Chapter Three: Power Plant
Bureaucracy is hectic, very hectic. But for Cynthia Taylor, this day in the office was even more hectic. Cynthia had light blonde hair that hung down to her neck. She wore an aqua suit with an orange tie. She ran to her boss, she opened the door of the office and closed it. Richard Thompson sat at his desk, preparing documents on his computer. He was in his mid-sixties, had white hair and thick glasses. He was wearing a white shirt under a black suit with a red tie. He was surprised at Cynthia's sudden appearance.
"Have you ever heard the word 'knock'?" said Thompson calmly.
"Never mind, we have a problem!" Cynthia said under stress.
"And this is?"
"That worker who measured the impurity in the fuel assemblies at Harrisburg is now at Royal Woods."
"Is this a problem?" asked Thompson.
"Yes, because the fuel elements in Royal Woods one and Royal Woods two have the same impurity. And Royal Woods one is going into revision soon, which means that a measurement of the fuel elements is likely."
"Are the Royal Woods fuel elements the same product that Harrisburg ordered?"
"No. You should know that Harrisburg has one pressurized water reactor and Royal Woods has two boiling water reactors. I don't think I need to tell you the difference."
"If they prove that again, we'll say it's from MOX manufacture." Thompson said matter-of-factly.
"Then other isotopes will be detected."
Thompson considered.
"Well, if they detect these isotopes, then we're going to have to take action." said Thompson calmly.
"Yes, sir." said Cynthia.
Cynthia left Thompson's office. She knew what taking action meant.
Lori and Natasha are on a bus. Lori had invited Natasha to the water park, so Natasha invited Lori to a place few people could enter. The Royal Woods nuclear power station. Natasha's father had registered the two as guests. The two spoke to each other.
"You have to explain that to me, what's so special about the food in the nuclear power plant?" asked Lori.
"Nothing at all. Goulash is supposed to be served today. My father said that the other workers call the stuff corium because it often burns your tongue. Plus boiled potatoes. That's a good lunch if you ask me." said Natasha.
"And why are we going there?"
"Because my father invited us and you've never been to a nuclear power plant."
"Yeah right." said Lori stressed.
Lori could be very authoritarian, but she was really afraid of something, nuclear power. She had heard very often about accidents like in Chernobyl, or the Three Mile Island accident, near Middleton, where Natasha had lived. The fear of an accident was very great. Especially the radiation that was always talked about. About making people sick, making them suffer and even killing them. Lori wasn't the only one in the family. Her mother, Lana, Luan, Luna and Lincoln shared her fears. As the bus turned onto Radium Street, Lori started sweating. She could already see the cooling towers on the left, from which hypnotic clouds were escaping. Lori got restless. Natasha noticed this.
"What's the matter Lori? Aren't you alright?" asked Natasha worried.
"Everything is OK." said Lori.
"No, it's not that. I can tell when someone is lying."
"It is. I'm scared of the nuclear power plant. I'm scared of this radiation. Scared of getting sick from it."
"There's no reason for that. I have a question, if your siblings have nightmares, do they sleep next to you?"
"Yes, but what does that have to do with the radiation, or with my fear?"
"If your siblings sleep next to you, even if they are standing next to you, you are exposed to an increased level of radiation. Because we humans also radiate. Because we naturally have small, radioactive particles in our bodies. If you are next to, or in the nuclear power plant, you get less radiation than when you stand next to your siblings."
Lori was confused. Was radiation everywhere? And it's not dangerous?
"I do not quite understand." said Lori.
"What I'm saying is, it depends on the dose. The lower the dose, the safer it is." Natsha said in a tone that Lori should calm down.
"And what about the accidents? Chernobyl? People got sick there. What happened there?" asked Lori.
"There was uncontrolled nuclear fission. Because of people operating the reactor incorrectly and because of secrecy on the part of the Soviet government. Chernobyl was a series of wrong decisions."
Lori wasn't stressed anymore. She felt safe with Natasha by her side. The bus drove down Radium Street. Beside the road there were meadows and street lamps at short intervals. Lori looked out the window. She saw the nuclear power plant often, but from afar. Now she was very close. She looked at the 200 meter high cooling towers. Then she looked at the buildings next to the two cooling towers. Two buildings in particular, which were quite large, caught her eye. They were square, concrete gray, and each had a red and white horizontally striped chimney.
"What are these buildings?" asked Lori.
"These are reactor blocks one and two. Inside there are the two boiling water reactors."
The bus stopped and the two got off. Natasha took a deep breath.
"Wonderful. Power Plant Air."
"You are crazy." grinned Lori.
The two went to the main building. There a security guard was standing next to an x-ray machine, which was also used at airports.
"Reason for your visit." said the security guard.
"We're going to visit my father. One of the operators." said Natsha.
"Yes, they are both registered. Your passports, please."
The two give the security guard their passports. He looked at the passports and directed them both to go through the X-ray machine. They went through. Lori first, then Natasha. The security guard didn't see anything he didn't like.
"You're all right. You can go on. Now the operators are on their lunch break."
The two said goodbye to the security guard. They walked down a corridor that led them to the canteen.
"When the operators are at lunch, who's in the control room?" asked Lori.
"The operators are divided into two groups. Then they go to lunch separately."
They walked on and entered the canteen. Natasha looked around. She saw a man with dark gray hair wearing white pants and a white lab coat sitting at a table. They went to him.
"Hi dad, this is Lori." Natasha greeted her father.
"Hello, I've heard a lot of good things about you." said Natasha's father.
"Hello Mr?" said Lori.
"Stevenson."
Lori and Mr. Stevenson shook hands.
The three went to get the food. Natasha had the biggest portion of them all. They sat down again.
"Natasha, watch your weight." said Lori worried.
"Don't worry Lori. Natasha's metabolism is much faster and that's why she needs more energy than us. Her excess weight comes from the thyroid malfunction." said Mr. Stevenson.
"Dad. Please." Natasha said sheepishly.
"I know I'm embarrassing." said Mr. Stevenson.
Two workers went to the three. A man, 55 years old, with gray hair and a gray mustache. And a woman, Long, free, black hair that hung below her shoulder. Both wore the same clothes as Mr. Stevenson.
"May we sit down?" asked the man.
"Of course. Natasha, Lori. This is Frank Rivera, the head of reactor block one. And this is Céleste Chevalier, the head of block Two. This is my daughter Natasha and her friend Lori." said Mr. Stevenson.
The two sit down. The woman answered with a heavy French accent.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." said Chevalier.
"Me too. You have an interesting accent, where are you from?" asked Lori.
"Fessenheim, in France. I worked at the nuclear power plant there."
"Exactly. And now she's causing trouble here." laughed Rivera.
"What do you mean?" asked Natasha.
"Fessenheim was known for its susceptibility to failure. Fessenheim was the oldest nuclear power plant in France. The Swiss in particular were afraid that our power plant would blow up." said Chevalier, with a slight grin.
"You are not afraid of an accident?" asked Lori.
"Yes we are." Stevenson said.
"Reactors don't make mistakes, only humans do." Rivera said.
"That's why we work very carefully and take everything seriously." said Chevalier.
They continued to eat and talk. Fifteen minutes later, a worker approached them and spoke to Chevalier.
"Excuse me, but the pressure in turbine three is dropping again." said the worker.
"Again? What's the matter, forget it. I'll be right there. Bye everyone." said Chevalier.
She got up and left the canteen with the worker.
"The second time today." Rivera said.
"Is it maybe xenon poisoning?" asked Natasha.
"Possibly. Reactor two ran at low power for a long time today." said Mr. Stevenson.
Lori got stressed. She didn't know what xenon poisoning was, but it didn't sound good.
"What is xenon poisoning?" asked Lori.
"During nuclear fission, the uranium atom produces the isotope iodine 135, a beta minus emitter. The iodine decays after a half-life of 6.6 hours to form xenon 135, a neutron absorber. It absorbs the neutrons and prevents nuclear fission." said Natasha.
"Your daughter is intelligent." Rivera said to Stevenson.
"Is she." Stevenson said.
Natasha's cheeks turned red. She was clearly embarrassed by the compliment. When they finished eating, they got up.
"So. Now I'm going to show you around the power plant." Stevenson said.
"Both of them should wear a personal dosimeter. Especially if you want to go to the turbine hall or the reactor hall." Rivera said.
They went into a room. Stevenson led them into a room. He opened a closet containing white pants, lab coats, and hats.
"You have to wear these clothes from now on." Stevenson said.
"Why?" asked Lori.
"In case you get contaminated. If you wear these clothes, your normal clothes or your skin will not be contaminated. And you pull the hats over your head, that should prevent contamination of the hair. Take your size and change in the wardrobe." said stevenson.
Stevenson took a hat and put it on. He showed the two the wardrobes and went to the next area to wait for the two. They changed. Lori felt awkward in such clothes while Natsha was nothing new.
"I should take a picture of it. Leni will find it interesting." said Lori.
"Is Leni the scientifically gifted one?" asked Natasha.
"No, that's Lisa. Leni is interested in fashion."
"Shall I take a picture?"
"Yes, please." said Lori.
Lori posed and Natasha takes a picture on her phone. She showed her.
"These clothes suit you." said Natasha.
"To you too." said Lori.
They left the cloakroom and went to Mr. Stevenson. He gave them a dosimeter, which they clipped to their lab coats.
"Your dosimeter will count your dose. You have to give it to me at the end to check if your dose is within the limits."
Now they went on. Walking down a corridor, the three came to an airlock. The door was thick. The radiation warning sign was attached to the door. Below the symbol was written: Warning of ionizing radiation and radioactive substances. Lori had a queasy feeling.
"Now you come to the nuclear reactor."
He entered a code into a number pad and the door opened. It was thick, like that of a bunker. They went through the door. She closed, and the next one opened. They went through again. The floor was light gray and very clean. On the side was a basin. They walked toward it.
"This is the spent fuel pool. The spent fuel elements have to cool down here for three years until they are cool enough to be transported safely. Since they are highly radioactive, we have to protect ourselves very well from them." Stevenson said.
Lori looked into the cooling pool. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. The fuel elements, which were incredibly radioactive and dangerous, were only twenty meters away from her. Natasha put her hand on Lori's back.
"Don't worry. You're safe here. The radiation is greatly weakened by the water. It's not dangerous if you're standing here." said Natasha.
Lori felt safe. Stevenson led them to a large cover. They stood on her.
"Lori, you are now standing over the heart of the nuclear power plant. A 3600 megawatt boiling water reactor. Below us, uranium atoms are being fissioned and an enormous amount of energy is being generated." Stevenson said.
"You mean there's a huge amount of water boiling below us?" asked Lori.
"That's right. The water evaporates in this reactor. But there is a type of reactor that is much more widespread, but whose energy yield is not as high as ours. Pressurized water reactors, in which the water in the reactor reaches temperatures of 300 degrees Celsius."
"Water evaporates at 100 degrees Celsius. How is that possible?" asked Lori.
"The water is under high pressure. The higher the pressure, the higher the boiling point. The water is vaporized below us and piped into the turbine hall. That's where we're going now."
They left the reactor hall and walked down a long corridor until they reached a normal door. The radiation warning sign was again attached to the door. Stevenson gave them hearing protection.
"You have to put these ear protectors in your ears because the turbines are loud. And one more thing, there's a yellow line on the floor. You're not supposed to step over it."
"Why?" asked Lori.
"The radioactive nitrogen isotope N 16 is in the steam. It decays after a half-life of seven seconds. That's why you're only allowed to enter certain parts of the turbine hall during operation."
The three stuffed the hearing protection into their ears and entered the turbine hall. It was very loud. Mr. Stevenson therefore refrained from talking and used very simple signs that both Natasha and Lori understood. Lori looked around. The turbines were huge. Lori saw a metal plaque on which the manufacturers of the turbines were written. Lori walked towards the metal plaque. She startled as a hand grabbed her shoulder and Lori pulled back. It was Stevenson. He pulled her back to natasha. Then he said something very loudly, without sounding angry.
"The line! I said don't cross the line!"
"Excuse me. I forgot." Lori said, still in shock.
Natasha saw that Lori was shaking slightly. Natsha walked over to her and held her hand behind her back. The three left the turbine hall. Then they stood in front of the door.
"Lori, I'm sorry for scaring you. But you have entered an area of increased radiation exposure," Stevenson said.
"Sorry. I forgot about that and didn't see the line." Lori said quietly.
"Don't worry Lori, it happened to me too, some years ago. What is Lori's dose Dad?" asked Natasha.
"Good question. Lori, your dosimeter, please."
Lori gave him the dosimeter and he looked at the display. He handed it back to her.
"How high?" asked Lori.
"The dose you got is the equivalent of an hour and a half in a flower meadow. Nothing dangerous." he said.
Lori was still in shock. They walked down the corridors again, and reached the control room. Mahogany wood was on the walls. The control panels were light gray and a whole wall was covered with analogue displays. In the center of this display was a schematic of the reactor showing the status of each control rod. Next to the schematic was a digital display, with red LEDs showing 2800 megawatts. Rivera, and other workers were there.
"There are our visitors. Do you like it here?" Rivera asked.
"Very." said Natasha, who still had her hand on Lori's back.
"Now you will see something that not all visitors see. The power of the reactor must be throttled. Stevenson, you can show them both." Rivera said.
Stevenson walked over to the large control panel that stretched across the room. With a wave of his hand he signaled to the two that they should come along. Natasha and Lori followed him. They watched him closely.
"Group three to 75 percent." Rivera said.
"Group three to 75 percent." repeated Stevenson.
Stevenson pushed a few buttons, and then it started. The reactor schematic flashed in an area labeled Group Three. At the same time, a tone sounded that sounded like a doorbell. It sounded three times. Stevenson looked at the display. Then the tone rang three times again. Rivera looked pleased. They repeated this with groups one through five. The power reading was now at 2800 megawatts and continued to decline.
"The power will now drop to 2560 megawatts. The tour is over. I'll accompany you out." Stevenson said.
Lori and Natasha said goodbye to the operators. They went back to the cloakroom and changed. Lori was glad to be back in her clothes. Stevenson escorted them to the main building.
"So you two, I was happy to show you the power plant." Stevenson said.
"I have to apologize again for crossing the line." said Lori.
"Lori. It wasn't your intention. You don't have to apologize. And don't worry about your dose, it's harmless. You won't be harmed." Stevenson said in a calm tone.
"Thanks Dad. I'll see you tonight." said Natasha.
"Bye Mister Stevenson." said Lori.
They walked out of the building and went to the bus stop. They were waiting for the bus.
"I'm sorry you weren't feeling well." said Natasha.
"It's not your fault."
Lori looked at the nuclear power plant.
"How did you get used to something like that? To the radiation? That your father handles dangerous substances?" Lori asked.
"I don't know. It sounds crazy to you, but I like nuclear power." said Natasha.
It got quiet. Lori looked back at the nuclear power plant. She was still afraid of what was going on in there. But she now feels a little more secure after meeting Natasha's father, Frank Rivera and Céleste Chevalier. They still had some time before dinner at the Louds. Lori wondered what else they can do. She looked at her cell phone.
"Natasha, do you like romantic movies?" asked Lori.
"Yes, I think so. Why?"
"The film "The Rock of Decisions" will be showing in the cinema soon. What do you think?"
"Well then let's go."
The bus came five minutes later. He drove down Radium Street and in ten minutes they reached the movie theater. They bought the tickets and lots of popcorn. They went to the middle of the theater and sat down. Natasha had some trouble setting. At first the seat would fold back up all the time, and then she had problems because the seat was slightly too narrow. Finally she sat down too. During the film they whispered to each other.
"It's James. He's the secret admirer." whispered Natasha.
"Are you crazy? It's Mark." whispered Lori.
They continued to watch the film. He was very good. When he was done, they left the cinema and went to the tram stop.
"Yeah, it wasn't Mag. Next time we see a movie like that, we bet." said Natasha.
"In any case." said Lori.
The tram came. It was a modern low-floor articulated railcar. It was also red with graphite gray window band. Natascha was particularly happy about this because she had no problems getting in. They drove into the station and got out. Natasha glanced at the railcar. At the bottom of the door was the name Stadler Tramlink in blue letters. They left the station and went to the Louds' house.
In Great Lake City, someone was also on the road. Cynthia went back to her office. She had fetched files from the university. She locked herself in her office and opened the files. It was a blueprint, and a schematic drawing. The top of the blueprint read ASEA Atom 1980. It was the blueprints for Royal Woods one and two. She studied them very carefully. Thompson had said they weren't taking any action just yet, but Cynthia wanted to be prepared.
"Groups 2 through 5 are the same. Group 1 is central. The rods are plus shaped and the boron oxide is steel encased." she said softly to herself.
She studied until the middle of the night.
The Louds had lasagne, Lynn's lasagne. Natasha likes this lasagna. The siblings were curious, they put some questions to Natasha.
"What did you actually do today?" asked Lincoln.
"Well, we went to the movies." said Lori.
"Which movie?" asked Lola.
"The rock of decision." said Lori.
"We watched it after we were in the nuclear power plant." said Natasha.
Rita, winced slightly. Lana jumped up and hid behind her mother.
"Mom, has she been irradiated? Is she radiating." Lana asked anxiously.
"Don't worry. She was only exposed to a small dose. She's not radioactive." said Natasha.
"What does a small dose mean?" asked Rita worried.
"Really, don't worry. My father works at the nuclear power plant and he immediately had her dose checked on the personal dosimeter. She had accidentally entered an area with elevated radiation exposure. The radiation dose she received was equivalent to an hour and a half in a flower meadow." said Natasha matter of factly.
"I would like to visit the nuclear power plant." said Lisa.
"You just have to register. Then you will be guided through the power plant." said Natasha.
Natasha turned to the other siblings.
"It's really interesting. Isn't it Lori?" said Natasha.
"Yes. We were twenty meters away from the old fuel elements. We saw them directly, under a lot of water of course." said Lori.
"Congratulations on returning in one piece." said Lynn senior, and laughed.
Lori hadn't heard that congratulation properly. She was worried about Lana. She was afraid of her. Lori got up and went to Lana, who was still hiding behind her mother. Lori knelt down.
"Are you dangerous? Are you beaming?" Lana asked anxiously.
"No. I'm not dangerous." said Lori calmly.
Natasha got up and walked next to Lori.
"She's right. We were only there for two hours. And my father has been going to a nuclear power plant every day for years, and he's healthy. You don't have to be afraid." said Natasha.
Lana slowly came out from behind Rita. Lori looked into Lana's eyes and felt her fear. Lana slowly walked towards Lori. She jumped and hugged Lori. Lori took her in her arms. Natasha held a had on Lana's back.
"If my father is there, nothing happens." said Natasha softly.
They sat down and continued eating. Natasha soon said goodbye and went home. It was late and Lori and Leni were sitting on their bed. They already had their sleep clothes on. Lori walked over to Leni, holding her cell phone, which had a picture of her in the protective gear.
"What do you say to these clothes?" asked Lori.
"Not your style." said Leni.
"The clothes remind me of those worn by millers or bakers."
"They make flour in the nuclear power plant. That's strange." she said confused.
"No, you misunderstand. The nuclear power plant only produces electricity."
"Why are you and Natasha wearing these clothes?" Leni asked.
"So our normal clothes don't get contaminated, I mean dirty." said Lori.
"Oh. I think I understand." said Leni.
"It's bedtime. Good night Leni."
"Good night."
The two went into her bed and lay down. They fell asleep quickly.
End of third Chapter