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I + oi 8 'ar?:.g is § * www.northumberlandnews.com i fl{ ( %fi‘-wf.,g E # ks‘ a J,\ 7 ; T o ts e a C f%C Utaown was saTte ~% Â¥e f > d / c ut :‘ *4 BY JACQUIE MCINNES from the Independent Fleeâ€" _ sion,‘ says Michel Cleroux, 4 *e~ â€" *# " PE STAFF EDITOR tricity Market Operator â€" spokesman for the Canadiâ€" s t * \‘J j % f A t Nine seconds was all it took to cripâ€" _ (IMO) to go into reâ€"start _ an Nuclear Safety Commisâ€" * 3 Zf«‘,,,,{g _ dz z. ple the majority of the Ontario and _ mode. When the call came sion, the federal agency f t 4% , * e 4 northeast United States power grid _ about 10 p.m. that night, . that oversees Canadian nuâ€" 2# E*Â¥e . ons | as a frequency fluctuation wreaked _ the unit was at the ready to . clear operators. i/« ~ii \' k A < ‘ w < havoc on the system last Thursdayafâ€" _ be hooked back up and "Some may say they * C y 777@ C it"“;' Pid ) . ternoon. start pumping power back _ should have chosen the 60 Mi..._tâ€"â€" ,{, : * &!‘s‘ fs In the control rooms of Ontario _ into the grid. By late Friday, _ per cent but they might not i O Lo zs. K â€" P HH an Power Generation‘s nuclear plants, it was operating at full say that if an unsafe deciâ€" | > ks O ts . Was ky s immediately following, decisions were _ power. sion was made." o . #* JA ‘ s * T3 554 | being made in moments that would For the other three Darâ€" By Tuesday, all four Darâ€" | ~* .o ds PS 4 Fe . t | later be analyzed for weeks. lington reactors the deciâ€" lington reactors were back ' § ~<2emP â€" ‘Q s "yen.. It was the human operators that _ sion was not so simple. In _ on line at full power while it i%?i-: ~ iB ‘3‘# F j _ were charged with deciding between _ the case of Units 1 and 2, won‘t likely be until next s PA *t;“ya [3 _,ef{:;‘,fi"’ iss three options. They could: the overseeing operator week that the three reacâ€" s o Aimaae _ * take the units into ‘poison preâ€" _ simply did not have time to _ tors at Pickering B are fully e e .. 0 s 22e 70. vent‘ standâ€"down mode at 60 per cent _ verify that all systems were _ returned to the grid. fex:= :i;éf hsn d Te ‘ff'f-’?” na power but they could only do so safeâ€" _ safe to keep the unit operâ€" A fourth reactor at Pickâ€" PSR ¢0 S o amd PMA ly if conditions were optimal ; ating safely given the many ering B was already shut Birp‘s Deuickt: Second place went o Jill Sellers for + take the units to ‘zero power hot,‘ _ tasks at hand, includingenâ€" down for routine mainteâ€" this entry. The Best Veggie Ribbon went to Jill Sellers a state where the reactor cannot proâ€" _ suring backâ€"up generators . nanceprior to the‘bllackout. fornet B\iuttemut squash. Best Decorative ribbon was duce sufficient heat to make steam. _ were working properly for Ironically, officials at S l Toust tlh "Country Lanes" arrangeâ€" It‘s safer than option one but a full reâ€" _ the entire plant, says Pierre _ OPG believe the first Pickâ€" won by Liz St. Louis for the Y start takes about 40 hours; Charlebois, chief nuclear ering reactor back online ment of wild flowers. ges * or option three, take the reactors _ operating officer for OPG. _ this week could be one that 7 f F7z es > to ‘guaranteed shut down,‘ a dead At Unit 4, when the grid _ had been mothballed since Â¥e j uy tessd ”}‘;r /e stop accomplished by adding chemiâ€" _ failed, so temporarily did 1996 for retrofitting on the f s o e cals that make fission reactionimposâ€" â€" power for a key monitor, A side of the plant. After & woig 4 "@ ;é Logelâ€" C sible. From this state, it can take sevâ€" _ which left the unit‘s chief . seven years out of service, mm o on Ofi | 7 m Web eral days to get the units back onâ€"line. _ operator without key inforâ€" Unit 4A was about to be insl "'* fi f-;-l_‘ At the Pickering Generating Staâ€" _ mation to determine if the â€" reattached to the grid just § C P eney . _ tion, where the design was not creatâ€" â€" necessary conditions existâ€" as the lights went out. sz F “_"' vasp We es c oC ed to go into stay up at 60 per cent for _ ed to keep the reactor at 60 _ Meanwhile, by Tuesday, the Bs ‘< & 524 ®lag . <0 5. more than a few hours, there was no _ per cent. To be safe, rather â€" province had about 80 per a TE onl . ow 3 ;jo;;,; A 4 decision to bg made, f-eally The units . than sorry, the call was. cent generating capacity at . ce -_,__ »‘::;,; ‘*,;;_ were forced into option three â€"â€" full _ made to shut it down to . allitspowerplants back onâ€" . saai Ai * »Mimats \s 3) shutdown with an expected several _ power zero. "We prefer the line. The United States and " éfi § C 3 ‘? day reâ€"start. more conservative deciâ€" Canadian federal governâ€" § ?’% 4 f ~ *k ‘u“ CÂ¥ At Darlington, where the newer reâ€" 2 s ] is 1 , P actor design is more flexible for these * Eo $ Ne _ "Sact 243 types of situations, the operators had tz t â€"~% [ vF A big decisions to make, quickly. h R $ Tok x. t In the end, Unit 3 systems were F\% C c § o p cleared to hold at the standâ€"down \:“' & " F 4 < (l‘ â€" ‘ level as operators awaited instruction q K; o s s ’1“: WeA 1s s "gpg 34 #2 p h. f %, '%3‘ ”’T" f ks o=4 -..i(-‘:.fl?)‘:‘f"’ $ ie k o 4 CCP C ali 8 * 3 m Ti . e _ $ & a:»‘ 6 éj'@‘%/g / THE NORTHUMBERLAND NEWS, FRIDAY EDITION, August 22, 2003 PAGE 7 | c3 iriign P d + . Adonstlene. 52 . m oL. uP We _ . * o meg rg. he‘ P Tikle»® .. o o u t C 0 S ho <}" m ,, oo Roith s t e Py us |. 7. Sa es A ( &‘“_&f:..a"'.} h Mn on ‘,,p._,v;’v oat, .. ) Aoitaend +C o '1.' fomes d * he sA 4 & ments have formed a task force to reâ€" Today‘s Editorial (iasgn o 2B 3 hss t‘ es view all aspects of the grid failure and See page 8 | o m dipei es + nCms ies m the actions taken as a result. GHostLy GarLanps: The category was "Ghosts". Garâ€" deners Pam Taylor, left and Liz St. Louis were the second and first prize winners respectively for thgur interpretation of the theme in the Colborne and Disâ€" trict Horticultural Society summer flower show last Saturday. (3