Hard work never killed anyone, but why risk it?
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Posted:Sep 21, 2008 11:17 pm
Last Updated:Oct 26, 2008 1:17 am
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Ah, my first post. I just discovered blogging for points, so here we go. Unfortunately, it's not just by chance that this occurred...
Many people are familiar with the phrase "good enough for government work," signifying that no more time, money, or effort is going to be spent on that project. This is typically because those resources could be better spent elsewhere, or government employees are lazy. Heh.
Anyhoo... I suppose I should have realized as I majored in nuclear engineering, that nothing is ever quite good enough for the nuclear power industry. In college, it was straightforward, with sterile calculations of benefit and risk. In the real word, though, "nuclear" is a magic word that strikes fear into the hearts of the general populace. This is reflected in a surprisingly direct way, by the overregulation of the industry by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
I know, I know, many people argue that you can't possibly overregulate such a potentially hazardous process. Now I could go on and on about how thousands and thousands of people have been killed mining, processing, and burning coal, and only a few dozen by nuclear power generation, or I could mention that the radiation output of coal plants is significantly higher than from a nuclear power plant. By the way, if you have any questions or want to discuss the pros and cons of the nuclear industry, I love sharing.
WARNING: I got carried away here so you can skip this next paragraph if you want.
No matter how safe the plant employees think they are, however, restrictions and limits are dictated by the government. For chemistry, some of the limits of foreign material in the coolant are so low they're nearly undetectable. This means that even a tiny little bit of stuff left in the system, like that produced by welding sparks, puts the chemistry department in crisis mode, stirs up management, and can shut the plant down. It's a nervous business. There's a whole department on site devoted to calculating the risk of various accidents based on current plant conditions, on the order of a billionth to a trillionth of a chance annually. About 200 plants in the US that will operate for 40 years... that's less than .000008 chance of a release ever occurring in the US, even with the current obsolete plants. Even if a "release" occurs, there are so many redundant safeguards systems in place that even people on-site probably wouldn't get any radiation dose, much less the general public. It's so much safer than other industries is almost laughable.
And yet... with the philosophy that we could always be better or safer... lacking clear goals, it was difficult to be sure you'd managed your time and focused on the things that would turn out to be more important, especially for a new employee. Also, the plant produced so much power that any extra time down cost our company millions of dollars each day.
Therefore, if I did anything that caused more than a hiccup in the chemistry of the coolant water, or if I couldn't figure out what was going on fast enough, I, personally, could strain the Texas electrical grid, as well as lose millions of dollars and cost my coworkers their bonuses. Dealing with people and products and the actual unpredictable running of a plant was a HUGE shock, and incredibly stressful. I resigned in June, and am currently substitute teaching at the local school while I job hunt, thus the lack of money to maintain a membership, and the subsequent point scrounging.
Phew! It may be awhile before I post again haha.
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