Diver sucked into nuclear power plant cooling system

[phoenix31tt]

What does it say on the marker? Does it indicate there are large unprotected intake pipes that can suck you up to your death? Are the markers for boating hazards? Does it say do not approach within 100 ft of this location?

Does anyone believe the FPL statement that there is a barrier to prevent a diver from being sucked up? When I dove there, I saw no barrier - I had heard it was safe to dive there and I was confident that they had erected a grate of barrier to prevent the entry of manatees, turtles, jewfish.. but that is not the case.

It may not be so clear cut as people are assuming. It is not like you can see some giant whirlpool sucking up water out of a calm pond.

Nobody said anything about a barrier... the statement reads "The diver intentionally swam into one of the intake pipes after bypassing a piece of equipment to minimize the entry of objects". My description of the velocity caps should illustrates exactly what the diver would have to do to get sucked in. You yourself said you felt the current getting stronger closer to the structure... well to get to "suck you in" strength you need to be under the velocity cap.... he went looking for something... he found it, his buddy was safe and saw him get sucked in... his buddy probably didn't go under the velocity cap.

 

[phoenix31tt]

If there's a warning buoy for boating hazards (on the diagram and picture that teknitroxdiver posted), does that absolve a diver going in to the same area since he's not a boat? Does a general hazard marker apply to anybody in any state in the vicinity, or does it only restrict water craft? I don't know anything about Florida law, it's an honest question.

Le Cun told CNN affiliate WPTV that he and a friend saw the yellow buoy that day and large submerged silhouettes underneath. They decided to see what was down there."I am 100% positive that there were no signs on the buoy," he said. "I know that because my boat was tied to that buoy."

He actually tied his boat to the buoy lol... which FPL says reads "keep 100 feet away", and news cameras conveniently don't zoom into the buoy when showing shots of it. But regardless, the scenarios you mention are all covered as his craft was tied to the buoy

 

[JohnnyC]

I appreciate that he's an idiot, but that doesn't specifically answer my question unfortunately.

Does a general hazard marker apply to anybody in any state in the vicinity, or does it only restrict water craft, legally speaking? That's the question I'm curious about.

Reason I ask is because, hypothetically, let's say his boat dropped anchor 100+ feet away, he hops in, swims the distance to the intakes, and gets sucked in.

 

[phoenix31tt]

Does a general hazard marker apply to anybody in any state in the vicinity, or does it only restrict water craft, legally speaking? That's the question I'm curious about.

Reason I ask is because, hypothetically, let's say his boat dropped anchor 100+ feet away, he hops in, swims the distance to the intakes, and gets sucked in.

Oh yea i was just saying it doesn't matter seeing as he was actually anchored to the hazard marker...

but in another situation i'm not sure what law states. It would make sense to apply to anybody as it is just a warning

 

[Viron]

If the suction is that powerful, wouldn't having a grate been the death of him, because he'd get stuck to it?
And whoever was driving the boat should know that that yellow buoy marks danger. So there is a warning and they didn't respect it.

That is a good point. A grate large enough to prevent being stuck to it would probably have to be many, many times the area of the inlet as we all know two knots of current is insurmountable by swimming except briefly.

A true safety barrier would probably by a artificial reef or spillway with a floating screen that would require cleaning daily. It would be much more costly for installation and maintenance, and those cost would be passed on to consumers.

The only good thing I can say about such an installation is that it would not only protect morons but larger marine species.

Otherwise get a local guide.

Additional markers might help, such as underwater windsocks to show the current and icons with Trident's trident through a moron diver as general hint to go away.

 

[letterboy]

It is south florida there could have been a guy on top of the body telling him not to go down there and some weasel would find a way to make a buck off ignoring him and getting hurt. I mean the guy on the buoy could have stopped gim from hurting himself. He should have, he didn't so it is fpls fault and they must pay him. Have none of you been in an auto accident down here? The lawyers down here will do whatever it takes to get your money.

 

[letterboy]

Kind of the way you'd be trespassing if you ignored my "beware of dog" sign while you were on the public sidewalk and my dog dragged you onto the front porch?

We must be looking at different diagrams. The one I see says nothing about a warning sign, let alone a "clear warning of what lay beneath". If there is a sign it would tend to negate any argument that you should stay away from the buoy, in that you'd need to get fairly close to read the sign. If there isn't a sign then the buoy is just a standard navigational aid that only means there's something that requires caution in navigating in that area. There is no special nuclear plant water intake buoy.

The diver in question may be dumber than 90% of other people, but when you create a potentially hazardous situation you need to account for more than 90% of people. Anyone here who's aware that boaters sometimes investigate diver down floats should know that when warnings aren't recognized people may ignore them or investigate them.


So there is no requirement for those older than 28.2? Or a brand new inexperienced boater who bought their boat yesterday?

I couldn't do the math last night so I will take your word for the age, but yup any Tom dick Harry or Sally can go buy a boat and take it right out and run rampant. Yay Florida.

 

[Carl_F]

Discharge locations (e.g. Electric Beach) - these are fun and the ones I've seen are pretty obvious as the signs of extreme current are obvious. We "ride the currents" at the discharge of a nuclear plant on a lake and it's a blast. In the winter months, it's nice warm water and keeps the adjacent cove warm enough to dive in all winter with a 3 mil. If you know what's there, there is no tumbling involved.

Intake locations - nasty things. I understand there is a marker buoy with a "keep away 100 ft" marking. With a plant right there on the beach, its a no brainer. Hope the guy doesn't come up here on our lake as there is a dam with an intake and "keep away" buoys the appropriate distance. I can imagine him running his boat past the buoys up next to the penstock intakes and suing the power company because the dam started up and capsized his boat in the ensuing turbulence.

He is lucky as other intakes do go directly to pumps. But then those intakes usually have more robust debris protection since an Al80 would not be passed through a pump and the repair would be expensive.

 

[mmmbelows]

I just wonder if the diver had seen this would he have swum over to take a closer look?

 

[Lead_carrier]

When the diver got to this, he would yell. Hey Bubba, watch this.