Breaking News: State Called to Fermi II Plant

State, Wayne, and Monroe officials were called to the Fermi II nuclear plant in Monroe early Monday evening to investigate what they would only call a "situation".

Authorities told Action News just after 6:00 that they were responding to some kind of situation within the plant.
http://www.detnow.com/wxyz/nw_local_news/article/0,2132,WXYZ_15924_3494434,00.html

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/reactors/enrico_fermi.html

Water from the reactor goes directly to the turbines.

Can it be serious? I wonder why it's not on MSM?

The radioactive water that comes in contact with the fissionable material has more places to leak.

"Powerplant Technology", by M. M. El-Wakil, copyright 1984

Chapter 10-7 The Boiling-Water Reactor (BWR) (pg. 417)
The BWR has a function closely resembling that of the boiler in a conventional fossil-fuel steam powerplant and is basically simpler than it. In the boiler, heat is transmitted from the furnace to the water indirectly, partly by radiation, partly by convection, and partly by conduction, with combustion gases used as an intermediate agent or coolant. In the boiling-water reactor, the coolant is in direct contact with the heat-producing nuclear fuel and boils in the same compartment in which the fuel is located. It boils because the reactor pressure is maintained at about 1000 psia (about 70 bar), less than half that in a PWR, with the fuel temperatures roughly comparable. Because water and vapor coexist in the core, a BWR produces saturated steam at about 545 deg F (285 deg C).

In its simplest form (Fig. 10-15), a boiling-water-reactor powerplant consists of a reactor, a turbine generator, a condenser and associated equipment (air ejector, cooling system, etc.), and a feed pump. Slightly subcooled liquid enters the reactor core at the bottom, where it receives sensible heat to saturation plus some latent heat of vaporization. When it reaches the top of the core, it has been converted into a very wet mixture of liquid and vapor. The vapor separates from the liquid, flows to the turbine, does the work, is condensed by the condenser, and is then pumped back to the reactor by the feedwater pump.
</snip>


Interesting stuff - I haven't looked at it for several years, but it doesn't look good (as you said).

Of this nature...????

:(

On edit I guess it's more like 50

at least so far...

Although like anything else, you don't even think about it until you hear about this kind of a thing!

YIKES!

We in the U.S. configure our reactors differently. The control rods descend vertically so if power is cut, gravity will pull them down into the fully extended position.

The Russians build Chernobyl with horizontal control rods. They were unable to extend them when bad things happened, causing more bad things to happen.

There was, I remember an American Military Graphite reactor a bit like Chernobyl that caught fire in the 50's.
IIRC it was saturated and in mid release when it caught fire, killing a couple of operators.

This would be an entirely different kind of problem, I would
suspect relating to that whole 70 Bar thing...
Not that hot (in the big click sense) steam getting out of containment is a good thing in any case, but not like the graphite fire in Chernobyl.

Thanks!... and I HATE it when bad things happen!

Wikipedia has a nice summary:

The reactor was undergoing an experiment to test the electrical backup supply which allows the reactor to run safely during a power loss. The power output of the reactor was reduced from its normal capacity of 3.2 to 1 GW in order to conduct the test at a safer, low power. The actual power output fell to 30 MW, however, allowing the concentration of the neutron absorbing fission product xenon-135 to rise; this product is typically consumed in a reactor under higher power conditions. As the operators attempted to restore the power to the desired 1 GW, the concentration of Xenon-135 limited the power output to around 200 MW. In order to overcome the neutron absorption of the Xenon-135, the control rods were pulled out of the reactor farther than normally allowed under safety regulations.

As the coolant flow was decreased, the coolant was heated rapidly so that much of it began to boil. As the coolant heated, pockets of steam formed in the coolant lines. The particular design of the RBMK graphite moderated reactor at Chernobyl has a large positive void coefficient, which means that the power of the reactor increases rapidly in the absence of the coolant. As the power output rapidly increased the operators attempted to shut down the reactor by ordering an emergency manual "scram"--or rapid full insertion of the control rods. However due to the slow speed of the control rod insertion mechanism, the graphite tips of the rods and the temporary displacement of coolant the scram actually caused the reaction rate to increase. Within seconds the reactor jumped to around 30 GW, ten times the normal operational output. The fuel rods began to melt and the steam pressure rapidly increased causing a large steam explosion, displacing and destroying the reactor lid, rupturing the coolant tubes and then blowing a hole in the roof. When outside air contacted the graphite moderator of the core, the graphite began to burn. The fire dispersed most of the radioactive contamination.

To reduce costs, and because of its large size, the reactor only had partial containment. This allowed the radioactive contaminants to escape into the atmosphere after the steam explosion burst the primary pressure vessel. After part of the roof blew off, the inrush of oxygen combined with the extremely high temperature of the reactor fuel and graphite moderator sparked a graphite fire. This fire greatly contributed to the spread of radioactive material.
</snip>


I hope this clears up any questions. :)

you neglected to visit during the holidays? Now, might be a opportune time...:-:) Just a kindly suggestion.

Stay safe.

To get to them we would have to drive closer to Fermi 2--

oh well! On the bright side (excuse the pun)I won't have to worry about the bush reich for more than 13 years :(

nm

http://www.detnews.com/2005/schools/0501/03/B03-47769.htm

Wayne districts do safety drills

The schools prepare for terrorist attacks, severe weather or armed perpetrators.

PLYMOUTH -- Promptly at 8:48 a.m., the loudspeaker at Salem High School announced a lockdown for all students and teachers. All classroom doors were locked, all lights shut off, access to the Internet canceled and voices kept silent as police officers roamed the halls.

"People had strict instructions," said Jerry Ostoin, principal of Salem, one of three high schools within the 5,408-student Plymouth-Canton Educational Park. He coordinated the lockdown as part of the school's homeland security training. Aside from the 19-minute drill, there will be a longer, more involved drill next semester.


<Clip>

"The scenario is to simulate an attack that could be biological, chemical, radiological or nuclear explosive," Zeigler said. The Flat Rock schools are more sensitive to potential nuclear problems because they are close to the Enrico Fermi nuclear energy plant, which is owned by DTE Energy in Monroe. But a more common biological or chemical problem could emerge after a truck or train spill.

Administrators, crisis team members and community responders discuss strategy. Students watch age-specific videos that teach them about preparedness and possible disasters.
<more clipping>

Wouldn't a communication link be a good thing? I cannot see how cancelling internet access to the school in the event of an attack could help anything, unless, they did not want people to say what is really going on if there was an attack. There is more to this than meets the eye.

it gets worse.

I assume the coolant is water.

If they cannot stop the leak, and the water level drops enough, the core will overheat as in the film "China Syndrome."

Keep us posted!

And they downplayed the danger of that one big time at first. And that was in the Post-Watergate, reformer dominated 70's.

Unless this one blows sky high, I wouldn't expect too much bad news to leak out, no pun intended.

I think I watched that same documentary and they really had no freaking clue what they were doing (and what they did know they kept from the public)

Underreported the dangers. Thousands died.

Information once publicly available about the risks of industrial facilities to nearby communities has been squelched, supposedly due to terror threats, though conveniently letting the chemical industry off the hook from local activists.

I predict that the US would be as secretive about a major reactor accident as the soviets were about chernobyl - they will deny everythign for days and only call the alarm when it is too late.

Edited to erase as wrong place. Sorry.

It appealed to my sense of irony.

BTW- found this greenpeace page which lists closest reactor
http://usa.greenpeace.org/nuclear_locator/

Thanks for the link,I had no idea.:scared:

Does it mean you are too close?

Hope all is well there, but, ya know, it's just a matter of time before one of those nukes blows it's top off.

there's a link where you can enter your zip code to see which reactors are close enough to do you any damage in the case of a...situation.I'm in connecticut.

Where else is this info? I give big to Greenpeace and the ACLU.

It is a particle accelerator. A totally different thing, and very safe unless you stand too close to it.

The reactor automatically shut down. Phew!

systems were not allowed to do what they were suppose to do. Things have changed greatly since TMI -- there is more than one phone line going into a plant these days, the safety systems have been increased and improved. In the nuke industry whenever there is an unscheduled shut down it is referred to as a "situation". It doesn't mean the reactor is going to blow up (they can't do that), it doesn't mean there are radiation releases -- it is just an unplanned event. Our reactors are very well designed and maintained in this country and in Europe. Is it the best source of power? No, but in many ways it is a lot better than fossil plants. Fossil plants give us increased asthma rates, acid rain, green house gases, coal mining deaths, various cancers and RADIATION. Fossil plants release more radiation into the environment than nukes do and are far less regulated.

should be radioactive, as it comes in direct contact with the fuel rods.

Coolant leaked therefore there was a radiation leak, no?

From the same reference (El-Wakil)

10-10 A BWR Powerplant pg. 428
...One final observation concerns radioactivity in the steam, since it is produced in the reactor and used in the balance of the plant. If mineral content of the coolant in water-cooled reactor systems is kept low enough (below about 1 ppm), the main radioactivity will be that due to the neutron capture by the oxygen in the water. Neutron capture by hydrogen converts it into nonradioactive deuterium. The most important of the oxygen reactions is the O^15(n,p)N^16 reaction

(8)O^16 + (0)n^1 -> (7)N^16 + (1)H^1

which has a microscopic cross section of 1.4 x 10^-5 barn. Nitrogen 16 is a radioactive beta and gamma emitter (reverting to O^16) witha a half-life of 7.2 s. The beta rays are maily of 3.8, 4.3, and 10.5 MeV energy. The gamma rays are mainly of 6.13 and 7.10 MeV energy. The half-life of N^16 is short enough so that only a small fraction of radioactivity remains when the steam reaches the turbine. Thus moisture remaining in contact with turbines and other equipment after shutdown is not dangerously radioactive, and maintenance work can usually be undertaken a short time after shutdown.

Another reaction of somewhat less importance than the above is O^17(n,p)N^17. O^17 is present to the extend of 0.037 percent of all oxygen. Nitrogen 17 is another beta emitter of 4.16-s half-life. The microscopic cross section of this reaction is higher than the one above by a factor of about 10^3. This is outweighed, of course, by the smaller concentration of O^17. A third reaction of some importance is O^18(n,gamma)O^19. Oxygen 19 is also a beta emitter converting to stable flourine 19, with a half-life of 29.0 s. This and other reactions that are not very important produce only a few weak radiations.

If the mineral content of the coolant is high, long-lived and strong radiations result. The radioactive particles may embed themselves in component parts, thus making maintenance difficult. Coolant treatment is thus an important feature in nuclear plants. Also, care should be taken in designing components to avoid pockets and crevices that may collect and retain radioactive particles.
</snip>


So basically it depends on the purity of the water and the design of the plant. Best case scenario has negligible radioactive emissions because of the short half-life of the Nitrogen 16.

thanks for transcribing that.

:bounce:

I'm in NW Ohio. 25 miles south of Fermi II and 21 miles west of Davis Bessie. Either one of them go, and I'm toast.

Davis Bessie almost did go.

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030922&c=3&s=bivens
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030922&c=4&s=bivens

The whole article is a good read; the last 2 pages deals with Davis Bessie.

:scared:

Apparently had a near critical incident due to human error in the late 1960's

http://alsos.wlu.edu/information.asp?id2=1857&past=2

Quote from review of book:

This book discusses the 1966 accident at the Fermi No. 1 fast metal breeder nuclear reactor in Detroit, Michigan, and the questions the accident raises for the use of nuclear power generation in the United States. The author describes the events at the accident. He stresses that the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) estimated that any accident would be catastrophic, and that no insurance policy covered any people or equipment that might be involved in such an accident. He states that there was no solution to deal with radioactive waste accumulation, and that there were serious safety issues involved with many U.S. reactors. He also emphasizes that nuclear power plants were vulnerable to terrorists, and that the U.S. government had not allocated funds to research alternate forms of energy. The discussion is based on facts available at the time of publication, 1975.

Early breeders were not well designed and much more dangerous than regular reactors, like Fermi II. Breeders use spent fuel from other reactors that would otherwise be stored under mountains in the desert as fuel, but there have been problems with the designs and there aren't many running in the West.

Imagine what happens when THAT coolant leaked!

is everything copacetic now? hope so.

http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw110571_20050124.htm

link to Detroit Free Press

Fermi nuclear power plant shut down after coolant plant
January 24, 2005, 10:20 PM


FRENCHTOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- The reactor at the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant was shut down Monday afternoon after a coolant leak was detected, officials said.

Officials with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and DTE Energy, which operates the plant, said the Monroe County plant about 30 miles south of Detroit was not evacuated and the leak posed no danger to the health or safety of plant workers or the public.

Fermi 2 Nuclear Plant Shut Down After Leak

NEWPORT, MICHIGAN -- Detroit Edison has shut down the Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Station in Newport, Michigan, after a leak of radioactive coolant. The leak happened around 5:00 Monday afternoon in the containment building that houses the nuclear reactor. Fermi 2 is near Monroe, Michigan, about 25 miles northeast of Toledo.


The NRC says the coolant was leaking at a rate of 50 to 75 gallons per minute. Exactly how much coolant was lost is not known.

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=2851200

A nuclear power plant in central Kansas that provides energy for Kansas City was shut down Saturday night after a water leak and still was offline Monday afternoon, a spokeswoman said.

http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2005/01/24/daily4.html

-busy day for leaks!

Now, THAT'S spin!

http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0501/25/B01-69792.htm

The Fermi II nuclear plant near Monroe was shut down Monday afternoon after developing a coolant leak. No one was evacuated and the public wasn't endangered in the incident, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said.

Workers discovered the source of the leak late Monday night and promptly shut off the water, stopping the leak, said DTE Energy, which operates the plant. It wasn't known when the facility would resume operations. The plant, in Frenchtown Township in northern Monroe County, was shut down at 4:20 p.m. without complications, said NRC spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng.

<CLIPPY>
"You can't start to get paranoid about it," she said. "If you start to get paranoid, then you'll make everyone around you worry, especially the children."

------------------------------------------
I am very glad it wasn't worse. Can't start worrying them kids.

It took this long for this story to make it to MSM, shame!

The leak is still going on, they haven't stopped it!

Leak forces Michigan nuclear plant shutdown
Tuesday, January 25, 2005 Posted: 3:31 AM EST (0831 GMT)

She said inspectors have yet to enter the area where the leak is occurring, but they expect to have a team in there Tuesday to inspect the leak and conduct the necessary repairs if possible.

The plant, located about 40 miles south of Detroit, employs about 900 people and won a top safety award from state officials in July.

In Detroit, a statement from Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano said the incident "is closely being monitored."

"The plant is stable and represents no threat to the public or surrounding area at this time," Ficano said.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/25/nuclear.plant/index.html

msm never reports on anything worth hearing they cowtow to the ignorant and fools for christ... hell they just now are talking about iran...the damn dollar is in the toilet...NEXT...

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/en.html

Looks like a leak in the Reactor Building Closed Cooling Water system, or the Fermi II version of it.

This was quite a scare:

The licensee confirmed the presence of corrosion inhibitors in the drywell sump. In addition, based on manipulations of the Reactor Building Closed Cooling Water system and the Emergency Equipment Cooling Water system the licensee believes that the leakage is from the Reactor Building Closed Cooling Water system and not RCS leakage. The plant is stable and the licensee is continuing to cool down with pressure now at 180 psi and decreasing.

I would assume that is a good thing?

I wonder how high it got? Very scary stuff.

because I live here.

:scared:

authorities were told of the leak!

http://www.wtol.com/global/story.asp?s=2851200&ClientType=Printable

Detroit Edison Hopes To Isolate Cause of Leak

NEWPORT, MICHIGAN -- One day after a leak forced the Fermi 2 Nuclear Power Plant offline, officials still don't know when it will go back into service.

The leak was first detected around 4:00pm Monday afternoon in the containment building that houses the nuclear reactor. Fermi 2 is near Monroe, Michigan, about 25 miles northeast of Toledo.

Detroit Edison still isn't sure what component failed, creating the leak. When crews get inside the building today, they hope to isolate it and make repairs. The plant will remain shut down until that happens. As long as it is down, DTE will get power from the national power grid to replace what it can't generate.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission had issued an "alert" for the plant when the leak was discovered. All nuclear plants use four emergency classifications to describe problems, and "alert" is the second level of severity, meaning something is happening or has happened that would degrade the level of safety at the plant. "Alert" level does not indicate damage to the plant, and there would be little or no radioactivity released.