An example of why I think the navy should run our nuke plants.

uscitizen

uscitizen

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Feb 7, 1:08 PM EST

Man gets probation for Ohio nuke plant cover-up
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TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- A former nuclear power plant engineer in Ohio has been sentenced to three years on probation and fined $4,500 for helping to cover up the worst corrosion ever found at a U.S. reactor.

Andrew Siemaszko (si-MAS'-ko) was sentenced Friday in federal court in Toledo, Ohio. He had faced up to five years in prison.

He was convicted of misleading regulators in 2001 in order to delay a safety inspection at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant along Lake Erie.

Inspectors later found an acid leak that nearly ate through the reactor's 6-inch-thick steel cap.

Defense attorneys have said Siemaszko was set up as a scapegoat because he spoke out about safety concerns.

The plant operator, FirstEnergy Corp., has paid $33.5 million to settle civil and criminal cases.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NUCLEAR_PLANT_DAMAGE?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

Note that it says "helping to cover up". Which leads one to believe that more than this one guy was involved.
 
Yea...I think we talked about this before. This is the real problem for the nuclear industry and it's incidents like this are why. The technology, engineering and administrative controls for making nuclear energy safe and clean are mature and developed. But because of incidents like this the industry lacks credibility with the public and rightly so.

Could the Navy manage the industry more safely? I'm sure they can. Could they do it profitably is the question?
 
Mottleydude said:
Yea...I think we talked about this before. This is the real problem for the nuclear industry and it's incidents like this are why. The technology, engineering and administrative controls for making nuclear energy safe and clean are mature and developed. But because of incidents like this the industry lacks credibility with the public and rightly so.

Could the Navy manage the industry more safely? I'm sure they can. Could they do it profitably is the question?
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Sure they could, their pay scale is a lot lower than the nuke industires.

There is also the apsect of security and with a branch of our military running the plants....
 
uscitizen said:
Sure they could, their pay scale is a lot lower than the nuke industires.

There is also the apsect of security and with a branch of our military running the plants....
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I'm skeptical of that. You're dealing with generating power as a much larger scale then the Navy does. They don't have much experience at making profits either.
 
Mottleydude said:
Yea...I think we talked about this before. This is the real problem for the nuclear industry and it's incidents like this are why. The technology, engineering and administrative controls for making nuclear energy safe and clean are mature and developed. But because of incidents like this the industry lacks credibility with the public and rightly so.

Could the Navy manage the industry more safely? I'm sure they can. Could they do it profitably is the question?
Click to expand...
They could do it safely for sure. I've lived within feet of reactors on a regular basis while I was in the Navy. It was not something we even thought about too often.
 
Damocles said:
They could do it safely for sure. I've lived within feet of reactors on a regular basis while I was in the Navy. It was not something we even thought about too often.
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I'm sure they can do it safely but operating a large nuclear reactor that can supply megawatts of electricity for the general public at a profit isn't something that they have proven they can do.
 
The Navy has some of the best training schools and a great safety record.

They can run a nuclear aircraft with bomb and jets, etc but not run a public nuke plant?
 
Mottleydude said:
I'm sure they can do it safely but operating a large nuclear reactor that can supply megawatts of electricity for the general public at a profit isn't something that they have proven they can do.
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The Navy isn't a company so it isn't something they have been asked to do. However, if they were ordered to find a way to do it, I am quite confident they could. One of the things that I enjoyed about the military is how they were willing to let you think and offer solutions regardless of your position.

Well, unless you were in the army. Then they kind of just point you in the direction they want you to shoot....

;)
 
And having a squad of seals based at the reacotr site for security against terrorism would work better than the current rent a guard types.
 
Mottleydude said:
For a profit my friend, for a profit. Earning profits is not in the Navy's mission statement.
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And why does a nuke plant have to show a profit? as long as it breaks even.

Not pwned (whatever the crap that means), I am for a nationalized electric system. At least as far as the nuke plants go.
 
uscitizen said:
And why does a nuke plant have to show a profit? as long as it breaks even.

Not pwned (whatever the crap that means), I am for a nationalized electric system. At least as far as the nuke plants go.
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oh yeah, because the government has proven its ability to regulate things terrificly. I mean, look at the economy. we're golden.
 
SmarterThanYou said:
oh yeah, because the government has proven its ability to regulate things terrificly. I mean, look at the economy. we're golden.
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that is what we get for following Republican ideals.
Much of our current problems were caused by less govt regulation.
 
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uscitizen said:
that is what we get for following Republican ideals.
Much of our current problems were caused by less govt regulation.
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were you around for the great depression? or any of the 'new deal' crap that came afterwards? look at where it has gotten us. you really think that the current financial mess we're in is due to total republican deregulation? If you do, you probably have no business trying to talk economics, let along politics.
 
Well I am all for nuclear plants to produce electricity. I am also for government (military if necessary) inspections done by competent people so there would be a smaller chance of cover ups by folks just interested in their profit margin.
 
Yes Leaning. How many times do we have to be painfully shown that business will NOT regulate itself properly as far as safety is concerned.
 
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