Where are you working during the Covid-10 shutdown - March 23rd

[J5V]

57 minutes ago, Tracker said:

Does a guy named Homer work there?

Doh!

[Noeller]

2 hours ago, J5V said:

Doh!

Funny enough... I'm from Pinawa, which most know is a nuclear town. Was Atomic Energy of Canada for awhile and now is Canadian Nuclear Labs, but for awhile in the late 90s/early 00s, the guy in charge of AECL Whiteshell was a Mr Burns.... My dad, a firefighter for AECL, always got a kick outta that. 

[J5V]

1 hour ago, Noeller said:

Funny enough... I'm from Pinawa, which most know is a nuclear town. Was Atomic Energy of Canada for awhile and now is Canadian Nuclear Labs, but for awhile in the late 90s/early 00s, the guy in charge of AECL Whiteshell was a Mr Burns.... My dad, a firefighter for AECL, always got a kick outta that. 

That's amazing!

Let me share with you what it was like in the plant in the last few weeks before they decided to send all non-essential staff home.

As you may know, there are radiological zones in the plant ranging from low risk of spreading radiation to high risk. The zones are clearly delineated and you must pass through various types of radiation detection monitors to move from one zone to another. Normally you are free to go about your business provided you monitor properly between zones. There is zero tolerance, understandably, for not monitoring. Can't be spreading radiation around. In the last few weeks, they had people stationed at these zonal boundaries ensuring that we not only monitored but used the hand sanitizing stations that had been added and everything we touched was immediately sprayed and wiped down with disinfectant.

We also had to practice social distancing at all times. It's a strange thing shouting at each other, maintaining distance from each other. It's a strange thing having your movements monitored at all times by security personnel, guys in full riot gear with helmets and automatic weapons eyeballing your every movement. You must show and present to security your identification badges. You must use hand geometry to gain access to certain areas of the plant and it's a strange thing to have someone come behind you and spray down everything you touched with Lysol. 

Not only could we not spread a radioactive particle. Now we couldn't spread a germ. I saw guys escorted from site because they had developed a cough or a runny nose. Rather than deal with it any longer they just shut the whole thing down and allowed only essential staff. 

It's a huge facility housing 8 nuclear reactors. The place is used to thousands of people coming and going every day. It is now a virtual ghost town. It is absolutely eerie.

Strange times. 

[Eternal optimist]

8 hours ago, Noeller said:

Funny enough... I'm from Pinawa, which most know is a nuclear town. Was Atomic Energy of Canada for awhile and now is Canadian Nuclear Labs, but for awhile in the late 90s/early 00s, the guy in charge of AECL Whiteshell was a Mr Burns.... My dad, a firefighter for AECL, always got a kick outta that. 

I went to a science camp held there during high school, cool place, lots of old people... but on those nice summer days it was a great little place to be around. We even worked/studied out of the old AECL buildings which was neat, but unfortunately the buildings are old sepulchers now, shells of their former glory...

Nuclear energy has sadly gotten a bad rap ever since the WW2 bombs and three mile island...

[Noeller]

4 hours ago, Eternal optimist said:

I went to a science camp held there during high school, cool place, lots of old people... but on those nice summer days it was a great little place to be around. We even worked/studied out of the old AECL buildings which was neat, but unfortunately the buildings are old sepulchers now, shells of their former glory...

Nuclear energy has sadly gotten a bad rap ever since the WW2 bombs and three mile island...

I love Pinawa... It's my favourite place on earth.... But it is forever 1963, in so many ways. 

[Mark H.]

I had some students do their local history project on the story of the nuclear plant at Pinawa.

[Noeller]

3 hours ago, Mark H. said:

I had some students do their local history project on the story of the nuclear plant at Pinawa.

neat! I have a not-so-mild obsession with my hometown and its history. My grandfather was one of the "founding fathers", and received the Order of Manitoba for his work in designing the town. It's pretty great....

[Mark H.]

On 2020-03-23 at 9:43 PM, Mark H. said:

As someone who lives and teaches in a Hutterite community, I got permission from the local school division to keep my class room open, as our community has been in voluntary isolation for two weeks now.  Also still teaching my interactive television courses. 

Things have now shifted for me.  With 14 new cases in the province, we are closing our church, communal dining hall, and my classroom - just sent my students home with 2 days worth of work.