Me at work in a nuclear power plant. WOOP!

*****************************REMOVED ALL PICTURES FROM THIS POST**************************** (something about me being paranoid I might get fired...)

Sooooo, like my little "About Me" says, I work at a nuclear power plant. You all know my desk is in a (usually dead silent) trailer outside, across the parking lot from any of the actual building buildings.

Yesterday I went inside the plant itself to look at a few systems and take some pictures of panels. Once I was done, I sort of roamed off on my own…. I don't get down to the plant very often and my boss encourages me to. He told me I should go for an hour everyday and just walk around and observe things and really get to know the ins and outs.

Well, this was sort of my first '1 hour solo' visit. And FYI, I totally got lost and was circling around a few of the upper levels like a chicken with her head cut off. Finally, I recognized where I was and managed to locate the stair case that leads to the security exit.

Factors that definitely helped getting me lost:
The floor is all grated metal so you can see down every level just by looking down, TERRIFYING if you are afraid of heights, LIKE ME. I'm constantly paranoid that my hard hat and safety glasses are going to tumble off. The highest level is 95 ft above sea water. Also, the floors don't have normal names, because they are less floors and more "elevations". So they use the elevation height to distinquish between them. Too bad they are all sporatic measurements. They go like 95ft,60ft, 45ft, 35ft, 20ft...I am probably missing a few but I can't remember them...

During refurb, there is maintenance going on everywhere so there is scaffolding everywhere that you literally have to climb through it and there is loads of caution tape. People working in all these different places, banging and sawing and yelling. Not to mention the usual load noises caused by the machinery running.

There is no logic to the floor or ceiling plan, so that all the giant ducts and ventilation and cabling can go anywhere. So all of a sudden the floor will end, or you will come to a temporary staircase, or ladder.

Every door is thick to be fire resistant, and made to look like you aren’t allowed to go through them. It gives you a tingly feeling that you are doing something wrong or are going to set off an alarm if you go through, so it makes it intimidating even to go through a door! (even worse if you’re already lost)

The place is crazy!

Me and guy going through some panels


Generator turbine! turned off and covered with plastic to protect it's innards from dust during refurbishment.



This was down in one of the lower levels. Huge friggin tank reheats the steam for the generator.



Huge steam ducts



View from above! I took the one and only elevator up to the highest elevation. That, again is the generator and turbines, from above this time.



Those blue things on the left are the turbine houses, what usually cover them when the generator is running. Don't they remind you of the dharma initiative?? So many things do in the plant because most of the stuff was built 30-35 years ago, especially the main control room! Full of old looking dials, meters, buttons, screens. I wanted to get pictures of it, but I thought they might frown on that...



Hee hee! Look at the little people!



ME: gotta love the nuclear green tan, eh. I swear it was a lighting coincidence, haha!



Couldn't get too close to the railing, the height was making me dizzy! This is my fake scared face, but when looking over the edge I did feel like I might just collapse over the bar.



While exploring I came upon a few of these rooms. Didn't so much want to go in there. Exposed live voltage. YUMmmmmmmmmmm.



Me being lost and silly, alone in a big old buzzing room, wherever it was...




Anyways, thought you guys might enjoy a little look into what I do (when I'm not sitting at my desk...)