Word: reactor
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...Exelon (formed by the merger of Philadelphia-based PECO Energy and Chicago native Unicom), have shelled out nearly $4 billion to purchase 15 of the nation's 103 operating plants--including such unlikely prizes as the surviving sister unit of Pennsylvania's infamous Three Mile Island No. 2 reactor. These new nuclear powers, which also include Duke Energy, Southern Co., Dominion Resources and Constellation Energy, have reversed years of mismanagement and cost overruns to turn the plants into the reliable, profitable atomic engines they were meant...
...plants, Exelon is already working on the next generation, exemplified by a helium-cooled, pebble-bed test reactor it is helping build in South Africa that, theoretically at least, wouldn't ever need to be shut down for refueling and is practically meltdown-proof. Of course, the company would still have to find a place in the U.S. to put it. Many homeowners would sooner burn coal in their own fireplace than live next to a reactor. So rather than try to find converts, the industry hopes to construct new facilities on existing sites, in communities that already depend...
...Still, when it comes to safety, there's no denying that the industry has made great strides. The annual number of protective automatic shutdowns at each reactor, for instance, has fallen tenfold in the past 16 years, to 0.5. Exelon and Entergy have a lot more riding on their vast nuclear portfolios than an old-line utility with one measly reactor and a guaranteed rate of return. By pooling the expertise of a much larger, dedicated staff and spreading out the fixed costs, they've been able to reduce the length of refueling outages from 100 days...
...renewed vigor and resolve, having made the superior tactical choice. The only drawback to this is that it has never worked for anyone, ever, anywhere on earth. Stopping for "just a sec" during an endurance event is comparable to taking a "quick look" at the core of a nuclear reactor just to see if it is melting down or not. It is a sure route to quitting without thinking through an adequate escape plan, thus maximizing the humiliation without gaining even the smallest short-term benefits of just flat-out quitting. Cross this one off the list...
...like a commodity--and vowed never to treat my men that way." Says First Petty Officer Dave Roberts, who served on the U.S.S. San Francisco when Waddle was executive officer in 1995: "He treats you from the very beginning with respect." Roberts was in charge of maintaining the nuclear reactor, but was having problems with the commanding officer and his department head. His morale was low. Waddle took him aside and talked to him. "He just showed confidence in me," says Roberts, who got back in the groove. "I can't speak highly enough...