Oil leak closes Shearon Harris for repairs

[Patty52]

I cross Jordan Lake on 64 each morning and I noticed there was no visible plume today. Turns out this is why.

Progress Energy idles nuclear plant
Submitted by davidranii on 11/16/2009 - 09:48

Progress Energy idled its Shearon Harris nuclear plant in southwest Wake County Sunday night after an oil leak was discovered.

"This is a non-nuclear issue," said Mike Hughes, a spokesman for the Raleigh-based utility. "It's a mechanical issue."

The leak was discovered at 10:42 p.m. as maintenance workers were changing an oil filter on a platform used to lubricate the main generator. The leak arose from a faulty handle on the filter, Hughes said.

Hughes said he couldn't project when the plant will resume operating.

"They are working just as fast as they can and as safely as they can to get back online as quickly as possible," he said.

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/business/progress-energy-idles-nuclear-plant

WRAL has a story, too: http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/6429335/

[seitaer]

It's nice to know when we're not in danger of nuclear armageddon they'll report an issue.

[Beckysews]

Probably that explosion at the landfill shook something loose

[snowcamper]

Random thoughts on Armageddon:

Will someone let me know when I can crawl out of my fallout shelter?

I mean, NCWARN keeps telling us that things like this are proof that catastrophe is just around the corner...

All of the BBS liberals ought to be worried that I might be the only living person left to run Chatham County if that things goes.  I think that only Silk Hope would have time to join me before the fallout reached us.

I'm surprised they shut the plant down for such a thing... they usually have such a suicidal impulse that they ignore routine maintenance and never check things like the coolant lake levels.  The helpless, ignorant employees there are well known for endangering their families and communities by deliberately ignoring all dangers and warning signs.  None of them know what they're doing, either.

To hear NCWARN tell it, they maintain the plant similar to the way the government maintains our school buildings...

I wonder what was more dangerous... leaking oil at a nuclear plant or the discharge by the biofuels place...  Or the traffic jams created by the magic bus.

Windmills would be so much safer.  Since we have very little wind in this part of NC, they would go practically unused and therefore need little maintenance.  Windmills would never have an oil leakage like Shearon did  and since each windmill would have a dedicated team of employees, any such leaks would be caught quickly   .

How many birds died during this accident?  How many could have died?

How many members of NCWARN does it take to change a light bulb?  Answer:  Renewable, all natural, organic, free range, whale fat candles.  Lightbulbs are for people who hate the planet.

This oil leak is one more proof of global warming.

[wolfpat]

Well, at least Progress Energy has learned the lessons from the incident at the Brunswick Plant back in 1980, when the Turbine Lube Oil System was sabotaged with sand, wire and wood chunks.

There was also a problem with the oil system at Shearon Harris during one of their early runs. I never knew the cause of it, but when they disassembled the turbine bearings, the journals looked like Edison recordings.

[Silk_Hope]

Random thoughts on Armageddon:

Will someone let me know when I can crawl out of my fallout shelter?

I mean, NCWARN keeps telling us that things like this are proof that catastrophe is just around the corner...

All of the BBS liberals ought to be worried that I might be the only living person left to run Chatham County if that things goes.  I think that only Silk Hope would have time to join me before the fallout reached us.

I'm surprised they shut the plant down for such a thing... they usually have such a suicidal impulse that they ignore routine maintenance and never check things like the coolant lake levels.  The helpless, ignorant employees there are well known for endangering their families and communities by deliberately ignoring all dangers and warning signs.  None of them know what they're doing, either.

To hear NCWARN tell it, they maintain the plant similar to the way the government maintains our school buildings...

I wonder what was more dangerous... leaking oil at a nuclear plant or the discharge by the biofuels place...  Or the traffic jams created by the magic bus.

Windmills would be so much safer.  Since we have very little wind in this part of NC, they would go practically unused and therefore need little maintenance.  Windmills would never have an oil leakage like Shearon did  and since each windmill would have a dedicated team of employees, any such leaks would be caught quickly   .

How many birds died during this accident?  How many could have died?

How many members of NCWARN does it take to change a light bulb?  Answer:  Renewable, all natural, organic, free range, whale fat candles.  Lightbulbs are for people who hate the planet.

This oil leak is one more proof of global warming.

You crack me up Camper!!!

I was 70 miles from TMI when it melted, no worries here, we even drove to Central PA to retrieve my sister from college during the incident. I had a I Survived TMI t-shirt years ago.

[Chathamwolf]

I'm sure Jim Warren and NC WARN are writing their death's head press releases as we speak (or just pulling one out of their file). This is simply maintenance doing their job. Good job and thanks for letting us know what is going on.

[belle]

Random thoughts on Armageddon:

Will someone let me know when I can crawl out of my fallout shelter?

I mean, NCWARN keeps telling us that things like this are proof that catastrophe is just around the corner...

All of the BBS liberals ought to be worried that I might be the only living person left to run Chatham County if that things goes.  I think that only Silk Hope would have time to join me before the fallout reached us.

I'm surprised they shut the plant down for such a thing... they usually have such a suicidal impulse that they ignore routine maintenance and never check things like the coolant lake levels.  The helpless, ignorant employees there are well known for endangering their families and communities by deliberately ignoring all dangers and warning signs.  None of them know what they're doing, either.

To hear NCWARN tell it, they maintain the plant similar to the way the government maintains our school buildings...

I wonder what was more dangerous... leaking oil at a nuclear plant or the discharge by the biofuels place...  Or the traffic jams created by the magic bus.

Windmills would be so much safer.  Since we have very little wind in this part of NC, they would go practically unused and therefore need little maintenance.  Windmills would never have an oil leakage like Shearon did  and since each windmill would have a dedicated team of employees, any such leaks would be caught quickly   .

How many birds died during this accident?  How many could have died?

How many members of NCWARN does it take to change a light bulb?  Answer:  Renewable, all natural, organic, free range, whale fat candles.  Lightbulbs are for people who hate the planet.

This oil leak is one more proof of global warming.

not yet, camper! just stay there. we'll be fine without you.

don't worry.

[Patty52]

There was still no plume this morning, so I checked on the plant's status. Yuck.

Shearon Harris oil "leak" slicks plant with 7,000 gallons
Submitted by johnmurawski on 11/17/2009 - 14:59

The officially dubbed "oil leak" that shut down the Shearon Harris nuclear plant over the weekend was no mere trickle but a geyser that drenched surrounding equipment and coagulated into a pool on the floor.

About 7,000 gallons gushed out of the plant's main generator's oil seal system, draining half of the system's pressurized lubricant, according to Progress Energy, the company that owns the power plant.

The accident serves as a reminder of the sheer industrial scale of a nuclear power complex that generates 900 megawatts of power and employs 600 people. Within five minutes of the mishap, Shearon Harris operators shut down the nuclear reactor at 10:42 p.m. Sunday night and embarked an industrial cleanup that has continued until this afternoon.

Several dozen workers are cleaning up the spill at the nuclear plant located about 25 miles southwest of Raleigh.

"An operator was manipulating the valve when the valve handle came flying out," said Joey Ledford, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "They've got a lot of people in there cleaning up oil."

The NRC, which oversees nuclear plant safety for the nation's 104 commercial reactors, said the oil spill posed no public hazard and did not affect the reactor itself. Raleigh-based Progress, the majority owner of the Shearon Harris plant, shut down the reactor because the plant wasn't able to produce electricity with the generator out of commission.

An NRC event report described the incident as a "large oil leak."

Ledford said the oil streamed out like a punctured artery and coated equipment in the generator room. Progress has already replaced a pump motor that was damaged by oil spray, he said.

There's still no word on when Progress expects to resume generating electricity at the plant as operators tackle the gooey mess.

"It's an oil spill at a nuclear plant, it's not out of a lawnmower," said Progress spokesman Mike Hughes. "A spill like this takes a lot of cleanup."

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/business/shearon-harris-oil-leak-slicks-plant-with-7000-gallons

I'm so bad. All I can think of is how much kitty litter it would take to soak up 7,000 gallons.

[garboon]

Dr. Edna Casey: Look! There he is! It's the president!

[ a gigantic Jimmy Carter is seen outside of the window ]

Everyone in room: Mr. President! Mr. President!

President Jimmy Carter: Good afternoon, everybody. I'm afraid that since the army clothing engineers have been unable to fit me with a giant loincloth, I'll have to adress you through this window. First, let me say that this experience has not changed my committment to nuclear power, nor do I believe that my enourmous size will in any way limit my abilities to perfrom my duties in my office. However, this will mean some changes in my personal life. Rosalyn, I hate to spring this on you this way, but I'd like to introduce you all to my future wife and my next first lady. She was a widow, and, until recently, a maintainance worker here at Two Mile Island. Miss Violet Crawford.

[ Violet comes in looking through the window, having also become a giant from radiation, as Rosalyn Carter hits the wall in shock ]

Violet: Hi, everybody. As First Lady, I'd like to say I have nothing against nuclear power, honey. It's the best thing that ever happened to me.

[belle]

Dr. Edna Casey: Look! There he is! It's the president!

[ a gigantic Jimmy Carter is seen outside of the window ]

Everyone in room: Mr. President! Mr. President!

President Jimmy Carter: Good afternoon, everybody. I'm afraid that since the army clothing engineers have been unable to fit me with a giant loincloth, I'll have to adress you through this window. First, let me say that this experience has not changed my committment to nuclear power, nor do I believe that my enourmous size will in any way limit my abilities to perfrom my duties in my office. However, this will mean some changes in my personal life. Rosalyn, I hate to spring this on you this way, but I'd like to introduce you all to my future wife and my next first lady. She was a widow, and, until recently, a maintainance worker here at Two Mile Island. Miss Violet Crawford.

[ Violet comes in looking through the window, having also become a giant from radiation, as Rosalyn Carter hits the wall in shock ]

Violet: Hi, everybody. As First Lady, I'd like to say I have nothing against nuclear power, honey. It's the best thing that ever happened to me.

ok, I din't know what that was, but Jimmy Carter loves Rosalyn. 

and garboon, you owe wives everywhere an...explaination?

[garboon]

Dr. Edna Casey: Look! There he is! It's the president!

[ a gigantic Jimmy Carter is seen outside of the window ]

Everyone in room: Mr. President! Mr. President!

President Jimmy Carter: Good afternoon, everybody. I'm afraid that since the army clothing engineers have been unable to fit me with a giant loincloth, I'll have to adress you through this window. First, let me say that this experience has not changed my committment to nuclear power, nor do I believe that my enourmous size will in any way limit my abilities to perfrom my duties in my office. However, this will mean some changes in my personal life. Rosalyn, I hate to spring this on you this way, but I'd like to introduce you all to my future wife and my next first lady. She was a widow, and, until recently, a maintainance worker here at Two Mile Island. Miss Violet Crawford.

[ Violet comes in looking through the window, having also become a giant from radiation, as Rosalyn Carter hits the wall in shock ]

Violet: Hi, everybody. As First Lady, I'd like to say I have nothing against nuclear power, honey. It's the best thing that ever happened to me.

ok, I din't know what that was, but Jimmy Carter loves Rosalyn. 

and garboon, you owe wives everywhere an...explaination?

This was an old skit on SNL where they spilled soda into the reactor controls - 'the pepsi syndrome'.
They sent the cleaning lady into the reactor vessel to mop up the spill(garret Morris)
Jimmy Carter (Dan Ackroyd) showed up and  being and experienced nuclear engineer also went into the vessel -
they both grew huge and that's when they showed up on the screen and this scene happened.

[wolfpat]

I remember that one. Chevy Chase was still the primary host for SNL back then.

Jeez, I'm getting old.

[belle]

I remember that one. Chevy Chase was still the primary host for SNL back then.

Jeez, I'm getting old.

no, you are aging nicely, like a fine wine.

[wolfpat]

I remember that one. Chevy Chase was still the primary host for SNL back then.

Jeez, I'm getting old.

no, you are aging nicely, like a fine wine.

I feel like I'm aging like milk.

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