Asymmetric Weapon: North Korea's Hydrogen EMP Bomb Has Already Cost Us Many 100s of Millions of Dollars

 

It is a Pearl Harbor Attack.

Dollar hits 10-month lows below ¥108 in Torokyo

The dollar dived below ¥108 for the first time in about 10 months in Tokyo trading on Friday, as a risk-averse mood grew amid heightened worries about the possibility of North Korea firing a ballistic missile, or conducting other provocations, on Saturday, the anniversary of the reclusive nation’s founding.

At 5 p.m., the dollar stood at ¥107.73-74, down from ¥108.99-109.00 at the same time Thursday. The euro was at $1.2048-1.2049, up from $1.1954-1.1954, and at ¥129.81-82, down from ¥130.30-30.

The dollar was weak around ¥108.30 in early trading in the wake of an overnight tumble of the key U.S. long-term interest rate on concerns over Hurricane Irma’s possible devastation on the U.S. economy and the European Central Bank’s downward revision in its inflation forecasts on Thursday.

Threat of North Korean EMP attack leaves Japan vulnerable

Pyongyang claims ability to trigger high-altitude electromagnetic pulse

by Reiji Yoshida

Staff Writer

The North Korean nuclear crisis has fueled global concern over how much time is left before Pyongyang masters the technology required to miniaturize nuclear warheads and make the re-entry vehicles needed to deliver them on target.

But a Sept. 3 announcement by the reclusive state raised fears of another kind of attack that completely bypasses those hurdles: an electromagnetic pulse.

In Sunday’s announcement, Pyongyang claimed to have successfully tested a hydrogen bomb and said it had the ability to detonate one at high altitude to generate an EMP — an electromagnetic wave that would fry electronic devices and disrupt communications for hundreds of kilometers around.

A nuclear device detonated 30 km to 400 km above ground could disrupt nearly all types of electronics within range, including computers, power grids and communication systems, experts say. Recovery could take years.

“The electromagnetic pulse generated by a high-altitude nuclear explosion is one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences,” concluded a 2008 report by a U.S. commission tasked with assessing such threats for Congress, the president and other key government bodies.

Cover-up at STP Nuclear Facility Over Hurricaine Harvey

Honestly I should be talking to a plant official, but non of these guys talk to outsiders. This setup always screws the NRC and the inspectors. \

If you want to do the NRC favor, you need public relations retraining at the STP. Basically was talking about why didn’t  STP shutdown, explained the blackout procedure at TP. The inspector said never had hurricane winds at STP. I asked him does the Colorado river abut the plant, basically came back its national security information. He gave me a string of I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t knows, then later admitted he can’t disclose the information. He should have said right off the bat, it is restricted information.  Later pushed him pretty hard, he admitted in a flash of anger it was around 40 MPH. These guys would be terrible communicators in a real crisis. Basically the plants in Texas have been running great, the NRC and the inspectors have let their public communication atrophy. I have talked to a ton of NRC inspectors and NRC inspector bosses, STP inspector skills are weak. I am having trouble contacting the boss of the inspectors. I know they recorded my phone call. That is ok. I am in the realm of a cover-up.

Obsolete Turkey Point Nuclear Plant In Line For A monstrous Hurricane

Update 9/11 (This is such a sad day)

So they both shutdown and one tripped on the way down with bad equipment.  

Maybe a roof leak during the hurricane. 

Winds now 180 mph. Still a long way from Florida.

When will they shutdown?

This is way worst than Andrew!!!

NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 93-53:  EFFECT OF HURRICANE ANDREW ON TURKEY POINT NUCLEAR GENERATING STATION AND LESSONS LEARNED

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information notice to alert addressees to the lessons learned from the joint NRC/industry team review of the effect of Hurricane Andrew on Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station.  It is expected that recipients will review the information for applicability to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar problems.  However, suggestions contained in this information notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written response is required. 
Description of Circumstances

Turkey Point, situated on the shores of Biscayne Bay about 40 kilometers  (25 miles) south of Miami, Florida, is the site for four electric generation units.  Units 1 and 2 are fossil fuel fired and Units 3 and 4 are pressurized light water moderated nuclear units that are owned and operated by the Florida Power and Light Company.  The area experiences tropical storms about once every 2 years and hurricane-force winds once every 7 years. 

On August 24, 1992, Category 4 (on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the most severe) Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida and caused extensive onsite and offsite damage at Turkey Point.  An NRC/industry team was organized to review the damage that the hurricane caused the nuclear units and the utility actions to prepare for the storm and recover from it, and to compile lessons that might benefit other nuclear reactor facilities.  Results of the team review are presented in the report, "Effect of Hurricane Andrew on the Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station from August 20-30, 1992," issued in March 1993. This report was distributed to all power reactor licensees by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations on June 10, 1993…. 

North Korea: Stealing Corn and Their Military's End-of-Times Preperations

Is this about long term plans with preparations to attack and hold South Korea?

Hungry North Korean soldiers 'ordered to steal cornbecause war is imminent'

• Nicola Smith

31 August 2017 • 11:20am

As North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un boasts of his military prowess and flaunts his high tech weapons to the world, his malnourished soldiers are said to be stealing corn from fields to stave off hunger pangs.

Officers are ordering their troops to supplement their meagre food rations by plundering local fields, in order to keep up their strength for battle, according to a report in the Daily NK.

“The military officers are instructing their soldiers, exhausted after training, to eat corn in the fields because war is imminent,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told the news website...

Nuclear Plant: Hurricane Irma

update Sept 6

It is now a monster cat 5 storm with 185 mph winds. It is still heading towards Turkey Point. They seem to not have enough confidence to know where the hurricane is suppose to go.

These crazy assholes won't shut the plant down to the winds on site get to 73MPH.

When should they shutdown???

...Projected to go right over Turkey Point today. Its too early to tell though.

These guys have been tested by past hurricanes. You hoped they have learned the lessens from the past. These guys are grossly obsolete, deteriorating quickly and questionable upkeep and maintenance.

Turkey Point
St Lucie

New NKorean Threats: Gift Packages to USA?

New today.

North Korea said nuclear tests are "gift packages" to the United States and that more will follow.

Han Tae Song, the ambassador of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the UN in Geneva, made the comment during a UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament today.

The warning comes two days after his country detonated its sixth and largest nuclear test.

"The recent self-defence measures by my country, DPRK, are a gift package addressed to none other than the US," Han told the Geneva forum.

"The US will receive more gift packages from my country as long as its relies on reckless provocations and futile attempts to put pressure on the DPRK."

North Korea's EMP Weapons

Call me crazy, has North Korea completed testing with extremely high altitude ICBMs or whatever. Do you remember the missile shot who only went a few hundred miles , but went to extremely high altitudes. Remember everyone puzzling why it went so high, but never went that far?    

North Korea threat: EMP attack can destroy a nation’s entire infrastructure in a flash

KIM Jong-un needs only one hydrogen bomb to bring America to its knees. And he knows it. This is the nation-wide effect it can have in nanoseconds.

DETONATING a thermonuclear warhead 400km above Washington would instantly fry most of the nation’s power grid — and electronics.

The idea is not about melting a city, set enormous fires and irradiate vast tracks of terrain.

It’s about eliminating a nation’s entire infrastructure in a single flash.

There’s little surprise that North Korean state media has been lauding the power of Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP).

This is where the gamma radiation of a high-altitude nuclear blast interacts with the ionosphere — a blanket of electrons and electrically charged particles surrounding the Earth — to send a series electromagnetic pulses spearing into the ground below.

Once this burst of radiation strikes the ground it can induce strong currents — particularly in electrical cables and phone lines. This can overload and destroy electrical networks, as well as cause delicate circuit boards to fuse.

An entire economy can be brought to a standstill in nanoseconds.

In the words of former director of the CIA James Woolsey, it would bring the United States “to a cold, dark halt”.

ELECTRIC WAR

It’s an effect similar to that of Earth being struck by a serious solar storm, or — at a much smaller scale — when lightning causes a surge in a power grid.

North Korea’s state news agency commented on just such a tactic at the weekend. It follows a series of similar observations about the power of EMP in July.

The latest statement boasts North Korea’s new bomb “is a multifunctional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP attack.”

But it’s not an attack without human cost.

It would bring “widespread and long lasting disruption and damage to the critical infrastructures that underpin the fabric of US society,” a 2008 US Congress report warns.

The last time anything on this scale happened was in 1859 — when the world was just beginning to discover the use of electrical technologies. The EMP from an enormous solar storm overloaded the simple telegraph wires then in use to transmit morse code, setting the paper telegrams at their terminals on fire.

Things would be infinitely worse today.

“Two thirds of the US population would likely perish from starvation, disease, and societal breakdown,” Woolsey warned US Congress in 2014. “Other experts estimate the likely loss to be closer to 90 per cent.”

INFRASTRUCTURE ELIMINATED

Hospitals would be without power. Essential services — electricity, gas, water, sewage, communications — would all be offline. Emergency services would be unable to respond. Food production and distribution networks would collapse.

Computers. Smart phones. Car ignitions. Pacemakers. Any form of delicate electronics within the pulse’s effective range would cease to function.

But the greatest damage would be to the power grid itself. Power stations and network transformers would be burnt out.

And the effect of a high-altitude EMP burst would not be localised.

EASY OPTION

Such a high-altitude thermonuclear attack does not require the technical skills necessary to enable a warhead to survive re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere, cope with the heat of enormous speeds — and still hit its specific target.

Perhaps this is why the devastating power of EMP attack has again appeared in North Korean propaganda broadcasts.

“I can exploit it in high-altitude areas for strategic purposes and (inflict) EMP attacks on vast areas,” Kim Jong-un declared back in July.

In 2015, North Korean propaganda boasted it could destroy all electronic devices in South Korea and Japan by detonating a 100 kiloton bomb 100km above Seoul. “If we lower the altitude to 60-70km, we can make the EMP effect only the southern part of the Korean Peninsula,” it declared.

“(EMP) can neutralize all advanced electronic guided weapons and destroy aircraft carrier fleet at once”.

The warhead it tested yesterday is estimated to be in the vicinity of 50 to 120 kilotons.

But such an attack would not give Kim Jong-un a victory…

NKorea This Morning: We Are Going To Eradicate the USA From The Face Of The Earth

This paints a very bleak picture. North Koreas grew up in a cultish environment and grew up in a system of little truth and foundation of typical society. We can never understand them and they never can understand us. This is a cult and the citizen are susceptible to a collective suicidal ideation. You threaten them, they will respond in a different way than we were trained in. Certainly this would get you to a suicidal hydrogen strike on Guam or bigger, thinking this will save their ass. I am certain our government knows this country will respond to our threats, or any action, in a way we can't or ever will understand. So all this bluster from Trump isn't aimed at shaping North Korea behavior, its for us and the rest of the world. From times immortal, including South Korea, these nations have been nothing but a slaughter house and unbelievable. South Korea amazedly has straighten out.     

Somebody is giving this psychopathic and schizophrenic society money and taking advantage of these sick and abused people. What happens when two psychopathic and schizophrenic societies collide? Certainly China can't control these guys. They will think of negotiating in a different way than us and having no idea what crossing the Rubicon means. Absolutely no perception or fear of it. Never once questioning it.   

I think Putin's money is behind this as a means to destroy us. I bet you a cup a coffee, when NKorea is burning and in ruins, we will see Kim showing up in Russia or Iran.

The idea of the delay in trying to coalesce the world against NKorea is a fallacy...it insanity on our part. You are giving him time to better plan his catastrophic strike against us. Isolating him for economic reasons and cutting off his petroleum, you are going to provoke him into a suicidal attack against the world. He is a crazy mad dog, you play with him or try in control or modify his behavior, that dog is going to bite your head off and kill your children. This guy is going to behave in away we can't image. They are right now talking about my EMP (I called it emf) weapon on CNN. They ignite a hydrogen bomb high over the southern tip of south Korea, South Korea is toast, as with the economic heart of China and the rest of that power house area. Our anti ICBMs missile systems, they don't go high enough in altitude to kill the EMP missiles.

Honestly, to reform a nation like this, we are going to have crush them like we did Japan and Germany during II. Utter devastation. We would have to set up a multinational organization to totally manage this nation for decades. Or we can abandon them after the war, and there is our new Syria. That is what we face.

All those millions of "psychopathic and schizophrenic" North Koreans flooding into China, that is what China is afraid of. It would be so disruptive for a nation. China, who better knows the psyche of the NKoreans?  

      

https://theintercept.com/2017/09/04/undercover-in-north-korea-all-paths-lead-to-catastrophe/

...Maybe all this "locked and loaded", "fire and fury", multitudes of the final "red lines in the sand", maybe trump is doing this for American public consumption.

According the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint chiefs last night, just "one more threat" to us?

You know, if you make a threat, you got to be mature enough to carry it out. Or at least enlightened enough to keep you mouth shut and swallow what you see all around you. Or the world is going run right over you. I thought by the next threat, the North Korean adventure would be a thing of the past.     

Trump's weakness is humiliating us in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Now I am starting to feel so sad for President Trump. How us and himself have slung this old man through the meat grinder for entertainment. 

I am really sad about how pathetic we all are.

I am really sad about the job of the god of the universe. All the stuff we force him to do to keep this planet glue together. What a miserable and lonely job that must be... !

Hell no, I don't want that job...

Who said yesterday, the planet of the absurd? 

Jesus, Our Grand Gulf Probem

Been shutdown since Aug 30, been at 65% for many days before this. How do they make any money? There capacity factor is so disgusting.

They make looking at the NRC's plant  power level page fun. I wonder when the NRC is going to shutdown this page.

North Korean Hydrogen Bomb: Crossing the Rubicon

update Sept 4

...See, this was my assessment last night: North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, “is begging for war,” Nikki R. Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, told the Security Council on Monday.

...Don't' be ridiculous with this hermit kingdom. How much money do they really have? The missiles, submarines and nuclear weapons program, these guys are really expensive. All the testing. The typical weapons facing Soul, that is where they have been saving money. I bet you the artillery and shells are old and obsolete. You have to plow a lot of money into the artillery system to keep it effective.

Hmm, the news this morning reports NKorea is getting ready to launch missiles into pacific. What happens if Guam is incinerated? It is a forgone conclusion NKorea would be turned into glass. How would it change us?    

What about a ICBM hydrogen bomb detonation in a rather inhabitable part of the pacific. Maximum world terrorism, but a too chicken Obama, I mean president Trump, to do anything about it. I don't think it is enough to glassify NKorea.

At the bottom of this, how accountable should we hold the rank and file NKoreans? Maybe they are the monsters? Why hasn't there been a uprising no matter what the cost? Why haven't they modernized their government? Isn't that the big problem across globe with our assortment dictators and despots. Yea, collectively, how much do we hold ourselves accountable for our dysfunctional and ineffective political system? We are all victims and powerless, and on the dole...

Is that the root of all wars and conflicts across the planet?     

Update: I predict 5000 to 7500 South Korean causalities or less. It will be a quick and wicked war much like Iraq. I have no qualms if we use highly targeted nuclear weapons. It would deter idiots like this in the future and save many more potential lives.   

Crossing the Rubicon 

Wiki: 
Julius Caesar's crossing the Rubicon was an event in 49 BC that precipitated the Roman Civil War, which ultimately led to Caesar's becoming dictator for life and the rise of the imperial era of Rome. Caesar had been appointed to a governorship over a region that ranged from southern Gaul to Illyricum (but not Italy). As his term of governorship ended, the Roman Senate ordered Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome. He was explicitly ordered not to bring his army across the Rubicon river, which was at that time a northern boundary of Italy. In January of 49 BC, Caesar brought the 13th legion across the river, an act that was considered insurrection, treason, and a declaration of war upon the Roman Senate. According to some authors, he is said to have uttered the phrase "alea iacta est" — the die is cast — as his army marched through the shallow river.
The phrase "crossing the Rubicon" is today often used as an idiom to mean passing a point of no return.

The new situation. I am amazed how ignorant my daughter's generation and media commentators are about hydrogen bombs. How much bigger they are.  

North Korea Says It Tested a Hydrogen Bomb Meant for Missiles

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test early Sunday in an extraordinary show of defiance against President Trump, who responded by declaring the country “hostile and dangerous to the United States” and criticizing an American ally, South Korea, for “talk of appeasement.”

The underground blast, which caused tremors that were felt in both South Korea and China, was the first by the North to clearly surpass the destructive power of the bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.

The government said it had tested a hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile, and hours before the detonation, it released photographs of its leader, Kim Jong-un, examining what it said was the new weapon.

Hydrogen bombs are vastly more powerful than ordinary atomic weapons, and though some analysts were skeptical of the North’s claim, the early estimate of outside experts was that the weapon detonated underground Sunday morning was most likely four to sixteen times more powerful than any the North has detonated before.

Basically same massage,different versions. I mean what I say. It is on comment section. I think my comment on both sites was the last one until the crisis stabilizes.   

Lawmakers to grill Navy officials over fatal mishaps

SECNAV Spencer Launches Independent Surface Incident Investigation

·        Mike Mulligan • 7 hours ago 

Personally, considering the news on NKorea, I crossed the Rubicon. I request all investigations (Congressional, Navy or whatever) surrounding the USS Fitzgerald and McCain be suspended. You don't want any of our military dragging their “safety investigation” anchors in this environment. Safety investigations eat up precious military resources. I need the US Navy and military to focus solely on national security and protection of the USA. Really the world economy and stability. God bless the USA and I love my country with all my might. God Bless my president Trump now! I am ready to serve my nation in anyway I can, including returning to military service!!! I will wash dishes, peel potatoes or clean the officer's toilets in any quarters.

LinkedIn: God bless our military and USA today. I was skeptical of President Trump yesterday, but now I am 150% behind him and my country. My version of the Cajun Flotilla would be tens of millions us signing up to serve the USA in anyway we can, including military service. We were all born to be heroes!!! I am ready to serve my nation in any way I can, including washing dishes and peeling potatoes. We should call the Senate and House back in secession without debate, give the president the full authority to do what ever it takes on the North Korean crisis, including placing the USA on a full war footing. Personally I think war is imminent and necessary .

Translation: Message from Secretary of Defense Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Joe Dunford. Our last Military statement to North Korea. Did you see how red Joint Chief Dunford eyes were? They were bleeding. I wonder how many hours he was going on without sleep? Obama had one red line in the sand with Syria, which they disobeyed and then the president did nothing. President Trump drew about six red lines in the sand in the last few weeks and Kim passed every one. Basically Kim is using escalation actions/behaviors based on a agenda. Ultimately Kim wants to go to war with the USA. Kim knows he is done, he is going to sacrifice his country in order to change the world for the worst. It would traumatized the world and knock the USA off the world stage. The way we go to war is the other guy has to start it. Trump has set this up as Kim has to make one more threat to Guam. It is a "threat" war is keyed on, not a action. I believe it will be Guam we will go to war over. The last threat North Korea will every make will be to Guam.

This will be a world shattering event if we prohibit trading with China. Maybe the post WW II era is over. I think we will see the world stock market collapse next week and it all will be in ruins within a few months.









What is a Hobson's Choice? Don't let the magnitude of the possible deaths frighten you. Do we really have a choice? 

Definition of Hobson's choice

1 : an apparently free choice when there is no real alternative

2 : the necessity of accepting one of two or more equally objectionable alternate

The setup is a choice of "tens of thousands to a few millions of deaths" or "10s, 100s or more of millions of deaths and world in total chaos". We face a nation in ruins with a large hydrogen bomb detonated high above us. A really scary EMF weapon. This would be way more damaging to us than if it was detonated on the ground.

Hurricane Harvey and all the suffering in Texas will be long gone in the new's media rear view mirror by the end of next week. 

Jesus God, from the far right white racist protest in the last month, to Hurricane Harvey and now a world wide holocaust with North Korea... How do we get from under this burden... A month of horrendous change. 

<<<I think the only play here for Kim is to create tens of thousands of deaths and tremendous devastation to either South Korea or the USA, shatter the stock markets across the planet, then negotiate a settlement. It is the only way he is going to survive.>>>  

My $40 Million Dollar Bridge

This was a special attention seeking project of mine. I protested at this bridge on and off for three years. The last summer I did this I spent lots of time at the bridge. The object of my effort was to get them to replace the bridge. It was the best arrest that ever happened to me. There was loose walkway planks on the bridge, I couln'td get the state to replace or renail the planks to the walkway. Basically I pulled up about 20 plank and threw them overboard into the Connecticut River. It was all attention seeking. I also put up steady safety barriers up on both sides of the walkway for safety. I emediately called up 911, connected to a police officer, admitted I did it. Put up the pictures of what a did on the internet within two hours and before any police officer interviewed me. It turned into a class B misdemeanor and I paid a $1500 fine. They did a $27,000 walkway rehab with completely new planks 161 days after I hucked the boards into the river.

So the aim was to piss off my town folks and anyone who rode across the bridge. I was the talk and hate of the Town. Basically I coalesced the town folks into advocating for the bridge replacement.

Its my bridge!!!!

New Hampshire DOT sets public meetings for Hinsdale-to-Brattleboro bridge project

Posted Friday, September 1, 2017 12:42 pm

HINSDALE, N.H. — The New Hampshire Department of Transportation will hold two combined public officials/public informational meetings regarding the planned Route 119 bridge replacement over the Connecticut River and associated improvements to Route 119n and Route 142.

The first public meeting will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Hinsdale Town Hall Auditorium, 11 Main St. A second meeting will be held on Thursday, Sept. 14, at the Brattleboro, Vt., Municipal Center Selectboard Room, 230 Main St. An open house will begin at 6:30 p.m., with a formal presentation at 7 p.m.

The purpose of this meeting is to present citizens and public officials with information regarding the proposed project and to solicit public input in order to ensure that project decisions meet public transportation needs, community goals, and protect and enhance the environment.

Any individuals needing assistance or auxiliary communication equipment due to sensory impairment or other disability, should contact the Bureau of Right-of-Way, NHDOT, PO Box 483, Concord, New Hampshire 03302-0483 or call 603-271-3222. TDD Access: Relay NH 1-800-735-2964. Notification for the need of assistance should be made at the earliest convenience. If you have any questions or need any additional information regarding the proposed project, call 603-271-2171.

Additional information about the project can be found on the NHDOT website.

Hatch SRVs: Demonstrated Component Unreliability

Update

So the manufacturing gap defect was also seen in 2016 at unit 1. The exact same defect in 2017 at unit 2. Are you sure these guys are nukes?  

May 26,2016

Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant Licensee Event Report 2016-004-00

SOUTHERN«\ NUCLEAR A SOUTHERN COMPANY NL-16-0772

Safety Relief Valves As Found Settings Resulted in Not Meeting Tech Spec Surveillance Criteria

On March 30, 2016, Unit 1 was at 1 00 percent rated thermal power (RTP) when "as-found" testing results of the 3-stage main steam safety relief valves (SRVs) indicated two of the eleven Unit 1 SRVs had experienced a setpoint drift during the previous operating cycle which resulted in their failure to meet the Technical Specification (TS) opening setpoint pressure of 1150 +1- 34.5 psig as required by TS Surveillance Requirement (SR) 3.4.3.1. The test results showed that two SRVs were slightly out of spec low due to setpoint drift. 

The SRV pilots were disassembled and inspected while investigating the reason for the drift. SNC has determined that the abutment gap closed pre-maturely. The pre-mature abutment gap closure is most likely due to loose manufacturing tolerances leading to SRV setpoint drift. 

...Look at all these quality issues in the LERs at the bottom? In three stage, then two stage, then back to three stage. A new platinum coating in the seat and disc on first use failed on roughness of the base metal. Issues with the gape abutment last reporting period remained uncorrected. 

These valves are lucky to be cycled once in 18 months. It would be highly unlikely these valves getting cycle three times in 18 months. These are extremely light duty safety valves. Why all the problems. 

Did they do any testing like cycling the valves with these for 200 times like in the worst accident.       

Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant licensee Event Report 2017-(){)4-()() Safety Relief Valves' As Found Settings Resulted in Not Meeting Tech Spec Surveillance Criteria

On June 30 2017, with Unit 2 at 100 percent rated thermal power {RTP), "as-found" testing of the 3-stage main steam safety relief valves (SRVs) (EBS Code RV) showed that two of the eleven main steam SRVs that were tested had experienced a drift in pressure lilt setpoint during the previous operating cyde such that the anowable technical specification (TS) surveillance requirement (SR) 3.4.3.1 limit of 1150 +/- 34.5 psig had been exceeded. Below is a table illustrating the Unit 2 SRVs that failed as found testing results alter being removed tom service during the Spring 2017 refueling outage.

MPL

2821-F013C

2821-F013E

Event cause Analysis

Drift

-39 psig

-49 psig

The SRV pilots were disassembled and inspected while investigating the reason for the drift It was found that the abutment gap closed prematurely during testing using a linear variable differential transformer (l von to measure pilot stroke distance. The pre-mature abutment gap closure is most likely due to loose manufacturing tolerances leading to SRV setpoint drift.

So they are incapable of detecting a manufacturing defect in the below.

LER 1-2016·004 Identified multiple SRV setpoint drift for 2 of Ole 11 SRVs. Corrective actions included revising vender specifications to tighten as-left tolerances of abutment and pre-load gap, increase the minimum set for abutment pressure at the high end of specification, and tighten diametrical and face run-out tolerances for bellows assembly on pre-load spacer mounting end. 

LER 2-2015..004 identified multiple SRV setpolnt drift for 2 of the 11 SRVs. Corrective actions included replacement of the 2-stage SRVs with 3-stage SRVs which typically do not exhibit set point drift. The selpoint drift was out of spec high while the event discussed in LER 1-2016-004 have failed to meet acceptance criteria by drifting out of spec low. 

LER 1-2014-003 identified multiple SRV setpoint drift for 5 of the 11 SRVs. Corrective actions included replacement of the 2-stage SRVs with 3-stage SRVs which typically do not exhibit set point drift. The setpoint drift was out of spec high while the event discussed in LER 1-2016-004 have failed to meet acceptance criteria by drifting out of spec low. 

LER 1·2012-004 identified multiple SRV setpoint drift for 8 of the 11 SRVs. Corrective actions included replacement of the 2-stage SRVs with 2-stage SRVs whose pilot discs had undergone a platinum surface treatment which was considered at that time to be the lorig term fix for this corrosion bonding issue.

News On STP: Plant Outside Supporting Infrastructure Including Employees Deteriorating At A Fast Pace.

Update Sept 1

Maybe it would be more safer and considerate with the employee families if the plant would have shut down as soon as they seen the unprecedented precipitation rate of 50 inches. Say a day ahead of the hurricane. There is going to be unprecedented historic flooding throughout the area. Many plant families are going to be put in danger...we want to other spouse to be home with the family. We are going to use a skeleton crew on site, everyone goes home for the hurricane. The home employees would call in to check on the skeleton staff employee families  and step in if help was needed.      

...Bay City: Just above STP. It sounds bad.

The Colorado River is forecast to swell, hitting near-record levels Wednesday night, as dams are being forced to release water to avoid collapse. Torrents of water will be heading to Matagorda County, leading to the mandatory evacuation of Bay City, its county seat. Some county residents were leaving for the second time, having returned home after the first evacuation only to get back on the road.
“This means there will absolutely be no emergency response, including law enforcement, fire and EMS,  in all areas of the county,” said Bay City Mayor Mark A. Bricker, demanding residents leave by 1 p.m. Monday. But Midfield, about 50 miles northeast of Victoria, isn’t too concerned. When asked about losing county services until the water recedes, many residents simply laughed.

As Harvey raged, workers remained at nuclear plant's controls 

Mark Chediak, Bloomberg

August 31, 2017

As Hurricane Harvey bore down on them, workers remained at the controls of Texas's biggest nuclear power plant, keeping the lights on for 2 million customers even while some of their own homes were flooded.

Teams of employees have been stationed at the South Texas Project power plant since early Friday. While the site is 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Houston and avoided the worst of the deadly storm, it had to cope with heavy rain and flooding on nearby roads that made it difficult for people to get around.

Plant technicians and engineers were organized into special storm-team crews, working rotating 12-hour shifts, washing clothes in the showers and sleeping on cots set up before Harvey hit. Throughout the storm, the concrete-domed twin reactors have continued operating at full capacity, providing electricity for Texans who can still get service amid a historic flood.

"Really, it's a matter of getting the sleep you need so you are prepared and ready for the next shift," said Bob Tatro, a 30-year veteran at the plant and a shift manager for a storm crew that's kept the plant operating.

When the Gator Grill cafeteria ran short of food, operators convinced a local grocery store manager to open up to replenish supplies despite a mandatory evacuation order. Another run was made to a local branch of Wal-Mart Stores to buy $2,000 worth of underwear, socks and other essentials for plant workers.

"One of the things we'll review after the storm is having washing machines on site," said Buddy Eller, a spokesman for the facility, which is owned by NRG Energy, CPS Energy and Austin Energy.

Despite as many as 10 inches of rain on Monday, the nuclear plant near the Gulf of Mexico hasn't been threatened by the rising waters in nearby tributaries, Eller said. Winds from Harvey never reached hurricane force at the site, which would have required the plant to shut down, he said. There was no flooding at the facility, which is near a wildlife nature preserve.

Workers have been making sure the site's storm drains are clear and there is enough potable water, said Kurt Moorefield, a shift manager who has been at the plant since Friday.

"The biggest issue is finding other employees who can safely make it back to the site," Eller said. Some workers' homes have flooded and the company was focused not only on keeping the plant running but helping to assist employees displaced by the storm, he said.

Tatro, 55, said he had been texting with loved ones to get updates. His family evacuated to stay with relatives and friends near Austin, he said. His house in Bay City is near the Colorado River, which is expected to crest on Thursday.

"There are some things that are within my control. Flooding isn't one of them," he said by phone from the plant. "I just chose to not let it wear me down."

About 250 operators, engineers, maintenance and other support staff have been stationed at the 2,700-megawatt plant since the storm hit. Additional workers were trickling in to provide help as the weather permitted, and the company was looking to transition back to normal staffing levels, Eller said.

Harvey could end up being the most costly weather disaster in U.S. history, with its relentless rains flooding thousands of homes, crippling the energy hub around Houston and killing at least 46 people, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Shift manager Moorefield, 48, said that he had heard Wednesday from his wife that there was water up to his house but no water in it. "So far, so good," he said by phone.

Grand Glulf: Just Don't Have The Capacity To Keep Their Equipment Operating

Another shutdown with weeks operations at reduced capacity.

Power Reactor Event Number: 52936 Facility: GRAND GULF Region: 4 State: MS Unit: [1] [ ] [ ] RX Type: [1] GE-6 NRC Notified By: RYAN MEYER HQ OPS Officer: MARK ABRAMOVITZ Notification Date: 08/29/2017 Notification Time: 14:42 [ET] Event Date: 08/29/2017 Event Time: 12:00 [CDT] Last Update Date: 08/29/2017 Emergency Class: NON EMERGENCY 10 CFR Section: 50.72(b)(2)(i) - PLANT S/D REQD BY TS Person (Organization): VINCENT GADDY (R4DO) Unit SCRAM Code RX CRIT Initial PWR Initial RX Mode Current PWR Current RX Mode 1 N Y 65 Power Operation 65 Power Operation Event Text TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION REQUIRED SHUTDOWN "On August 22, 2017 at 2321 hours, Grand Gulf Nuclear Station entered Technical Specification conditions for three Limiting Condition for Operations (LCOs) not met due to Residual Heat Removal 'A' (RHR 'A') being declared inoperable. "LCOs not met: 1) 3.5.1 for one low pressure ECCS [Emergency Core Cooling System] injection/spray subsystem. 2) 3.6.1.7 for one RHR containment spray subsystem, and 3) 3.6.2.3 for one RHR suppression pool cooling subsystem. "The station has made the decision to shutdown the plant based on the results of troubleshooting performed on the RHR 'A' pump. The restoration of RHR 'A' pump will not be completed prior to the end of the 7 day LCO completion time. "Grand Gulf Nuclear Station initiated plant shutdown required by Technical Specifications 3.5.1, 3.6.1.7, and 3.6.2.3 at 1200 hours CDT on 08/29/2017 due to expected restoration of RHR 'A' exceeding the completion time of 7 days prior to restoring operability." The licensee notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

Hurricane Harvey: South Texas Nuclear Plant Is IN Crisis Over Flooding

Update 8/30:

All sort of roads down and flooded. I doubt they could carry out their evacuation. The lower Colorado River still hasn't reached their peak.  

Right in the epicenter of extreme rainfall and it will continue for days.

A string of dams upstream...over topping levees and dams occurring and more around the corner. Dam failure cascade is a big worry.

Colorado River flow abutting plant has long gone past historic record.

National Weather Service "DIRE" Warning: this kind of widespread and prolonged precipitation event has never been seen before USA and the end is extremely unpredictable.

The Weather Channel and CNN in panic mode at the size of it.

 Nuclear Plant lost communication to outside!!!

Texas officials consumed in a unprecedented humanitarian crisis surrounding Houston...STP  can't communicate with state officials.

Soviet and Chinese Satellites Above Seventh Fleet Headquarters

Basically in my Navy days inside American traitors were disclosing submarine locations. Fat Leonard basically was doing that today.

They take us for dopes. So the Navy says their ships dim their ship lights and navigation gears in order to maximize stealthiest to their adversaries in the night. It is based on truth or diversion?

It is common knowledge the Soviets and Chinese have sophisticated satellites parked above the Seventh Fleet headquarters. They have sophisticated technical means including infrared to detect Naval vessels locations days and night. And I imagine Navel vessels give a identifier or signature to the satellites.

So stealthiest plays no role here unless there are leftover WWII  admirals on the nation's payroll. I am not saying turning off the navigation lights and aids is not happening, there are just doing it for another stupid reason.

It sounds like basically "whistling is the dark" and inflating the prices of ships.  

Seventh Fleet War Fighting Capabilities Much More Degraded Than Seamanship!!!

Basically traveling through the oceans would maintain a certain level of minimal seamanship proficiency. It in a high traffic area would the seamanship fails. 

The weapons systems undergo no such minimum proficiencies. An accident seen to the public basically outs the poor proficiencies with seamanship fleet wise. The reliability and warfighting capabilities remain a dangerous black box. You can't say a dysfunction remains only active in one section of the organization. It is defused into throughout the organization.

I expect the war fighting capabilities of these ships to be much more degraded than seamanship. It is because they are much more non transparent. The only real way we would test the war fighting capabilities is in a active engagement. 

Deadly Navy accidents in the Pacific raise questions over a force stretched too thin

The inside track on Washington politics. 

Constant deployments, a shrinking number of ships and high demands on crews have frayed the U.S. Navy, according to naval experts and current and former Navy officers, leading to four major incidents at sea this year and the deaths of 17 sailors.

Delayed Recovery of Dead in USS John McCain?

Is this another sign of incompetence with the 7th Fleet. Why couldn't the Navy without cost worry prepare a dry dock for her. Weld a iron plate on the hole and pull her to the dry dock on a emergency bases.  If there is a ship in there, pay whatever it takes to button her up and remove her from the dry-dock. Then put the McCain in there. That way you could dewater the damage spaces and do a proper search. You'd quickly recover the dead.

Hurricane Harvey: Texas Project Nuclear Plant Expecting Greater Than 31" of Rain

Aug 28

Amazedly both plants are at 100% this morning and no notifications. The Colorado River won't peak for weeks.  

!!!Meltdown Warning!!!

Update Aug 27

Honestly, this below is occurring in a broad area surrounding a two nuclear plants site. The humanitarian crisis in Houston and their surroundings is unprecedented. How are they going to evacuate in this? Nobody ever seen this before in any nuclear plant in the USA. One wonders if all communication is lost to the plant?  

National Weather Service
NWS

✔ @NWS

This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced. Follow orders from officials to ensure safety

USGS stream gage: Colorado river flow already above historic records

Just upstream of plant: Much of the west and southwest sides of Wharton, Texas, could be under water from the Colorado River. The river may overtop levees by several feet in Bay City. 

Much of the west and southwest sides of Wharton, Texas, could be under water from the Colorado River. The river may overtop levees by several feet in Bay City.

Lots of dams above STP on Colorado river...cascading dam failure. River meanders to the northwest of Houston. More westerly than north.    

Update Aug 26 3pm

WP: Where is Harvey going?
The short answer is that the storm isn’t going anywhere. Harvey is expected to stall for the better part of the upcoming week, penetrating inland perhaps 20 or 30 miles from its current position before finally jogging northeast around Thursday. This is essentially a worst-case scenario for already-waterlogged areas from Port Lavaca, Tex., up toward Houston, where between one and three feet of additional rain will fall in the days ahead.
Make no mistake: Even though Harvey’s wind threat has largely diminished, this is a disaster in the making. By Sunday afternoon, many areas may be inaccessible due to floodwaters, isolated to all but those traveling by boat. Now is the time to move to higher ground or evacuate if at all possible.

Just saying, the ruminants of the eye is suppose to  go over STP tomorrow and upstream on the Colorado River is supposed to get 41 inches. The Colorado River is directly aside the plant and fills the cooling lake. Should the plant now be in a alert? There is just no way of knowing what the next few will bring us.

Ponding water abutting the plants and critical  equipment...I'd be worried about a flooding.

***I mean, that is way out of the design of the plant. Will it turn into a nuclear Catastrophe?

They get their cooling lake making up water from the Colorado River. It looks like they have a elevated embankment around the cooling lake. The lake is a lot of area...its got to dump a lot of water in a big rain storm. What would the breach of the embankment look like?

To tell you the truth, I worry about the roofs. Will the roof drains be sufficient?  Are we worrying about a collapsed roof.

Wadsworth and Bay city upriver?

USS McCain and Fitzgarlad: We Are Under Severe and Sustained Attack By Forces Unknown!!!!

I tried to put this on the Naval Institute. There is a broad sentiment the sailors have lost trust in their senior command...

Just think, if this was true and it got out. In our environment today, just imagine the political fallout this would bring to Washington and our homes??? 

The McCain name are tremendously militarily and political symbolic for us. The John McCain of today was a presidential candidate and he is the Chairmen of the Senate Arms Service Committee today. We are all praying from him. He is at the pentacle of military control and power in the USA.  How can you not come to the conclusion this was a symbolic spear to the heart to the USA with the so called collision.  

You can’t even imagine what is ahead of you. Like a retroactive reinterpretation of old reports, evaluation and grades. It is like the proverbial snowball rolling down the hill. It is collecting a lot of energy and it won’t stop until the energy is spent. We had nuke plants with exemplary regulatory and corporate grades get reevaluated retroactively with the new eyes after a unexspected accident, into below F failing grades. The regulators (congress) fearing a widespread loss of public credibility, they are going to go nuts on you to protect their public credibility. These things have to be evaluated in the contextually of the times we live in.

You need to establish a separate link on the Navy’s internet site. Dump all the internal documents  (searchable) questioning any warfighting and operations issues like on the McCain, Fitzgerald, Fort Worth, Cowpens and others. 

The time frame and nature of the last two collision are too succinct. It implies a intelligent is at work. These were effectively a tee bone collision. Why no glancing blow collision. The Russian involvement in our elections might give us a clue. I doubt their intentions was to throw an election…it was scandal-mongrelizing as a asymmetric warfare. Their intention was to create a destabilizing political/constitutional crisis is the USA no matter who won. These damn Russians know us better than we know ourselves and are intelligent as hell. I believe the Russians, the Chinese, the North Koreans, or whoever, or them all, are scandal mongrelizing trying to destabilize our government. I believe the Russians knows the vulnerabilities of the military better than the admirals or any politicians in Washington.  They are using the vulnerabilities of our democracy, weapons of mass “attention gaining” tricks to undermine our country. 

You people see a accident, I see a engineered outcome.

So at the heart of this, I think these two incidences were setup. It is to shame our government with all the military vulnerabilities discovered. It is a government destabilization operation. A less likely theory, it is cabal in the military. Its aim is to bring to light  to the public our inherent latent military vulnerabilities.  

You wonder if the sonic problems in Cuba are similar? It is to undermine our government. It is to make the US government weak and unstable in our eyes.

You need to game this out. Say a war with North Korea and others. What if a lot the military gear shows up broken or degraded? How do you assure to the politicians and public the military has got this handled? I am sure a lot of entities our there are dying to get into a war with our political weaknesses. Faith in government is our most precious treasure, by far our highest national security priority. We floundering on the rocks.  

How would you stress test our military like they stress test the banks? I would carefully analyze component failure down to a flat tire or hiccup within our games now going on in south Korea. I’d be seriously be looking for a confirmatory signals in the military on the magnitude of the decline in war fighting capabilities. I would be desperately looking for that signal???

The highest risk in this, we are undergoing a severe attack by forces unknown. It is a nation destabilization operation on going…

Grand Gulf and River Bend Is Still Capacity Factor Impaired

How can Entergy even make money on their southern Fleet? One is 65% power and the other one is 70%

NYT's Is Inaccurate: Wounded USS John McCain Had Two Collisions w/i 24 Hours

Update: I heard Acorn or Swift speak barge in their recent public comments. I have been researching the barge comment to double check my post. I am having troubles finding it. Maybe it is misspeak. Here is the Navy Times misspeak about barges.  

 

Navy's 7th Fleet no stranger to high ops tempo

NavyTimes.com-Aug 21, 2017

The destroyer John S. McCain is shown moored pier side at Changi Naval Base ... when it sustained a collision with an oil barge three times its size. ... of the rumors surrounding the collision involving the USS John S. McCain

The wounded USS McCain hit a oil barge on the way to the pier. So that is five vessel collisions. 

Commander of Naval Fleet Relieved of Duty After Collisions

By ERIC SCHMITT and RICHARD C. PADDOCKAUG. 22, 2017 

Commander of Naval Fleet Relieved of Duty After Collisions

WASHINGTON — Two days after ordering a rare suspension of ship operations worldwide, the Navy relieved the commander of the fleet that had sustained four accidents in Asia and the deaths of more than a dozen sailors this year.