Nuclear Incident (historic) : Cernavoda Romania

[gosub]

Talking to one of the local (Romanian)bar staff about a charity performance of The Wall my best mate put on in 1997 for Nightingales Charity....Anyway one one bit of conversation lead to another .... Any info appreciated.

 

[elbows]

It's a bit late for me to be researching this but I had a quick go anyway.

I mostly only found a couple of minor incidents that on the face of it were not treated as anything significant or worthy of much news coverage. Most of the stories seem to be more concerned with plans to add more reactors to the site getting derailed.

Like I said its late and maybe I missed something, but if not then I wonder if the most dramatic nuclear 'incident' relating to that reactor and the local population could actually be the major drill of 2005?

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Eyewitness: Nuclear accident test

A two minutes past six on Wednesday morning, the mayor of Cernavoda, Hansa Gheorghe, received the phone call he had always dreaded the most.

A nuclear accident had taken place at the Cernavoda nuclear power station, only 3km from the centre of his town of 20,000 inhabitants by the river Danube in eastern Romania.

But it was only a test.

Fifty-seven countries and eight international organisations are involved in what is only the second time a major nuclear accident simulation has been staged.

Mr Gheorghe put the emergency plan into operation, summoned a crisis response team and informed the national authorities in Bucharest.

On the streets of Cernovada, police cars broadcast loudspeaker messages telling people to stay in their homes, close their windows and tune into radio and television to await further instructions. They were also told not to drink water or allow their animals to drink it from open sources.

Back at Cernavoda, the mayor identified the first problem. While the distribution of iodine tablets had gone well at schools and workplaces, local doctors had not distributed tablets to households as efficiently as had been hoped.

It's now 13 hours after the accident.

Situated in an area of low hills on the shore of the Danube canal, the power station consists of five squat concrete blocks, but with just one reactor in operation.

There is a noticeably larger police presence on approach roads to the plant with officers dressed in distinctive yellow protective clothing, and I can see in several places radiation monitoring equipment, which reassuringly points to zero.

Despite the warnings, people are trying to carry on with their normal lives.

 

[gosub]

It's a bit late for me to be researching this but I had a quick go anyway.

I mostly only found a couple of minor incidents that on the face of it were not treated as anything significant or worthy of much news coverage. Most of the stories seem to be more concerned with plans to add more reactors to the site getting derailed.

Like I said its late and maybe I missed something, but if not then I wonder if the most dramatic nuclear 'incident' relating to that reactor and the local population could actually be the major drill of 2005?

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Eyewitness: Nuclear accident test

Cheers. Had a Romanian bar girl adamant something had happened..Did my own Internet search found v little but wasn't sure if it hadn't been a pre revolution thing covered up...So just been drinking with my Transylvania separatist mate ....Internet is straight...more the folklore banter you get round these sorts of facilities...Though moving forward plate tectonics in the area like dodgy as fuck

 

[mauvais]

It's a bit late for me to be researching this but I had a quick go anyway.

I mostly only found a couple of minor incidents that on the face of it were not treated as anything significant or worthy of much news coverage. Most of the stories seem to be more concerned with plans to add more reactors to the site getting derailed.

Like I said its late and maybe I missed something, but if not then I wonder if the most dramatic nuclear 'incident' relating to that reactor and the local population could actually be the major drill of 2005?

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Eyewitness: Nuclear accident test

Sounds like it went better than the time BAE did a drill in Barrow.

 

[elbows]

This thread turned out to be 'amusing' timing too because there seem to have been several more incidents at the nuclear power station there in recent days. No links from me at the moment because I dont know the sites I found the news on and the translation and detail wasnt exactly amazing either. I think often these incidents are newsworthy mostly because there may not be great faith in that nuclear plant in the first place, and it provides something like 20% of Romanias electricity so when these things happen that take its reactors & grid connection offline, it gets attention. That certainly seems to be the case with these recent incidents anyway, from the very few sources I found so far they are not suggesting any health ramifications from these incidents.

I certainly dont blame people for having concerns about this sort of thing. Personally I like lots of detailed info so I can judge each incident properly for myself, and I really dont have that much to go on here. Nothing made me particularly alarmed, but there may be some signs that this isnt exactly the finest nuclear power station ever made.

 

[elbows]

Sounds like it went better than the time BAE did a drill in Barrow.

I cant remember if I read about that one at the time. I cant say I'm surprised. Even when drills involving serious accident & radioactive contamination are conducted once in a blue moon, and plans are drawn up, I think a lot of the people involved in this stuff struggle to imagine it actually happening, or dealing with it well if it were that bad. Companies in particular may quickly find themselves with rather different priorities if the shit hits the fan, and are more used to shrugging and walking away if their enterprise suddenly turns into a loss(of life)-making venture.

 

[mauvais]

I cant remember if I read about that one at the time. I cant say I'm surprised. Even when drills involving serious accident & radioactive contamination are conducted once in a blue moon, and plans are drawn up, I think a lot of the people involved in this stuff struggle to imagine it actually happening, or dealing with it well if it were that bad. Companies in particular may quickly find themselves with rather different priorities if the shit hits the fan, and are more used to shrugging and walking away if their enterprise suddenly turns into a loss(of life)-making venture.

It was called Exercise Indigo and it was a proper shitshow. Amongst other things they would have told the public that they were all going to die.

Exercise at nuclear submarine yard exposes serious safety failings

 

[gosub]

It was called Exercise Indigo and it was a proper shitshow. Amongst other things they would have told the public that they were all going to die.

Exercise at nuclear submarine yard exposes serious safety failings

My Dad bumped into another ex RN type a while back (as is his wont) ... Had an unusual medal and a hushed tones tale about a UK submarine (as we are digressing)