrible couple of days, luckily i live on the north side of cedar rapids by hiawatha and i was not affected.  but for those of you that have worked at DAEC, the entire town of palo was flooded, and I mean every single home and business.  for 3 days, palo was completely shut off from the world, every road leading into town was flooded.  I took some pics to give you guys an idea.


the north side of quaker oats in downtown CR.


southside of quaker


1st ave SW, this picture is taken from the 380 bridge.


SW side


this was taken from edgewood road, just South of the cedar river, we are sandbagging to save the last running well house that pumps water to the treatment plant.  when we got there, we there were only 6 of us.  1/2 hour later there was 30 of us, 1/2 after that, there were 2000!  not to mention we did save the well house.  if that went, CR wouldnt have had any drinking water.


another picture of the people sandbagging to save the well house.  it was quite remarkable to see the amount of people come out.  if KCRG had not broadcast that we were in dyer need of help, we would have lost that well house for sure.

As of right now, the water is steadily receeding. they say it should be a week before its back in its banks, and as of right now, it looks like the weather will be cooperating with us.

Nick Scott

[rabbit]

Hey Nick,

Thanks for the pics.  If you know the city, you know the angle from which these pics were taken. 

I've been trying to get a look at my mom's house from the newscasts on the web but was never lucky enough.  She lives in an area that was "hardest hit" by the flooding.  As of tonight, she still hasn't been back in the house and even if she did get to go, it would not be a great thing.  Water filled the first floor of her home.  She is not allowed to enter her home until it has been inspected but she did get to eyeball it from the outside.  The things that you think would wash away didn't, the boat is at the end of the driveway, the back steps are gone, but the front steps remain.  It amazes me that only 4 weeks ago I was there for my son's graduation.  It will be the last time I see the familiar objects from her home.  Furniture and appliances are a loss, knicknacks are damaged, pictures left on the walls (because the water wasn't supposed to get that high) are either lost forever or maybe someone has a copy to give her.  You just never know what to take and what to leave.

As if losing her home wasn't enough, she was also out of work.  Her company has just secured a location on the southwest side of town so they can get productive again.  She works in the downtown area and it was flooded also.  It may be months before they move back into their building.  Her bosses have been very caring to all those that were affected by the flooding.  Teams have been established to help with clean-up efforts amongst co-workers.  I must say I am impressed with the level of compassion the company is showing its workers.  I don't know of any bigwig taking the time to track down an employees cell phone number just to find out if that worker needed anything and how they were holding up.  My mom had just that happen last Sunday.

If you want to see some videos of the flooding, you can go to www.kcrg.com for a few.  Most are on Iowa City but there are a couple of CR.  For donations, I can't remember if there was a link on KCRG but at www.corridorrecovery.com there is an area where you can donate if you want.

It is slow going for the recovery, but in time they will be back stronger than ever.  They really do have a sense of community out there.