Earlier today I posted about the Raleigh nuke's third shutdown in two months after a four year period without any shutdowns. In looking through NRC event reports, I came across this:

COURTESY NOTIFICATION REGARDING A FATALITY WITHIN THE OWNER CONTROLLED AREA | | OUTSIDE THE 1,400-FOOT | The following text is a portion of a facsimile received from the licensee "At approximately 2212 on 03/15/99, Robinson Security [personnel] notified the Control Room of an automobile with a fatality on the West Entrance Road access to the plant outside the site boundary. The cause of the fatality is unknown, and this occurrence is being investigated by local law enforcement agencies and the State Law Enforcement Division. Due to the fatality occurring off-site, but on CP&L property adjacent to the site boundary, and [due to] the interaction of several off-site agencies responding to the scene, the NRC Operations Center is being notified as a courtesy. This call is for informational purposes only and does not fall within the reporting criteria of 10 CFR 2." The licensee notified the NRC resident inspector. The licensee does not plan to issue a press release.

End Paste

I presume it was not a collision fatality since the report says cause unknown. I presume that tonight's newscasts will cover this story. This set of stories/coincidences is starting to take on the character of cheap fiction.

-- Puddintame (dit@dot.com), March 16, 1999

Answers

Wasn't there a Meryl Streep movie along these lines (something... "wood")?

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), March 16, 1999.

Puddintame,

A word of advise to you. You may want to hang low and curtail your investigation for a few days.

A few months ago, the local paper ran an ad about a man that had worked for a nuke plant that exposed a problem with the core and some bad screws. Let us just say that he had to leave his job, has gotten beaten, and is worried for his family.

I'm not saying that anyone will notice you looking, but be on the safe side. O-Tay?

-- (cannot-say@this.time), March 16, 1999.

Brooks, that would be the move Silkwood. It was radiation for sure.

-- (cannot-say@this.time), March 16, 1999.

Cannot-say, fortunately all I'm doing is rummaging around in already public documents. I can safely say that you're not going to find me rummaging around the plant at midnight with a Geiger counter or a recording device.

-- Puddintame (dit@dot.com), March 16, 1999.

Puddintame,

I was even talking about the public documents. You are never anonymous.

-- (cannot-say@this.time), March 16, 1999.

Puddintame, posted a request for expert opinion on this

Interesting article: Shutdown or Meltdown? Nuclear Power Plants and the Year 2000 Problem

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx

-- Leska (allaha@earthlink.net), March 16, 1999.

Puddintame:

Run for your bunker Now! Black Helicopters are on there way stuffed full of UN troops - seems they have heard about your sleuthing. Be very afraid...

-- Y2K Pro (afraid@theguv.com), March 16, 1999.

The first thought that comes to mind is "he knew too much"

-- Shoot dem, shoot dem both. (gestapo@reich3.org), March 16, 1999.

Y2K pro, the only thing I'm afraid of is that at the rate they're going through spare pumps and valves they're going to be in deep low- intensity waste before too long.

Got rebuild kits?

-- Puddintame (dit@dot.com), March 16, 1999.

Well since you seem to proclaim expertise, why not offer them your services? Every power company needs at least one paranoid, guvment fearing, X-files watchin' nimrod to keep them on their toes. You'll do fine!

-- Y2K Pro (afraid@theguvment.com), March 16, 1999.

Y2KPro - but I like the X-Files and I'm as Polly as they come. That's OK isn't it?? :-)

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), March 16, 1999.

OK, Y2K Pro. You win. I lose. Congratulations. Next!

-- Puddintame (dit@dot.com), March 16, 1999.

"Run for your bunker Now! Black Helicopters are on there way stuffed full of UN troops - seems they have heard about your sleuthing. Be very afraid..."

Hey zippy, in case you haven't noticed, black helicopters do exist. We also trade officers with other countries, even in Delta Force. I'm as amazed as anyone that the black helo's are more than myth. Odd thing is, this is the only post that you've made that actually makes sense.

-- d (d@usedtobedgi.old), March 16, 1999.

Excellent, Smithers. That's the last time that Homer Simpson character causes an unplanned shutdown at my plant.

-- C. Montgomery Burns (springfield@nuclear.com), March 16, 1999.

I know nothing!

-- ed (edrider007@aol.com), March 16, 1999.

Don't know about the Raleigh News & Observer, but the Durham Herald-Sun has a policy of not reporting suicides/attempted suicides, unless it's a Vince Foster type or murder-suicide, something like that. Not saying this is what happened, but it's a possible explanation.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), March 17, 1999.

WRAL news did not report on this last night. Maybe for the policy reasons you mentioned. I'm curious about the undetermined cause of death. I've always thought it was strange that so many suicides occur at the family home where it's going to make life so much more difficult for the survivors, but I presume that most people in that state of depression are not capable of taking such things into consideration. It would seem reasonable to drive somewhere and if suicide is contemplated, but does that happen in a significant percentage of cases?

-- Puddintame (dit@dot.com), March 17, 1999.

Puddintame:

CP&L's Robinson plant is outside of Hartsville, South Carolina, not Raleigh, North Carolina.

-- Carol Lina (nocoverup@theRaleighpl.ant), March 17, 1999.

Carol, Yes, I posted a retraction this morning. See the retraction thread above.

-- Puddintame (dit@dot.com), March 17, 1999.