# I saved a nuclear outage



## 422 plumber (Jul 31, 2008)

A local nuke plant's sanitary sewage system wasn't pumping into the first treatment pit. The outage just started, and they couldn't use the sanitary system. They had to bring in porta johns and hand wipes and hand sanitizer. they also had to shut down their cafeteria. Our shop got the call. We are set up to provide round the clock coverage. I am supposed to be on site at 4 p.m. So, on Friday, I start a job at a chemical plant at 6 a.m. we hit asbestos and have to pack up at 10 a.m. The foreman on the nuke job calls and says come in, they will take everything out of of service by 2 p.m. So I get there by about 11 a.m. and we wait till about 3 to get clearance orders and work packages. I get a rainsuit and a harness and get winched down into a manhole, to try a block an 8" line going to the comminutor pit, which is basically an ejector pump. So, here I am, getting storm and sanitary trickling down on me, trying to install an expando plug, the pipes is a little crusty, so no go. Regroup and get a blowup plug, winched back down, with a bicycle pump, inflating the plug, and getting it set. Come back up and now we wait till the vac truck sucks out the cominutor pit. A laborer gets winched down into that and retrieves several pieces of metal that the plant thinks is the problem. The comminutor pit has two 4 inch pipes that feed into the suction pumps in the pump vault, that sends it into the treatment pit. We drop the 4" gate valves and I have to curl up and lay on the floor of this vault and physically look the 4" pipes into the comminutor pit, they are clear. The plant wrote the work package for us to clear those lines, thinking that had to be the place where it was obstructed. Wrong. Our relief comes and has to get briefed and signed onto the work package, we leave at 1:30 a.m. I get up at 8, go rod a drain at a school on Saturday morning. My relief calls, the pumps still aren't pumping at full flow. I make it back at 3p.m. Now we have to take the check valves off the discharge side of the pumps. We drop the Bravo check valve and get set back rod using a Ridgid 500 from the treatment pit into the pump vault. First using a Ridgid See-Snake, we see an obstruction at 38' out. Measuring it off, we are right in front of the 90 down into the pit. I put a retrieval hook and have to lay on grating over the treatment pond, nice. I get stuck on the obstruction. I switch to a arrowhead, no dice. I try the retrieval auger again. I get past the obstruction. I pull back, and there is a rag wrapped around the auger. We send the camera again, the obstruction is still there. Me and the project manager, are watching the screen, calling instructions to a laborer pushing the camera, we tell him to push hard against the obstruction. Next thing you know, the camera makes it down the 90! I take a 15' section of 1-1/4" cable into vault, and stick it through the double 90 and push up against the object. So now, the project manager is watching the monitor, yelling to a laborer, who yells down the vault to me. Slowwwwly pulling the rod back, the object falls into the bottom of the double 90. Using a crowbar, I reach in and pull back a rock, and a commercial toilet seat hinge, complete with sawzall marks:thumbup:. The project manager said "that's a $50,00.00 rock." We buttoned up the Bravo check valve, dropped the Alpha check valve and I pulled out a big chunk of bone, some small stones and a dime. I wish I kept the dime, but everything we pulled out got it's picture taken then put into evidence bags. Our relief came in, we demobbed most of the stuff and got out at 2 a.m. 
I had 20 hours on Friday, and worked from 9 a.m. till 2 a.m. Saturday, 17 hours, but only 15 billable. I am tired, but moneyed up.:thumbsup:.


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## Regulator (Aug 20, 2009)

Wow! Take a long rest, Jjbex. You deserve it! :thumbsup:


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## Regulator (Aug 20, 2009)

Excellent!


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## Optimus Primer (May 20, 2009)

Sounds like you saved us from another 3 mile island. Good job. Take tomorrow off. You deserve it.


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

Great job... With the title I was sure it was going to be a stoppage at Dunbar's house...... I'm just sayin. 

Again great job..


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## retired rooter (Dec 31, 2008)

good money day$$$$ reminds me of the time I was in a manhole at a mining camp outside town when the stoppage broke loose the smell of sufuric acid and the sewage almost got me before I scrambeled out of the manhole, we were stupid then no masks ,protective suits just dirty jeans someone was watching over me in those days, now days too!!!


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## 22rifle (Jun 14, 2008)

Why evidence bags?


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## 422 plumber (Jul 31, 2008)

Just so the plant can see what caused the blockage and do a "lesson learned" after action analysis. One of the problems is that all storm and sanitary drains into the one manhole, so a lot of stone from snowplowing gets in, there really isn't a strainers on it. I will post pics of the $50,000 rock when I get to desk at our shop. I had the project manager email me the pics.


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## Regulator (Aug 20, 2009)

Ahhhh! $50,000 for that rock! Smithers!


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## para1 (Jun 17, 2008)

It's that kind of stuff that keeps me wanting to play this game. Good job!:thumbsup:


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## Pipedoc (Jun 14, 2009)

Cool story jjbex. Thanks for sharing.


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## UnclogNH (Mar 28, 2009)

That's why I love this line of work. You never know whats next or what or who you will be working for.
Good job jjbex


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