Entergy-Arkansas Nuclear One

April 28: Was Waterford A Precursor To Arkansas Nuclear One?

April 19: Personally, you know what is ahead of us...there are going to drop a fuel cast from the refueling floor to the first floor...with the refueling floor as the top floor.

























Updated April 26: Is Entergy lying to the stockholder and the financial people? Bet you the NRC won't allow them to start up until the investigations are over with.

Maybe OHSA and the NRC has found malicious rule breaking and fraud...they need permission for restart...

You get it, they don't have the skills to know how damaged their plant is...

Entergy says Arkansas Nuclear Unit 2 to restart in May

April 26

HOUSTON (Reuters) - One of two shut reactor units at Entergy Corp's Arkansas nuclear plant will return to service in May, Entergy chairman Leo Denault told investors on Thursday.

Both reactors at the Arkansas Nuclear One station have been down since March 31, when an industrial accident related to a refueling shutdown at the 834-megawatt Unit 1 killed one worker and injured eight others.

Denault said Unit 2, rated at 989-MW, will restart in May.

He said it is too early to know when Unit 1 might be repaired and restarted.

Entergy Plans for Restart of Unit 2 at Arkansas Nuclear Plant

Published April 04, 2013

Dow Jones Newswires

Entergy Corp. (ETR) said it is making plans to restart one of its units at an Arkansas nuclear-power plant, a process that is expected to take several weeks, after the unit shut down automatically following an accident on Sunday that left one worker dead....

April 8:

So the NRC gave them a week to shred incriminating documents or back date missing documents...everyone wink wink, along with their corporate lawyers, now got their story straight....

 NRC SENDS AUGMENTED INSPECTION TEAM TO ARKANSAS NUCLEAR ONE

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will send an Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) to Arkansas Nuclear One to review the circumstances surrounding an industrial accident in which a heavy load fell onto the Unit 1 turbine deck, causing a loss of offsite power to Unit 1 and an automatic shutdown of Unit 2.

Workers were moving a massive generator stator out of the plant’s turbine building during maintenance activity when a lifting rig collapsed about 7:45 a.m. on March 31, killing one person and injuring eight others. Entergy Operations Inc., which operates the plant, declared a Notice of Unusual Event, the lowest of four emergency classifications used by the NRC, but terminated it after taking corrective actions to stabilize the plant’s power supplies.

“An AIT is used when the NRC wants to promptly dig deeply into the circumstances surrounding an operational event,” said NRC Region IV Administrator Arthur T. Howell. “We want to make sure that all the circumstances that contributed to this event are well understood in order to prevent a recurrence.”
...We know that this event will change us forever, and that we have a huge task before us as we recover the units and continue preparations to bring them back to service. It will be a challenge, but we will not be facing it alone. We’ll have the support of the Entergy nuclear fleet and experts in the industry.

“We have even had some of our Entergy retirees offer to come back and work for free if they could be of help,” she continued. “This incident has served to draw us closer together.”

Gregory acknowledged the community’s concern, but reinforced Entergy’s commitment to safety.

“We understand that our industry is unique and special,” Gregory said. “Our top responsibility is ensuring the health and safety of the community and our workers. Our commitment to that is stronger than ever.”

April 5: It baffles the mind why they were using the temp crane for the stator. Entergy says the new stator is out of the building waiting to be moved into the turbine deck. Maybe they needed the main crane to remove components of the turbine or other large components.
You know, maybe these super fast outages needed two main cranes?

April 4: It sounds like they severely flooded the lower levels of the turbine building...

Entergy Corp. (ETR) said it is making plans to restart one of its units at an Arkansas nuclear-power plant, a process that is expected to take several weeks, after the unit shut down automatically following an accident on Sunday that left one worker dead.

Freaking crazy Southerners!

UPDATE: Ga. Power reports total of 4 minor injuries at Plant Bowen

Update:Georgia Power is now reporting a total of four minor injuries in an explosion Friday at Plant Bowen in Euharlee.

Bartow County Sheriff's Office officials have reported that a generator turbine exploded at Plant Bowen this afternoon causing "major structural damage" to one of the units. All roads around the plant are closed at the moment and motorists are advised to stay away from the area. Currently, the Bartow County Fire Department and Georgia Power have command centers set up on scene and the sheriff's office is supplying perimeter security for the roads leading to the plant.

April 3:

I  had a transcipted 2.206 meeting with the NRC yesterday with many NRC officials. I spent much time inarticulately explaining since Entergy purchased VY, in the lead up to the tritium issue and  hen the craziness of the palisades before the red finding.  I documented...this was a giant nuclear utility spinning totally out of control and everyone knew it. If you listened to me, more disclosed truth and accurate documents...these deaths and injuries over in Arkansas would never have occurred.   

...Just human tissue being fed into a meat grinder! 

OFFSITE NOTIFICATION DUE TO ELECTRICAL FAULT IN SWITCHYARD RESULTING IN PERSONNEL INJURIES

"At 1707 CDT on 4/2/13 an arc flash occurred at the 'B' safeguards transformer (XMDV24) in the plant switchyard at Callaway. At the time of the flash, ground straps were being placed on the 'B' safeguards transformer which had been removed from service for maintenance. The event resulted in a loss of power to areas/buildings outside the power block. There was no impact to equipment and systems in the plant.

"Four workers were injured or affected by the flash. The extent of the electrical-related injuries has not been determined. However, based on reports from the scene, all of the workers were conscious and walked away from the scene. One person was transported by helicopter and two by ambulance to a local hospital. The fourth person experienced only a minor injury.

At the end of the day, this building went through a severe vibration event. The question asked, did this damage the other stator, turbine and other equipment...

With Arkansas one, this sounds like a repeat of the Vermont Yankee cooling tower collapse. It became the most damaging negative image and icon of the anti nuke establishment in the history of Vermont Yankee. I bet you these pictures will be the same for the Arkansas Nuclear.  

You can't help noticing...are they hiring cheap second string employees and contractors...the low cost WalMart world.

Because of the stress on the grid, we will begin to see nuclear employees as human detritus  and waste sacrificed on the altar of profits and a financially unstable electric system.

Callaway Nuclear plant: Ameren Missouri is part of St. Louis-based Ameren Corp., which reported a 2012 net loss of $974 million on total operating revenue of $6.83 billion. Ameren Corp. is led by President and CEO Thomas Voss.

Generally, the NRC is the on scene arm of the federal government...OSHA and the NRC have a memorandum of understanding...effectively nuclear plants aren't covered by unbelievable weak OSHA.

So you get it, this is the secondary system that unimportant to nuclear safety and risk analysis, the NRC doesn't oversee heavy loading. So effectively there is no government employee safety oversight... 

1988:

In recognition of the agencies' authorities and responsibilities enumerated above, the following procedures will be followed:

Although NRC does not conduct inspections of industrial safety, in the course of inspections of radiological and nuclear safety, NRC personnel may identify safety concerns within the area of OSHA responsibility or may receive complaints from an employee about OSHA-covered working conditions. In such instances, NRC will bring the matter to the attention of licensee management. NRC inspectors are not to perform the role of OSHA inspectors; however, they are to elevate OSHA safety issues to the attention of NRC Regional management when appropriate. If significant safety concerns are identified or if the licensee demonstrates a pattern of unresponsiveness to identified concerns, the NRC Regional Office will inform the appropriate OSHA Regional Office. In the case of complaints, NRC will withhold, from the licensee, the identity of the employee. In addition, when known to NRC, NRC will encourage licensees to report to OSHA accidents resulting in a fatality or multiple hospitalizations.

With Arkansas one, this sounds like a repeat of the Vermont Yankee cooling tower collapse. It became the most damaging negative image icon of the anti nuke establishment in the history of Vermont Yankee. I bet you these pictures will be the same for the Arkansas nuclear...

Again, lower level and middle level employees are MALICIOUSLY sabotaging senior management by releasing these pictures... 

You can't help noticing...are they hiring cheap second string employees and contractors...the low cost WalMart world.

Because of the stress on the grid, we will begin to see the nuclear employees as human detritus waste sacrificed on the altar of profits and a financially unstable electric system.

Generally, the NRC is the on scene arm of the federal government...OSHA and the NRC have a memorandum of understanding...effectively nuclear plants aren't covered by unbelievableYweak OSHA.

So you get it, this is the secondary system that unimportant to nuclear safety and risk analysis, the NRC doesn't oversee heavy loading. So effectively there is no government employee safety oversight...
 
April 2Look at how flimsy the turbine deck floor looks around the hole...see the far floor at a steep angle from the horizontal.

I mean, they had an installed gantry crane on a rail and they brought in a temporary crane. Was something wrong with the installed gantry crane?

I bet you they did this to speed up the refueling outage. The rented the temporary crane. They used the main crane to haul up the new stator. Parked it in a distant corner. Took out the old stator from the generator with the temporary crane. Once the old stator got out of the way, they quickly move the new stator into it position as they were moving the old stator out of the building. Meanwhile with the temp, they were moving the old stator to the railway door.

1) The operator ended up putting most of its weight on one leg and it collapsed.

2) The turbine floor wasn't designed for the rollers or wheels of the lifting crane...one leg punched through the floor.

3) They wouldn't be that stupid to put both stators in the same area of the floor...and they both collapsed the floor?  

Direct quote from my Feb 2011 2.206!

"Palisades: Request Emergency Palisades Shutdown"

Feb 22, 2011(Pg 19)

Dear Mr. Borchardt,

"In the 1942 movie Casablanca:

Rick Blaine: How can you close me up? On what grounds?

Captain Louis Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here."  

.
.
.

"Wouldn't you want to be on the Palisades refuel floor for the heart thumping loud bang and vibration coming from a dropped reactor head by a crane? How neat would that be for worker with industry bragging rights? I was there for the ten seconds it took for the head to rattle and smash through multiple floors to the basement floor. They could be saying by my age, that was the neatest 10 seconds in my life, besides when I was alone with Linda Lue when I was seventeen. News at lI pm? I see Entergy thinks it smore efficient to not follow procedures in an outage."

This is the Arkansas One stator.

It is not as bad as I thought...



Wow, look at that bent deck concrete floor below the crane beam on the left...

NRC...500-ton component.

The accident happened when a crane fell while moving a large generator, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said

April 1:

"At this time, the full extent of structural damage on Unit 1 is not known. There was one known fatality and 4 known serious injuries to workers. The local coroner is on site for the fatality and the injured personnel have been transported offsite to local hospitals. Investigation into the cause of the failure and extent of damage is ongoing."

So Entergy dropped a turbine stator at a shutdown nuclear...then the plant next door tripped on something caused by the crash...

I am thinking the stator crashed through two or more floors...this is what killed or injured the employees.

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (AP) - One worker died Sunday morning, three others injured in a Sunday morning accident at Arkansas Nuclear One near Russellville according to the power plant's owner Entergy.

Entergy calls the incident a ‘significant industrial accident'. The injured employees were taken to a local hospital.

In a statement from Entergy is says the accident occurred when a generator stator fell as it was being moved out of the turbine building.Unit 1 is in a refueling outage and Unit 2, which was operating at full power, automatically shut down. Both plants are in a stable shutdown condition and there is no danger to the public. The plant is in an unusual event classification, the lowest of four emergency classifications designated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Additional staff has been brought to the site to manage the situation. 

I hope they got a standby stator...it is going to be a long shutdown!

Homeowners around the plant heard the loud crash...that has got to a lot of noise!

Wouldn't that be something if it fell into the main condenser or control room.

So now it is 9 hurt or dead...

An Entergy spokesperson told The Courier the total number of Arkansas Nuclear One employees injured in the Sunday morning accident at the plant was eight, not three, as earlier reported.

What did they take out or crush to cause this...

NOTIFICATION OF UNUSUAL EVENT DECLARED DUE TO A BREAKER EXPLOSION IN THE PROTECTED AREA

"At 0750 [CDT] on 3/31/2013, during movement of the Unit 1 Main Turbine Generator Stator (~500 tons), the Unit 1 turbine temporary lift device failed. This caused a loss of all off site power on Unit 1. The ANO Unit 1 #1 and #2 EDG [Emergency Diesel Generator] have started and are supplying A-3 4160V switchgear and A-4 4160V switchgear. P-4A Service Water pump and P-4C Service Water pump has been verified running. Unit 1 has entered [procedures] 1202.007 - Degraded Power, 1203.028 - Loss of Decay Heat, and 1203.050 - Spent Fuel Emergencies. Unit 1 is in MODE 6.

"ANO-1 entered TS 3.8.2 A, 'One Required Offsite Circuit Inoperable'. All required actions are complete. The event caused a loss of decay heat removal on ANO Unit 1 which was restored in 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

"Unit 2 tripped and is in MODE 3. Emergency Feed Water was initiated on Unit 2 and Unit 2 was in [Technical Specification] 3.0.3 from 0817 [CDT] to 0848 [CDT] due to Emergency Feedwater. Unit 2 is being powered by off-site. Unit 2 Startup 3 [transformer] lock out at 0921 [CDT]. [Bus] 2A1 is on Start up 2 [transformer] and [bus] 2A3 is on #2 EDG.

"10CFR50.72 (b)(3)(iv)(A) - 4-hr. notification due to the ES [Engineered Safeguard Feature] actuation on both Unit 1 and Unit 2.
10CFR50 72 (b)(2)(iv)(B) - 4-hr. notification due to RPS [Reactor Protection System] actuation on Unit 2.
10CFR50.72 (b)(2)(xi) - 4-hr. notification due to Government Notification.
29CFR1904.39a - [OSHA] 8-hr. notification due to death on site.

"At 1033 [CDT] on 3/31/2013, Unit 2 entered a Notification of Unusual Event based on EAL HU4 due to damage in 2A1 switchgear. Notification of the NUE will be made lAW Emergency Plan requirements. Follow-up notifications will be made as appropriate."

At this time, the full extent of structural damage on Unit 1 is not known. There was one known fatality and 4 known serious injuries to workers. The local coroner is on site for the fatality and the injured personnel have been transported offsite to local hospitals. Investigation into the cause of the failure and extent of damage is ongoing.

On Unit 2, all rods inserted during the trip. The core is being cooled via natural circulation. Decay heat is being removed via steam dumps to atmosphere. There is no known primary to secondary leakage.

The licensee has notified the State of Arkansas, local authorities, OSHA and the NRC Resident Inspector.

Notified DHS SWO, DHS NICC, FEMA and Nuclear NSSA (via email).

* * * UPDATE FROM DAVID THOMPSON TO HOWIE CROUCH AT 1934 EDT ON 3/31/13 * * *

The licensee terminated the NOUE at 1821 CDT. The basis for termination was that the affected bus (2A2) is de-energized and no other equipment on Unit 2 was damaged.

The licensee has notified the state and local authorities and will be notifying the NRC Resident Inspector.

Notified R4DO (Pick), NRR EO (Howe), IRD (Gott), DHS SWO, DHS NICC, FEMA and Nuclear SSA (via email).

Why We Lost The Hinsdale NH Route 119 Bridge!

May 25

This is how NH explains what I discribed.  The dirt ramp is sinking and sliding to the south.

We are going to lose this bridge if we get a big enough earthquake?

2010 Inspection

Status:	Open, no restriction [A]
Average daily traffic:	7,900 [as of 2004]
Truck traffic:	4% of total traffic
Deck condition:	Good [7 out of 9]
Superstructure condition:	Fair [5 out of 9]
Substructure condition:	Satisfactory [6 out of 9]
Channel protection:	Bank is beginning to slump. River control devices and embankment protection have widespread minor damage. There is minor stream bed movement evident. Debris is restricting the channel slightly. [6]
Scour condition:	Countermeasures have been installed to mitigate an existing problem with scour. [7]
Operating rating:	21.0 tons [19.1 metric tons]
Inventory rating:	15.0 tons [13.6 metric tons]
Evaluation:	Structurally deficient [1]
Sufficiency rating:	23.5
Recommended work:	Replacement of bridge or other structure because of substandard load carrying capacity or substantial bridge roadway geometry. [31]
Estimated cost of work:	$2,500,000

April 9, 2013:

1) We need funding for engineers to contradict  the NHDOT.

2) We need  to form a group, say 5 or so indiveguals...with the task of creating the public awareness the bridge needs to be replaced. Tasked to replace that bridge...get really creative. The people of the group should think, lets do an experiment...lets act in a way that gets the state to replace that bridge.  A dedicated group of people, right this isn't all about the bridge, it is expecting a person's transformation after being emerged in a problem like this. You life direction changes.

I wish I could get some college kids involved in this...they would end up leading different lives.

3) We need a group to be formed... then go out and asked for business assistance and funding to get the job done...

4) We need to catch a big media outlet to spend some money investigating  a story like this...what are the national implications...

5) The bridge inspection techniques are not even close to modernity...it reminds me of the banana Republic of Guatemala in the 1950s.

For 93 years the NHDOT has been inspecting this bridge and now they have access problems. What is wrong with this picture? They are a bunch of crooks! Where they stopped inspecting...it is the softest area of the bridge.

 However, the report noted that transportation officials were unable to complete the inspection because of an access problem, and would return to finish it “as soon as time allows.”

 Hinsdale selectmen turning to legislators for new bridge

Posted: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 12:00 pm | Updated: 1:24 pm, Tue Apr 9, 2013.

Hinsdale selectmen turning to legislators for new bridge

By Meghan Foley Sentinel StaffSentinelSource.com | 0 comments

HINSDALE — Selectmen have turned to area legislators in the hopes that they might be the key to the town getting a new bridge to Brattleboro.
State Sen. Molly M. Kelly, D-Keene, and state Reps. William Butynski, D-Hinsdale, Paul S. Berch, D-Westmoreland, Lucy M. Weber, D-Walpole, and Tara A. Sad, D-Walpole, met with town and school officials Monday night to discuss how they might get a proposed project to replace the two bridges connecting the two towns back on the state of New Hampshire’s radar.

“We’ve been trying for quite some time to get this project going, but it keeps getting knocked off the state’s 10-year plan, put back on, or ending up in various states of unknown,” Hinsdale Selectmen Chairman Michael J. Darcy told legislators.

Board members want to do everything they can to keep the project moving forward, he said.

“We feel having these bridges replaced is important for our safety, people being able to get to their jobs, and our economy,” he said.

The project, which has been in the works since the early 1970s, calls for a new, multimillion-dollar bridge to be built south of the Anna Hunt Marsh and Charles Dana bridges, which cross the Connecticut River. The two Pennsylvania truss bridges, which were built in the 1920s, connect Hinsdale to Hinsdale Island, and then Hinsdale Island to Brattleboro. State transportation officials consider the bridges “functionally obsolete,” which means they’re outdated, don’t meet current design standards, are narrow, and have height and weight limitations.

The most recent project cost estimate from the state Department of Transportation is $36.6 million, according to a September 2012 information packet from the Southwest Region Planning Commission.

Route 119 is the only road connection between Hinsdale and Brattleboro, and there are many examples of people living in one town and commuting to the other for work or to shop, Darcy said. Hinsdale and Brattleboro emergency services rely on each other for mutual aid, he said. In addition, Hinsdale contracts with Rescue Inc., which is based in Brattleboro, for ambulance service, he said.

Complicating the problem is vehicles coming off the bridge in Brattleboro, which hit a four-and-a-half-way intersection and railroad crossing that can easily jam up traffic, he said.

“I’ve parked on the island before and walked into work,” Darcy said.

Kelly read the findings of a March inspection of the two bridges by state transportation officials, which concluded that “although the bridges clearly needed attention, they weren’t in danger of failing in the near future.”

However, the report noted that transportation officials were unable to complete the inspection because of an access problem, and would return to finish it “as soon as time allows.”

Kelly offered to contact transportation officials to find out when the inspection would be finished, and to possibly have them meet with town officials on the same day. Selectmen accepted her offer.

She, Weber and Butynski also spoke about the funding challenges the state faces in repairing its infrastructure, and spoke favorably about a legislative bill to increase the gas tax in an effort to cover some of those expenses.

Butynski also spoke about the importance of getting the project back on the state’s 10-year transportation plan, which the Southwest Region Planning Commission is advocating for in its recommendations this month for area improvements.

“The reality is for the bridge to get fully funded, it’s going to require a major federal grant,” he said. “Once the bridge is on the 10-year plan, I think it has a reasonable chance to get federal funding.”

Selectman Jerome Ebbighausen Jr. said town officials have been doing what they can to encourage commercial development along the Route 119 corridor, but for that to happen, tractor trailers and other big trucks need to be able to get across those bridges, which they currently can’t, he said.

“It’s our turn. Somewhere in the last 40 years, we should have been able to get this.”

April 1, 2013@7pm

Talk to the Hinsdale, NH selectmen about the Hinsdale Brattleboro bridge. Basically said it is outside their purview. I reminded them they could declare a ceremonial bridge emergency, start a legal suit...said the Town or selectmen could be held legally liable with me giving this lecture and they did nothing to stop an imminent collapse.

Just like everyone, they didn't want to see all my pictures, they didn't want to feel bad anymore with something they think they got no control over...

I laid out a huge big pile of rust and concrete chips...I told them you are never going to forget this, you are going to think back to the crazy mike's route 119 bridge rust chip pile on your selectman's big table if something bad happens to the bridge.

I wish they would update the current selectman list:
Board of SelectmenJohn Smith, Chairman
Mike Darcy, Vice-Chairman
Jay Ebbighausen
Bernard Rideout
Richard Schill
I know Shill is out and chief Gallagher is in... Click on the picture...look at how this bridge was plowing the waters...this is where the damaged  occurred.

I was in 2011 walking around in that baseball field...

There is our bridge if this picture and its footing was taken after 1920...I believe it is. The bridge must have been damaged during this period of big storms. Remember our great flood control public works ending in the 1940s and 1950... put a stop to this in the major cities.

Was the damage I'd seen on the bridge south side rocker pad and the exposed footing anchor bolts...the displaced huge granite footing blocks...caused by these big storms?

Must have made an island around the east side footing and roadbed...washed a bunch of it away...then they repaired the bridge and roadway...

Vermont was a very poor third word agrarian culture then and they were ticked off many times with the feds not coming to their rescue in these natural disasters.

The Commons:

In July, 1916, a rainstorm sent the river over flood stage and the island was inundated. Every year, high water took away a little more of the buildings until the fall of 1927, when more than half of the island was washed away. The pavilion was badly damaged and NEPA decided against repairing it. So, it was torn down, bringing the Island to the close of its productive life.

The great flood of 1929...said Brattleboro was under 20 feet of water.

The Flood of November 3-4, 1927 stands as the greatest disaster in Vermont history. Devastation occurred throughout the state, with 1285 bridges lost as well as countless numbers of homes and buildings destroyed and hundreds of miles of roads and railroad tracks washed out. The flood waters claimed 84 lives, including that of the Vermont Lieutenant Governor at the time, S. Hollister Jackson. An account of the flooding across the state, written by Luther B. Johnson, at the time editor of the Randolph Herald, was published in 1928. His account was republished in 1996 by Greenhills Books of Randolph Center. The following information comes from the above book as well as The Vermont Weather Book, by David Ludlam

The New England Hurricane of 1938 (or Great New England Hurricane, Yankee Clipper, Long Island Express, or simply the Great Hurricane)

Vermont
The hurricane slammed into Vermont as a Category 1 storm at approximately 6:00 pm EDT.^[8] Hurricane-force winds caused extensive damage to trees, buildings, and power lines. Over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of public roads were blocked, and it took months for crews to reopen some of the roads. Despite the damage, the storm killed only five people in Vermont.^[23] Until Hurricane Irene in 2011 (which had weakened to a tropical storm by the time it struck Vermont), the 1938 hurricane was the only tropical cyclone to make a direct hit on Vermont in its recorded history.

Below: I come to find out there is only one thermal expansion joint on a bridge. I never checked the Brattleboro side of the bridge. You got to zing along the Archery side of Bridge Street to get to the south side footing. It is high up in the air and a lot of water down below. So you need to jump down on top of the huge truss arch...then jump down into a lower level of the footing. It is very difficult to climb back up, but any kid to do it with ease. You stick your head and camera into a little hole directly under the roadbed. This is where the large deck iron beams with plates get bolted to the concrete footing. This a 1920 rendition of a large concrete anchor bolt...basically concrete rebar that has been threaded. Today they use j bolts or better so this device can't be pulled out of the concrete without using massive force.

Looking straight ahead is basically looking at the basement floor of Co-Op if you go far enough. So I verified both sides of the deck are bolted into the their respective footing. This is the kind of massive damage you would expect to see without having a temperature expansion joint.

Look at how that base metal plate has been delaminated by the moisture and rust...look at how the thick and really large plate is bent? 

I bet you I am one of only a handful of people in the USA over the 90 years life of the bridge have ever seen this..I am showing you all a very rare opportunity. The hanging bridge NHDOT inspection basket was parked temperately only a few yards from this. I would like to know the mechanism that created this round hole in the concrete and chipped off this large section of concrete. I don't see any rebar embedded in this concrete do you?

This has been too insignificant to ever get documented thought any extremely strict NH state bridge safety codes and certainly doesn't rise to the point of "minor deterioration" documented in this inspection cycle.

Note: The out of kilter Hinsdale side rollers-pad issue and Brattleboro side naked footing anchor bolt and bent massive iron plate are all on the same side. They are on the south side of the bridge. Was there at one point severe bridge damage...where the whole bridge tilting unnaturally to the south.

Did the wind do it?

(Picture added March 30, 2013)

The below is the south side main beam...the whole of the bridge road bed is directly connected to this beam across the full length of the bridge. There is only two of these main beams on the bridge, on each side. Hope you can swim! This is really a thick plate of metal...

My senior NHDOT engineer buddy said this guy passed the bridge inspection last week with flying colors...as good as new...good for another 29 years without inspection. Don't even have to repair this guy for the foreseeable future!

Our federal bridge comic book inspection codes say this is perfectly acceptable...according to federal and state bridge safety regulation, this is strictly defined as much less than "minor deterioration". 

This could be our new bridge? This is the bottom of the east side of the Chesterfield NH Navy Seebees route 9 bridge. Go Navy! About 5 mile north of the Brattleboro bridge. In these darkened shadows, this is about the sexiest thing I have seen in a month. Maybe a year!

The worst invention of the world has been spray paint! Tattoos I am not so sure?

(Picture added March 31, 2013)

So the below picture I took within 12 hours with the stop of rainfall in the remnants of Hurricane Irene...around Aug 28, 2011. See this white foamy stream in the outfall of the Whetstone Brook heading around the corner to a down stream destination unknown Connecticut River? I can't get this out of my head. I remember when this foamy trail was home debris; two by fours, plywood, propane gas tanks, mattresses, refrigerators...everything floatable you would expect to see in your house. The stuff of our lives was just floating down the river?

I remember again looking at the swollen Connecticut River further downstream across from our boat landing. A mysterious living, twirling and snakey dark thread just showed in the middle our Connecticut River...going down and up the full length of our river. It seemed like our river was split exactly right down the middle. It was the stuff of all of our lives being washed away during the ends of Hurricane Irene. We could all hear the enormous roaring noise echoing off our mountains, all throughout our valley if you listened carefully. The Vernon dam flood gates were fully open and all this excessive flow and housing debris was being flung onto the rocks to the lower pool.

The peak flood stage of the Connecticut River in this below picture had yet arrived. The flow of the Whetstone has subsided...we hadn't yet seen the full brunt of the flood stage. This flood stage in my picture is clearly above the concrete footing lower facade and deep into the granite blocks with big cracks. The flow of the flooded river was impinging on and into the large cracks between the blocks. Think about all the similar flooding...Irene was a local flood and not a regional issue.

In Hinsdale, we had a little flooding, but it was not as near severe as Vermont. Over the life of the bridge, we had a lot higher floods. Who is to say the sinking and shifting dirt around and underneath of our bridge entrance and footing during our floods hasn't caused or made worst the ground movement? What will our changing world throw at us in the next 20 years?

I bet you the freezing and thawing ground in the winter around this also caused significant damage.

Remembering the National Guard being stationed in our own streets in the bleak Oct 2005 flooding event over a freak rainstorm generated by another hurricane...the route 63 stream flooding events and wiping out the culvert across main street. We all have been warned over and over again. Remember the assortment of flooding events ringing Keene and beyond in recent years. This caused us significant transportation discomfort and it has been very expensive.

I suspect the was footing and ground damage done in the past flooding events when the bridge wasn't protected by the current third world and half ass fixer-up concrete bridge flood protestion scheme...

(Picture added March 30, 2013)

I bet the NHDOT is really on my side. They are limited by the crazy politics isnConcord. If they say boo, these politicians would fire them or you never get promoted. We have to severely attack the agency in order to solve this. This is a really regrettable part of my activities because the vast amount NHDOT employees are good people and we are all forced to feed our families and provide for them. It is really, really really sad sad on my end! It is the system that is as rotten as these bridges, the people in the agency are totally reclaimable.They all have really done some bad things...they lied to themselves and all the good people who supports them.

The below picture comes from the US Navy Seebees route 9 bridge between Brattleboro and Chesterfield. This is how the new civil engineers' think about the importance of temperature expansion joints. The picture doesn't show justice with really how large this is.

So the Navy Seebees bridge specs are:

Length: about the same as my bridge at 340 feet from footing to footing.

Huge Arch Truss: 40 inches by 90 inch box...they used 2 inch thick metal making the box.

This guy effortlessly is going to last way past 100 years....

(Picture added March 30, 2013)

This below is the typical state of the art craft in using granite blocks circa 1930...it is magnificent craftsmanship. It is the Brattleboro Putney Road railroad tracks West River bridge. The deterioration above this frightens me. But see how straight the lines are and how tight the cracks are. This isn't even close to how the Brattlebore bridge footing looks. This is really beautiful workmanship.

(Picture added March 30, 2013)

 Thermal Stress and Strain (Page 11)

"Bridges require expansion joints (roller pads or rockers)"

We have a much higher delta temp...but the bridge expansion from say 0 to 90 degrees for a 310 foot bridge is 2 inches. God only knows what the force is to the footing or the dangerous  flexing of the bridge over and over through the seasonal temperature if it was stiff and not on roller pads. I got pictures of the defective roller pads and the NHDOT must have known.

It was a totally civil and bridge engineering negligence...the NHDOT totally bypassed the rockers or rollers by hard bolting the deck I beams to the footing. It is utter engineering negligence.

When was the last time the NHDOT greased the Anna Hunt Marsh bridge roller pads...

I got a chance of taking out this regional NHDOT almost certainly and maybe even the whole state Department Of Transportation over a scandal of epic proportions...

Mike Mulligan on Sept 13, 2011 on the Hinsdale side of the Anna Hunt Marsh bridge.

I warned you! Quote:

"Who knows when it might ca, collapse?"

"On the dirt right here, I can feel the vibrations of the logging tractor trailer who is still on the bridge."

We are only talking about the Brattleboro-Anna Hunt Marsh bridge below...on the Hinsdale side below...

This is the north bridge-truss rocker pad for thermal expansion. I think the bolts are broken and it is immovable. But look at how perfectly parallel the rocker pads or two roller pads are to the huge iron plate below it. This alignment is a beautiful sight. This is where the bridge sits on the concrete footing on this corner of the bridge. The darken rust at the bottom is where they greased this in the distant past.

Remember this end of the bridge has all passed recent inspection...  

Below:

This is the south bridge pad or rocker device...we are looking south down river. Look at how this thing is really off kilter to the iron plate below it? That closest rocker sticks way outside the plate and the other one sits a lot inside the plate. The footing and earth below this side of the bridge is sinking down and sliding towards the south. It has got to be river sand and mud below the whole concrete and granite bridge blocks...this side of the bridge is sinking into the sand and mud.

I'll bet you the huge bolts holding the rocker to the iron plate and concrete are severely rusted and broken. Collective the bolts and nuts holding this bridge together are degraded by 50% or more. 

The whole approach for 50 to 60 feet before the east side of  the bridge subsiding into the Connecticut River east river bank. The vibrations of the big trucks are causing this. The south side of this entrance is subsiding worst and bulging direly in the southern direction. This edge of the bridge is sinking and moving in a southerly direction due to the heavy truck and vehicle traffic vibrations. That is why the roller these pads are severely off kilter...

Notice that severe alkali–silica crumbling concrete in the bottom far right...just below this bridge pad. There are only four pads on this bridge. This concrete under the top concrete pad is severely crumbling...the large granite bridge block is all out of kilter and displaced. Who the hell knows what's under all of it.

  

The rocker pads in the above picture are just below this huge bridge truss nut. This below is the south outside side of this bridge...we are looking north towards the bridge. Take a look at these unprofessional nuts and granite block anchoring device. 

 

Below:

 

The two rusty threaded anchoring rods and nuts are holding the granite blocks from sliding out from each other. These ginned up threaded anchoring rods are trying to hold the top granit block from sliding off the huge one below it. It is as if we live in the rinky rinky third world of engineering.  

 

Catch the severely crumbling concrete under this bridge pad and truss...the one with a severely off kilter bottom bridge iron plate and cocked roller pads...

 

For a very long time the NHDOT has known the ground under this pad has been sinking and sliding out from under this corner of the bridge...

 

  

Below:

 

We are looking in a eastward direction on the south side of the bridge entrance ramp...Brattlboro is in our back. These huge granite blocks stacked on top of each other and held together by God knows what are truly the foundation for this bridge. Most of the concrete is just a rather cheap and thin facade on the outside of these huge granite blocks.

 

What kind of ground or fill are under these blocks constructed in 1920...certainly not bedrock... 

 

This edge guy is sinking and sliding south...



 

 

Follow the above iron bridge edging (left) to the top and you get more severely crumbing concrete holding up the bridge pad and rollers. The bridge is full of thin crumbling concrete facades...as in the below.

 

  

Right, below, the same severely off kilter roller pads and the iron plate I have talked about before; but look at the severely alkali–silica crumbling concrete surrounding this whole bridge pad. Only four pads are holding up the bride. The whole edge under the pad on all sides are crumbling...under that it's shifting, sinking and sliding. I am not sure if this crumbling concrete is a result of the stress with the sliding ground and granite blocks below this.

  

 

Below:

 

More!

 

 

The below is the south side of the entrance ramp to the bride on the Hinsdale side...the bridge going to the left heads to Brattleboro.  If you follow the bridge to the right, it will get you to the bum truss pad and the off kilter rocker pads. 

 

Why is there leakage through the concrete blocks...it hasn't rained or snowed in a while? Where it it wet, the cracks in the blocks are widening. It is like the front part of this ramp to the bridge is calfing off. This front part or most westerly part of the structure is sinking into the river bank. The middle line of stone protruding from the bridge, the whole line of straight stone is going at a pretty steep down angle. The whole wall is protruding and bulging away from the main ramp structure and bridge footing. There are widening cracks between blocks. It is indicating poor bridge drainage from above and carrying away dirt, sand and gravel.

 

 

Like this below..the ground under these granite blocks are sinking and sliding...

 

 

 

Or this below...

 

The far end of the bridge entrence is sinking into the river mud and sand,. So is the bridge pad. See the long crack in the concrete and see how the huge granite blocks are widening apart following the same concrete cracks. They tried at one time to fill the cracks between the granite blocks with concrete...but the blocks moved more apart in recent times leading to the large spaces between the blocks. This section is calfing off from the rest... 

 

 

These cracks along a line are widening... 

 

 Much of the concrete in the cracks was added much later than initial construction...this is caused by the shifting ground underneath it all. This crack filler concrete is designed to stop the movement of sand, dirt and fell leaving the area under the bridge footing and undermining the bridge pads. I imagine granite lines were perfectly level and straight when new...these workers are highly skilled at creating perfect stone workmanship in these days. There usually wasn't much separation between the cracks of the granite blocks...they knew large cracks created the possibility of shifting earth behind it. All these wide gaps in the blocks are caused by shifting earth...

 

 

Remember me talking about the threaded anchor rods or devices before... you are seeing it from a lower lever now in the below. The NHDOT must have drilled out these the holes for the rods into both or more of the granite blocks to hold them from sliding out from each other.  

 

Below:

These stress fracture cracks in the pavement support my view the end of the ramp at the entrance of the bridge, in the below...the footing is currently in motion...sinking and sliding towards the southwest. There is massively poorly engineered and unstable ground under this road bed!

The footing, ramp and basic road bed are not designed for the level of traffic and weight of all the vehicles passing by. The weight of the big tractor trailers and the severely overweight assortment of other big trucks and the overweigh giant logging trucks and their trailers.... it is causing too much vibrations and it is severely damaging roadbed and the bridge itself.

Both these pictures looks towards Brattleboro to the right...the south entrance and ramp is directly across the road  The cracked sinking, sliding and bulging south granite wall is directly across the road and towards the water....

 

Grid Crisis, NE ISO and Pilgrim Plant SRV Timeline

April/May 2011: New SRV valves installed.

Dec 26, 2011: First Pilgrim plant leak, shutdown and 3 day shutdown.

Nov 27, 2012: NE ISO says grid price crisis over natural gas began (NH Union Leader).

*Jan 20, 2013: Second leak, required shutdown and another 3 day shutdown. ("On Sunday, January 20, 2013, at 2050 hours, the station entered a 24-hour action statement...)

Jan 21, 2013: NE ISO asserts grid emergency, near mandatory rolling black outs in really cold winter weather (NH Union Leader).
　
Jan 24, 2013: NE ISO says natural gas shortage began in earnest with $300 megawatt-hour(NH Union Leader).

Jan 2013: Peak demand this year 20,800 megawatt, overall peak demand of 22, 818 megawatt (NH Union Leader).

Feb 3, 2013: Third leak, restricted to 80-84% power to control leak.

Feb 6, 2013: Pilgrim admitted leaking media.

*Feb 8, 2013: Nemo blizzard strikes, plant trip, two LOOPs, and just repair and replace of one SRV.

Feb 9, 2013: NE ISO says grid crisis developed during the early morning hours of the blizzard...gas generators couldn't get gas from the market (NH Union Leader).

Feb 13,2013: My Peach Bottom presentation to the NRC and Exelon. I always had issues with coloring within the lines with my crayons. 

"This is a Hurricane Katrina. This is a Hurricane Sandy. This is a Blizzard Nemo that's coming down on you guys..."

"This is a climate change. This is a huge economic climate change that's going on in the industry as far as this natural gas business..."

Feb 14, 2013 NRC senior project manager discussion with Entergy-Vermont Yankee worrying VY may no longer be financially qualified to operate a nuclear plant.

Feb 15, 2013: NYT's article 'The Natural Gas Trap' and $130 megawatt-hour prices all month long.

Feb 16, 2013: Start-up from blizzard trip.

*Feb 26, 2013: New leak develops and restricted to 94% power to control leaks.

March 17, 2013: NH Union Leader article 'Reliance On Natural Gas A Threat To The Grid'.

March 21, 2013: Still leaking and NRC is questioning the financial qualifications of Vermont Yankee.

March 30, 2013: Power restricted to 85%. We don't know if the leak got worst or an addition SRV is leaking, or something else.


Notes

You notice the proximity of the two Pilgrim plant shutdowns and the ISO alert is always a day later.

We need FERC to come into NE with the hammer of perjury and jail time...to find out if there was really congestion on the natural gas pipelines and if the natural gas market nighttime shutdown was a real limitation.

Historically, the NE ISO is very incestuously protective to the nuclear plants in NE...many nuclear go over to the NE ISO to become employees.

You notice the solution of this by the NE ISO is we got to pay the players much more to do than what they should have  been doing all along as a public utility...

Has the NE ISO and player unseen ginned up this grid crisis in order to protect Entergy's Indian Point, Vermont Yankee and Pilgrim nuclear plants?

Has the NE ISO, the NE natural gas market and pipe transmission authorities and utilities speculators and players unseen...is this a fraudulent massive deflationary electric price support mechanism much like the Californian energy crisis debacle in 2000-2001?

Is the electric price spike anticipating as yet unseen Northeast economic activity...is there increased economic activity going on not seen in our economic data?

10 CFR 2.206 Petition Review Board RE Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3

           Feb 13, 2013

"CFR 50.73(a) (2) (v) (D), "In the event a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety functions of structures or systems that needed to mitigate the consequence of an accident." I still can't get over that. Exelon is cutting their dividend and they're cutting their capital budgets, and they're not upgrading any of their nuclear plants to the tune of $2.3 million, billion dollars, excuse me, got to get my Bs right.

I mean, I just -- the pressures that are going on here in all these big plants, all these big companies, biggest utilities in the United States are tremendous, and a lot of people are worrying, and I worry the NRC's asleep. Things are changing, and the -- like I said with budgets, inside a plant, you know, I mean, the first thing you realize is that how blind you are when you're going into the budget problems.

And the second thing that anybody has gotten burnt by these budget problems and cause institutional problems is you've got to ramp up your honesty 100 times and stuff like that. I mean, that's -- you've got to communicate more honestly and more completely. That's the only way -- if you have a budget crisis or lack of budgets, or limitations, priorities and stuff like that. You've got to communicate more between people and within the organizations and stuff like that. You just can't just sit there and say the easy way out is we're going to cut 5 percent and that'll be easy. You really have to do a lot of extra stuff.

You know, really it's -- what has the agency done? You know, what has the agency done to ramp up this honesty and kind of confront this? Why is-- that seems to be a lot of problems with plants now.

What is the root cause, what are the factors that cause this, what are the deeper factors that cause this and all that sort of stuff? Instead of just sticking there and, you know, looking at a threaded seal as an isolated part and not worrying and wringing your hands, and pulling out your hair wondering what's the big picture? I've got to know the big picture behind what's causing these little problems. And if you have a little problem here that's similar to another little problem here, you know, why ain't you pulling out more of your hair and stuff like that? Where's the worry? I don't see that. I see these -- I see the agency running around basically feeling comfortable that they're following the rules that the politicians wrote for them and stuff like that. I see a lot of agency people not having a conscience because they're probably going to get punished or pay a price if they look at the bigger picture, and challenge their conscience, and challenge their status and things, and try to make the agency be prepared for this falling off the cliff of most of our major utilities with natural gas.

This is a Hurricane Katrina. This is a Hurricane Sandy. This is a Blizzard Nemo that's coming down on you guys, and you can't operate like the way you've done in the past. And you should be banging on these politicians to help you out as far as rules and regulations, and to be able to see more, and to be able to use a sledgehammer to get people's attention at times, especially these executives and stuff like that.

We're really going to do damage to our nation if we don't get a handle on what's going on here. This is a climate change. This is a huge economic climate change that's going on in the industry as far as this natural gas business. We don't know how long this thing is going to last, but as it is now it's affecting so many people and stuff like that. You know, the politicians are supposed to be in there helping the agency to do the people's business.

You know, we can't have this independent agency out here disconnected from the politicians and stuff like that. We have to have the politicians helping us to manage our electric system, and especially this invaluable 20 percent component of our electric system. We really need a lot of people. You know, they're all mixed up in Washington, too busy doing this and being overwhelmed by that. They sit there and too many problems, and too many limitations, and too lack of vision. And it's -- I fear for the future if we don't wake up.

I'm Mike Mulligan, and thank you for this opportunity. I'm done."

The NRC Sent Me A Message Today

Imagine the enormous transition these NRC officials must be contemplating on a daily bases:.

So senior project engineer Richard Guzman was assigned my petition manager for my Pilgrim SRV 2.206. I have hit him pretty hard in the last few days and I got a few more tough documents to send him in the next few days. He certainly knows I live but a few miles from VY.

From: "Guzman, Richard" 
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2013 3:05 PM
Subject: RE: 2.206: Pilgrim Nuclear Plant SRV Request for Emergency Shutdown

Mr. Mulligan,

Your 2.206 petition by email dated March 7, 2013, was assigned to the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) for review. My name is Richard Guzman, NRR project manager in the Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, and I have been assigned as the petition manager for your petition...

So my VY petition manager and senior project manager Guzman are in the media this morning (March, 21, 2013) questioning the financial qualification of Vermont Yankee though an official request. He questioned VY management beginning on Feb 14.

NRC Say Entergy-Vermont Yankee Isn't Financial Qualified To Have A Licence (March 21, 3013) 

"But those changes prompted the NRC to ask for what it called “updated pro formas for the operations and maintenance and cash flow for Vermont Yankee” up to 2018.
“The NRC staff requires further information to insure that the licensee is meeting NRC requirements for financial qualifications,” said the letter, signed by Richard Guzman, senior project manager for the NRC."

Suspiciously another VY project manager pops my yahoo mail at 1 pm this afternoon. I am shocked, shocked I was rejected again...

From: "Kim, James"
To: Michael Mulligan
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2013 1:18 PMSubject: PRB's Initial Recommendation on your 2.206 petition-Vermont Yankee SRV LER
Mr. Mulligan,
On January 23, 2013, the PRB met internally to discuss your petition regarding the Vermont Yankee SRV LERs and to make an initial recommendation. The PRB determined that some of the petition requests do not meet the criteria for review because the petition failed to provide sufficient facts to warrant further inquiry
This this drive me distractingly crazy for no reason...Mr. Kim is a "project manager, DORL and Mr. Guzman is "senior project manager", "NNR/DORL/LPL1-1"...did I get a silent promotion here somewhere...

Obviously, the agency sets these messages in motion for my benefit today...to signal we understand Entergy is in trouble and we are limited in what we can do. We received and understand your message with your signals with Vermont Yankee and Pilgrim.

It is really painful to make me hear my uneducated speech again...

10 CFR 2.206 Petition Review Board RE Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3

           Feb 13, 2013

"CFR 50.73(a) (2) (v) (D), "In the event a condition that could have prevented the fulfillment of the safety functions of structures or systems that needed to mitigate the consequence of an accident." I still can't get over that. Exelon is cutting their dividend and they're cutting their capital budgets, and they're not upgrading any of their nuclear plants to the tune of $2.3 million, billion dollars, excuse me, got to get my Bs right.

I mean, I just -- the pressures that are going on here in all these big plants, all these big companies, biggest utilities in the United States are tremendous, and a lot of people are worrying, and I worry the NRC's asleep. Things are changing, and the -- like I said with budgets, inside a plant, you know, I mean, the first thing you realize is that how blind you are when you're going into the budget problems.

And the second thing that anybody has gotten burnt by these budget problems and cause institutional problems is you've got to ramp up your honesty 100 times and stuff like that. I mean, that's -- you've got to communicate more honestly and more completely. That's the only way -- if you have a budget crisis or lack of budgets, or limitations, priorities and stuff like that. You've got to communicate more between people and within the organizations and stuff like that. You just can't just sit there and say the easy way out is we're going to cut 5 percent and that'll be easy. You really have to do a lot of extra stuff.
You know, really it's -- what has the agency done? You know, what has the agency done to ramp up this honesty and kind of confront this? Why is-- that seems to be a lot of problems with plants now.

What is the root cause, what are the factors that cause this, what are the deeper factors that cause this and all that sort of stuff? Instead of just sticking there and, you know, looking at a threaded seal as an isolated part and not worrying and wringing your hands, and pulling out your hair wondering what's the big picture? I've got to know the big picture behind what's causing these little problems. And if you have a little problem here that's similar to another little problem here, you know, why ain't you pulling out more of your hair and stuff like that? Where's the worry? I don't see that. I see these -- I see the agency running around basically feeling comfortable that they're following the rules that the politicians wrote for them and stuff like that. I see a lot of agency people not having a conscience because they're probably going to get punished or pay a price if they look at the bigger picture, and challenge their conscience, and challenge their status and things, and try to make the agency be prepared for this falling off the cliff of most of our major utilities with natural gas.

This is a Hurricane Katrina. This is a Hurricane Sandy. This is a Blizzard Nemo that's coming down on you guys, and you can't operate like the way you've done in the past. And you should be banging on these politicians to help you out as far as rules and regulations, and to be able to see more, and to be able to use a sledgehammer to get people's attention at times, especially these executives and stuff like that.

We're really going to do damage to our nation if we don't get a handle on what's going on here. This is a climate change. This is a huge economic climate change that's going on in the industry as far as this natural gas business. We don't know how long this thing is going to last, but as it is now it's affecting so many people and stuff like that. You know, the politicians are supposed to be in there helping the agency to do the people's business.
You know, we can't have this independent agency out here disconnected from the politicians and stuff like that. We have to have the politicians helping us to manage our electric system, and especially this invaluable 20 percent component of our electric system. We really need a lot of people. You know, they're all mixed up in Washington, too busy doing this and being overwhelmed by that. They sit there and too many problems, and too many limitations, and too lack of vision. And it's -- I fear for the future if we don't wake up.

I'm Mike Mulligan, and thank you for this opportunity. I'm done."

The President's Commission On: THE ACCIDENT AT TMI

Oct 30, 1979

"ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES (Pg 9)

 In the testimony we received, one word occurred over and over again. That word is "mindset." At one of our public hearings, Roger Mattson, director of NRC's Division of Systems Safety, used that word five times within a span of 10 minutes. For example: "I think [ the] mindset [was] that the operator was a force for good, that if you discounted him, it was a measure of conservatism." In other words, they concentrated on equipment, assuming that the presence of operators could only improve the situation -- they would not be part of the problem.

 

We note a preoccupation with regulations. It is, of course, the responsibility of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue regulations to assure the safety of nuclear power plants. However, we are convinced that regulations alone cannot assure safety. Indeed, once regulations become as voluminous and complex as those regulations now in place, they can serve as a negative factor in nuclear safety. The regulations are so complex that immense efforts are required by the utility, by its suppliers, and by the NRC to assure that regulations are complied with. The satisfaction of regulatory requirements is equated with safety.This Commission believes that it is an absorbing concern with safety that will bring about safety -- not just the meeting of narrow prescribed and complex regulations."

http://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber='ML13052A379' 

10 CFR 2.206 Petition Review Board RE Peach Bottom Units 2 and 3

http://adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/webSearch2/main.jsp?AccessionNumber='ML13016A278'

10 CFR 2.206 PETITION RE: VERMONT NUCLEAR POWER PLANT