This could be an attempt by Westinghouse to get commercial tie-in for the site. On the other hand, the words "Buncefield fuel depot, 2005" or "Flixborough disaster" are whispered into the ear of the British minister, the Westinghouse design might well be discounted. For the benefit of US readers, Buncefield was a fuel deport that went up in flames on Boxing Day 2005. The cause was a failed gauge and a failed safety switch which allowed petrol to leak out of the vent pipe - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buncefield_fire . Flixborough was caused when a temporary repair job failed (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flixborough_disaster). Using non-standard equipment instead of standard equipment is an invitation for problems.
British civil servants (most of whom are "jobsworthys" - ie "I can't do that - it is more than my job is worth") would almost certainly reject such plans, but ministers are often susceptible to "disinformation". However, the word "nuclear" has a bad name in the UK, and any minister who is making such decisions on political grounds will certainly have to deal with the anti-nuclear lobby. _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Frewen-Lord Sent: 28 February 2011 17:54 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:49950] Re: Nuclear inches As all construction in the UK is metric, I don't see how Westinghouse is going to be able to design a structure in imperial units. All UK engineering codes are metric (and limit states as well, which inherently are metric), and no engineer in the UK can design to these codes using non-metric calculations. As far as I can see, Westinghouse are going to have to design the structures housing these reactors in metric units. John F-L ----- Original Message ----- From: Michael <mailto:[email protected]> Payne To: U.S. Metric <mailto:[email protected]> Association Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 5:40 PM Subject: [USMA:49949] Re: Nuclear inches This is very interesting and shows the trouble all US companies face using two systems, this could be another Mars orbiter type of disaster years down the road if completed as designed. A friend told me South Africa is soliciting bids for another nuclear reactor, Westinghouse is also bidding on that. I'll keep you up to date on what transpires. Mike Payne On 25/02/2011, at 14:23 , Pat Naughtin wrote: Dear All, http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/8583252 Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS Author of the ebook, Metrication Leaders Guide, see http://metricationmatters.com/MetricationLeadersGuideInfo.html Hear Pat speak at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lshRAPvPZY PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com <http://www.metricationmatters.com/> for more metrication information, contact Pat at [email protected] or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter to subscribe.
