IBEW Local 97 leader says little preventative maintenance work is being done at reactors (strike)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: syracuse.com

By Ted Skerpon
IBEW Local 97

While Constellation Energy Nuclear Group (CENG) promotes its top value as safety, one of its core values is its employees, including the striking workers who continually operate and maintain the facility in a safe manner. That is the main reason the facility is still operating today.

The Nine Mile Point facility continues to operate under a “strike contingency plan” developed by CENG and approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). IBEW Local 97, elected officials and the media have questioned whether those individuals operating and maintaining the facility have the qualifications to operate the facility safely. CENG and NRC responses to these challenges have been vague and non-assuring.

While both reactors at the facility continue to operate, minimal, if any, preventative maintenance work has been performed since the strike began. The periodic, required procedural surveillances normally performed by striking workers are being performed by individuals who normally provide “oversight” to striking workers. These individuals have not performed preventative maintenance or surveillance tasks in years, if at all, and have not completed the level of task qualifications as the striking workers.

Sam Belcher of CENG says “our most highly-trained licensed operators are not a part of Local 97.” This statement couldn’t be further from the truth. There are 52 reactor operators (ROs) who belong to Local 97 and are on strike. These individuals perform the daily tasks of operating the reactor along with the manipulation of associated equipment. A senior reactor operator (SRO) is initially trained to the level of a RO, but upon being licensed as an SRO, they no longer perform the tasks associated with operating the reactor. The ROs continually attend training to remain proficient in normal and abnormal operation of the reactor. Training evaluations are routinely performed in the control room simulators for both reactors. The ROs perform the hands-on operation; the SROs provide direction and oversight. When a training evaluation is deemed to be unsatisfactory, it is usually due to the incorrect action directed by an SRO. The same SROs are now operating the reactors with no level of oversight.


Read more: http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2011/07/sundays_readers_page_centerpie.html

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Ted Skerpon is business manager, president and financial secretary of IBEW Local 97, which represents 580 of Nine Mile Point’s about 1,000 employees.

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2. KR -- back later to read -- We need to begin to shut these things down... Global Warming is coming!!

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. rec. important topic.

[Wednesdays]

4. K&R

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