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The Michigan Messenger going forward

By Staff Report | 11.16.11

I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]

Colorado-based abstinence program provided false and misleading information to Michigan students

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.16.11

An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.

Class action lawsuit filed against MERS over unpaid taxes

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By Todd A. Heywood | 11.15.11

Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.

Schuette fights important mercury regulations

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By Eartha Jane Melzer | 11.14.11

Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.

Dialog continues on safety issues raised by accident at Cook nuclear plant

By Eartha Jane Melzer | 10.08.07 | 8:14 pm

Bill Schalk, spokesman for the Cook nuclear power plant in Bridgman, said today that tomorrow morning he will provide Michigan Messenger readers with answers to a series of questions stemming from a recent accident at the Cook facility.

Last week a worker at the Cook plant was injured when a piece of equipment fell from a crane during a refueling operation. The worker was taken to the Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph where it was determined that he/she was radioactively contaminated.

Out of concern that this matter be covered accurately, Schalk agreed to post responses to questions in the comments section of this website.

Last Friday Schalk was asked to share details about the radiation detected on that worker in the hospital and to explain the procedures in place to respond to injuries involving radioactive contamination.

The Michigan Messenger also asked Schalk to explain a crane accident that took place during a refueling operation last year. In that case, according to an Nuclear Regulatory Commission report, a crane dropped a 37-ton load. Readers would like to know from what height the load dropped and at what exact time.

Schalk was also asked how Cook officials responded to an advisory issued last year by the crane manufacturer, Whiting Corporation. In a notice recorded by the NRC, the Whiting corporation warned that a design analysis indicated that operations at the Cook facility were subjecting cranes to “overstress conditions.”

Check back tomorrow to read Schalk’s responses to these and other questions.

Readers can register to join in with a comment or question.

Comments

  • Cookinfo

    Additional crane answers I posted this with the original story, but will also answer here.

    ###

    The contamination was not actually on the injured worker, it was on the bottom of the backboard and basket used to transport the worker. The level was at the very low range of what can be detected by the highly sensitive plant equipment.
    These are not related incidents. In 2006, the failure of a lifting rig (the piece between the crane and the load) resulted in a concrete block sliding about 15 feet back down the guiding slots to its pre-lift position. Last week, a worker was injured when a piece fell while contractors were disassembling a lifting rig. I don’t consider that a lifting incident. For example, if a mechanic was injured while working on my car, I wouldn’t call it a car accident.

    We completed a modification to our turbine building crane as a result of the advisory. The cranes in the containment building were not included in that advisory.

    Your questions about containment building integrity, heavy lift paths and spent fuel are all good discussion points about nuclear power, but they are unrelated to the news story above. If there is a site where you would like to debate nuclear power, I suggest we move this discussion there.

  • Cookinfo

    Additional crane answers I posted this with the original story, but will also answer here.

    ###

    The contamination was not actually on the injured worker, it was on the bottom of the backboard and basket used to transport the worker. The level was at the very low range of what can be detected by the highly sensitive plant equipment.

    These are not related incidents. In 2006, the failure of a lifting rig (the piece between the crane and the load) resulted in a concrete block sliding about 15 feet back down the guiding slots to its pre-lift position. Last week, a worker was injured when a piece fell while contractors were disassembling a lifting rig. I don't consider that a lifting incident. For example, if a mechanic was injured while working on my car, I wouldn't call it a car accident.

    We completed a modification to our turbine building crane as a result of the advisory. The cranes in the containment building were not included in that advisory.

    Your questions about containment building integrity, heavy lift paths and spent fuel are all good discussion points about nuclear power, but they are unrelated to the news story above. If there is a site where you would like to debate nuclear power, I suggest we move this discussion there.

  • Eartha Jane Melzer

    thanks for your response — some follow-up questions I still don't have a clear picture of the risks and injuries sustained by the worker or the preparations Cook has made with Lakeland hospital.

    How long had the worker been working in the containment area? Can you describe the clothes he was wearing? Was he wearing a respirator? What was the radiation field in the area in which the worker was operating? How many rems did this worker receive during this incident?

    How far did the rigging clevis fall? How heavy was it?

    Were the fuel rods still in vessel when the worker was struck?

    What is the make and model of the cranes in the containment area? How long had the crane involved in the recent incident been in the containment area? Is this a crane that has been in the reactor containment room since the plant went on line?

     

  • Cookinfo

    Just saw the additional questions … … and I'm not going to be able to get back to you right away. Hopefully I can by Monday afternoon.

  • Eartha Jane Melzer

    thanks for your response — some follow-up questions I still don’t have a clear picture of the risks and injuries sustained by the worker or the preparations Cook has made with Lakeland hospital.

    How long had the worker been working in the containment area? Can you describe the clothes he was wearing? Was he wearing a respirator? What was the radiation field in the area in which the worker was operating? How many rems did this worker receive during this incident?

    How far did the rigging clevis fall? How heavy was it?

    Were the fuel rods still in vessel when the worker was struck?

    What is the make and model of the cranes in the containment area? How long had the crane involved in the recent incident been in the containment area? Is this a crane that has been in the reactor containment room since the plant went on line?

     

  • Cookinfo

    Just saw the additional questions … … and I’m not going to be able to get back to you right away. Hopefully I can by Monday afternoon.

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