Published: January 31st, 2012 at 7:21 pm ET
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Title: NRC Starts Special Inspection At Exelon Illinois Nuclear Plant
Source: Dow Jones Newswires
Date: January 31, 2012
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday that it has started a special inspection of Exelon Corp.’s (EXC) Byron nuclear plant in Illinois after one of the reactors shut down.
[...] Diesel generators have been supplying electricity to operate plant equipment. [...]
The NRC heightened its attention to the plant on Monday after receiving reports that smoke was seen at one of the plant’s transformers.
Exelon found that there wasn’t a fire, although plant crews were working to determine what caused the smoke, an NRC spokeswoman said. [...]
According to the report, “[Radioactivity] levels were far below the plant’s annual limit and were not dangerous to public health, the NRC said.”
Yet as the NRC stated earlier today that release levels were unknown: “NRC spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng said officials can’t yet calculate how much tritium is being released.”
Read the report here
Published: January 31st, 2012 at 7:21 pm ET
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WHAT SMOKE? Wasn’t this supposed to be harmless ‘steam?’
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That’s what I heard! Steam not smoke….those firemen need more training…they can tell a teapot steam from the cute little kettle when they see it.
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Where there is smoke, there is usually fire…
I know a person local to the area, and NO ONE is willing to take radiation readings, and NO ONE is taking any air readings…
Not public health dept.
Not the utility
Not the press
Not any nuclear agency
Not even the anti nuclear group that has been around for many years…(no one seems to have a Geiger Counter)
Unbelievable…
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Would anyone here be willing to overnight their radiation monitor to someone we know there in Illinois? Concerned Mom, or AGreen Road’s friend? If I had one, I’d offer. You might save lives.
(just watched Arnie Gundersen’s video about recent, excellent research showing increased cancer risks from ongoing low doses of radiation. Children are at such a risk, especially little girls! Also, adults show definite increased risk of cancer at anything greater than 2mSv a year!)
Maybe we can help out.
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Then we’re all burnt toast in the US cauce they can’t keep total exposure below 6 mSv/yr!!!
Is that within range of Exelon’s annual limit???
Nuclear power plants are only allowed to KILL 150,000 PEOPLE A YEAR!!!
The NRC giveth, the NRC taketh away!!! Satan Incarnate!
Here’s a little Byron smoke and steam on YouTube for your viewing enjoyment…
http://m.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=en&client=mv-google&v=xGsBJcSyNS4
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If the radIoactive releases reach Washington DC hopefully that would get Congress to act on nuclear power lanes safety. Arnie Gunderson and others are quiet on this – if there was nothing for sure they would have called nuclear specialists to confirm this.
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Nuclear power plants – sorry, my iPad is changing words automatically.
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alexa, The prevelence walking zombies in Washingtons’ political arena is evidence of the fact that radiation has virtually demolished and radically influenced the US Capitol and it ability to function soundly…
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I would be willing to take readings if I had equipment. Here’s a picture I took of Byron Nuclear Power Plant at about 11am this morning:
I took a bunch of pictures of the plant and area around the plant this morning. When we went by there this evening, it still appeared to be offline.
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Wonderful pics thanks concerned mom! Good to know how the plant looks sans photoshop.
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Those pictures, along with Fukushima, should be front page news but the talking heads are too busy bowing down to their meal ticket, the nuclear industry.
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@ConcernedMom,…Now, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!!!!
You rock Sister!
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super. steam, leaks, and smoke. all harmless, of course.
what do we do? we swim, swim, just keeep swimming, just keep swimming…
around, and around.
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Yes, keep swimming, but the appropriate aphorism remains: Mankind swims daily in the Sea of Knowledge, emerging completely dry.
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yes, and with advanced SSOOC: Spinning, Spinning, Out Of Control.
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Here’s another picture taken of Byron Nuclear Plant this morning. If anybody is interested in seeing more pics, I’ll post a link to my photobucket page.
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Oops, Sorry, I double posted the same picture. I think if you click on the picture it will take you to photobucket where you can see all the pics I took.
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Great pics. Don’t expose yourself again. Too high a risk for elevated radiation the closer you are. Just seeing those winter fallow fields brings back good memories, I grew up in IL over by the Mississippi. Been gone awhile. Take care. Get some Zeolite and start drinking at least a teaspoon in reverse osmosis water if possible or at least boiled water daily. It will help leach out the metals. Visit the Enews forum here on how to counteract radiation effects.
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Bloody hell ConcernedMom,…pictures #6, and #2 don’t look good AT ALL either!
And that’s with ‘backup cooling power’?
Why am I freaked?
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:\ That makes me really nervous.
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Curiously, the pictures look very hazy around the power plant itself. I was a few miles from the plant and used the zoom on my camera. As you can tell from other pictures, it was a beautiful, clear day and the temp was near 60. It did turn cloudy later in the day.
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What do you think the haze is? Is it oily-looking?
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I don’t know and hate to speculate. Even though it was a beautiful day today, the ground is still colder than the air, so perhaps the heat from the cooling tower/steam is making it look hazy.
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Concerned Mom, do you have any Universities with physics departments around you? They usually have monitoring equipment of some kind. You might be able to interest someone in collecting some data with you following the tritium releases this week.
Or try contacting these people, as they might have some ideas also:
http://neis.org/
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I’m not sure. Northern Illinois University isn’t too far from Byron. The power plant dumps cooling water into the Rock River. My home is on the Rock River maybe 10 miles from where they dump the water. I am completely shocked that people around here really don’t seem to be too concerned.
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Universities get gov funding, OK slam dunk, no real help there. We know this is true.
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Oh.Jaczko…hey….seems we get to pull our desks a little closer to the front…
Pat,pat..pat…sit right here next to me..
Perhaps there are lessons to learned about the nuclear industry ..right here in America.
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The NRC is too busy “approving AREVA’s application to ship reload fuel for troubled Genkai Reactor I” in Japan.
Hot off the press from Enformable.com:
http://enformable.com/2012/01/nrc-approves-arevas-application-to-ship-reload-fuel-for-troubled-genkai-reactor-1/
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We dont know what the levels are, but we know they are safe. WTF (insert ms milky the clown’s cat here)
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Not more than annual limit! No problem at all. Just don’t remind anybody we’re talking about one day in January…
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I’m getting the feeling the tritium is a bone toss. I think we maybe should be ruling out the presence of cesium in every nuclear accident FIRST as that tells a more truthful story about whats happening with the reactor. I think I need to know if there are signs of any runaway criticalities when there are nuclear incidents. If they don’t have a reasonable safety protocol I think the public would help them develop one.
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Does anybody know Rhalm Emanual is now days. You can bet if there is any danger he will have left the Chicago area.
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Maybe the powerful ones have antidotes/medications for radiation? I mean, at least some of the military get a radiation “vaccine”, so why not major politicians? Might explain why they are still above earth with the rest of us with all the poison.
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Obama and GE pres both split for Brazil right after fuku blew. Watch what they do.
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You’re right. Who could forget Obama takin the fam to Brazil?
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Radiation vaccine: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17867496
“[...] Existing principles for the treatment of acute radiation syndromes are based on the amelioration of progressive pathophysiological changes, using the concept of replacement therapy. Active immunization by small quantities of the essential radiation-induced systemic toxins of what we call the Specific Radiation Determinant (SRD) before irradiation increased duration of life among animals that were irradiated by lethal or sub-lethal doses of gamma-radiation. The SRD toxins possess antigenic properties that are specific to different forms of acute radiation sickness. Intramuscular injection of larger quantities of the SRD toxins induce signs and symptoms in irradiated naive animals similar to those observed in acute radiation syndromes, including death. Providing passive immunization, at variable periods of time following radiation, with preparations of immune-globulins directed at the SRD molecules, can confer some protection in the development of clinical sequelae in irradiated animals. Improved survival rates and times were observed in animals that received lower, sublethal doses of the same SRDs prior to irradiation. Therefore, active immunization can be induced by SRD molecules as a prophylaxis.”
It takes 15 to 35 days to start working.
But I think there is another type of “vaccine” that was around before this, the article implies.
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Radiation released is under the ‘limit’… What LIMIT?
Under the limited interest of the public?
Under the limit of being lethal in 2 minutes or less?
Under the limit of credibility?
Under the limit of human understanding when hidden under extremely confusing terms such as bq per cc?
Under the limit of tolerance for people to be bamboozled, denied information and spun in twenty different directions from Sunday?
Under the limited ability of ‘experts’ to take ANY readings whatsoever, of ANY radioactive isotope?
Under the limit of permission to give ANY radiation reading from the corporate bosses who control all information to the public?
Which limit?
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“Limit”? Sky’s the limit.
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+100
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I’m not up on my tritium info, but is it more dangerous than the Fukushima isotopes or just different? Is it special in its ability to pass through skin?
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steam ended around 3:00 a.m. Tuesday.
BYRON (WREX) – Updated: Jan 31, 2012 4:43 PM EST
Illinois Emergency Management Agency personnel are collecting air samples following Monday’s power outage and shutdown of one of Byron nuclear plant’s towers.
The plant experienced what’s classified as an “unusual event” Monday when the Unit 2 tower was shut down and steam had to be released. That process of releasing the steam ended around 3:00 a.m. Tuesday.
IEMA is testing the air for the presence of radioactive tritium, to make sure everything is safe around the plant.
“While we don’t expect to find harmful levels of tritium from the steam release at Byron, I believe it’s prudent to collect these samples and verify what levels are present,” said IEMA Director Jonathon Monken. “We have no reason to believe that harmful levels were released, but we have a duty to the public to ensure what, if any, tritium from the steam release is in the environment around the plant.”
On Tuesday, Byron Exelon released a statement saying Unit 2 will remain offline and there is still no public risk. Unit 1 will continue to handle the production load and service will not be interrupted.
http://www.wrex.com/story/16643206/air-tests-being-done-near-the-byron-nuclear-plant
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Re: steam ending
Thanks for this update. That’s the information I’ve been waiting and searching for.
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I posted this in the other thread but will add it here so these links do not get missed.
Why only choose Tritium? Hmm maybe because they didn’t expect us to be able to show any evidence about its dangers? And becasue they told us it was not harmful we would believe them?
“Radiological research has found a correlation between tritium and cumulative genetic injury. (21) There was found in successive generations a reduction in relative brain weight, reduction in litter size, and increased reabsorption of embryos. (animal study) Correlations have been found in epidemiological research between tritium and Down’s’ Syndrome. Associations have also been found between low-level radiation and Down’s Syndrome.” http://www.ipsecinfo.org/Tritium.htm
“Tritium is essential to the construction of boosted-fission nuclear weapons. A boosted weapon contains a mixture of deuterium and tritium, the gases being heated and compressed by the detonation of a plutonium or uranium device. The D-T mixture is heated to a temperature and pressure such that thermonuclear fusion occurs. This process releases a flood of 14 MeV neutrons which cause additional fissions in the device, greatly increasing its efficiency.” http://www.wcpeace.org/tritium.htm
See they KNOW the dangers… from NASA…
“Radioactive tritium became a perfect marker for tracking ocean water §. Scientists sampling North Atlantic water found that tritium released into the atmosphere before the 1962 nuclear test ban treaty, mixed downward by 1973. By 1980, the same tritium had moved into deep areas off Florida. The water had taken about 20 years to travel 3000 miles (4800 km) through the sea at an average speed of less than half a mile a day, about half the speed of a snail §.”
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/oceanography_currents_3.html
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Call me a skeptic if you must, but do any companies that manufacture and sell radiation detection devices have to make a product that works according to the old fashioned system of counting disintegrations? Where one disintegration ionizes the chamber to sustain an electrical pulse. Is it possible that todays detectors can only detect 10 percent or less of the ionizing radiation than the old fashioned ones? Is it possible that this was done on purpose to aid in the cover up?
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Didn’t someone else say something about the new detectors not being as accurate? Now that would be low. Then they won’t be able to prove the crumbcake I ate yesterday is hot!
I’m serious.
I’d like to know the answer to this too.
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I built mine from a kit, (and still paid too much for it; dammed vultures…) and while i didn’t see anything that would make me think the thing was deliberately undercounting, i guess the only way to know for sure would be to measure a known source of disintegrations and see if the actual counts closely match the expected counts… I will say that my background counts are pretty close to what’s published for my area, fwiw.
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Thanks, that’s good to know. Makes sense.
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Home Video of Byron Nuclear Station Venting Radioactive Steam During Unusual Event – Jan. 30
From: dutchsinse | Jan 31, 2012 | 303 views
Thanks to youtuber rcjmd for recording and sharing this with us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuNMfotLa5w
http://www.youtube.com/rcjmd
http://www.youtube.com/user/dutchsinse
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Still on emergency generators?
One would think that when a whole region is at stake, which is any time a nuclear reactor is running on emergency power, the federal government would send a couple convoys of trucks pulling trailers with industrial sized generators and tankers with extra fuel; either from pre-positioned locations, or commandeered.
One would also think nuclear reactors would have extra ‘switchyards’ and transformers in place, already.
I don’t know much about their engineering, but it seems extremely cavalier of nuclear plants, the government, and US and state representatives, senators, governors, and the President, that they apparently do not.
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The nuclear industry cannot stop lying.
If these engineers had a choice between lying or being honest, even with long term consequences being equal, they would lie. Nuclear engineers think lying makes them seem clever.
What are we going to do with these ass >I< holes?
Nuclear engineers do not seem accountable to regulations or laws, there has been no sanction for this nuclear industry and insults perpetuated against our societies.
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NRC BEGINS SPECIAL INSPECTION AT BYRON NUCLEAR PLANT
January 31, 2012
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2012/12-005.iii.pdf
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I think the term ‘special’ may mean ordering extra pizza with anchovies on top…
Anyone heard about the other ‘special’ happening in San Diego?
From reading the title, it seems ‘tubes’ melted in San Onfre, and workers cannot get in to check on the radiation, unknown if any ‘leaked’ out.
I think this is what we can start looking forward to… lots more nuclear ‘specials’… We cannot call them ‘nuclear accidents’ though, because it has nothing to do with anything accidental, or nuclear.. These are just machines breaking… nothing to worry about.
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The prevelence walking zombies in Washingtons’ political arena is evidence of the fact that radiation has demolished and radically influenced the US Capitol and it ability to function soundly…
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