It was pretty cool to get so close to a nuclear power plant even one that was never completed. Have you ever been to the Satsop Nuclear Power Plant site?
To see such a monumental waste of money is really astounding. However, with the 9 point something earthquake we are due, maybe i'm OK with it having not been built!
@@searchingforhistory the military (and area police) do make good use of this site as training. Last summer FEMA stopped by to do a 5 day mock nuclear emergency training thing.
that is so cool I passed on the highway and saw those towers during my vacation. Good to see what it was. Wish I knew before, would of love to stop by and check it out. Next time I guess.
Thanks you guys, for making this video. I worked at Everybody's in Elma (grocery store) in the early 80s, and I haven't seen that parts of God's green earth since. I worked with some guys who worked at Satsop [as Ironworkers] and they'd tell me that they'd work for a couple of hours, and read the paper & play cards the rest of the night. They'd come back the next night, to find that the day shift was told to take apart everything from the night before. Good luck with your videos
The removal of vast quantities of gravel from the Chehalis River valley was completely ignored in the Environmental Impact statement. The gravel was used in the mixing of concrete for construction of the towers. Removal of the valley gravel caused large scale changes to the course of the river and siltation destroying untold amounts of salmon habitat. Impacts that continue to this day.
I wonder if the project went through SEPA? It would be interesting to see a study done on those impacts. Thanks for leaving a comment and thanks for watching!
@@searchingforhistory Yes, it went through SEPA. Google Grays Harbor County Gravel transport and you will find several studies dealing with the issue of the gravel pits created by the project. Thanks for the video, btw.
@@searchingforhistory A full EIS was prepared for the project. The Gravel issue can be found in various reports under the heading "Gravel Transport Grays Harbor County". Also, here is a link to what each building is on the site: th-cam.com/video/kQkrwfFQ6_k/w-d-xo.html
Why don’t you research your subjects a little before making half-intelligent comments/remarks ,like some nosey tourists . Maybe talk to local residents or on-site administrators or employees?
I worked on the plant as a carpenter setting the forms to pour concrete on #3. That "dome" looking thing is the containment top for #5. #3's top saw destroyed when a Chicago Bridge and Iron crane fell when it was removing the dome off #3. When the crane collapsed it punctured a hole through every floor of the nuke plane into the 9' think slab. There floors were 2 and 3 feet thick concrete and so much rebar you couldn't see through it. As workers we were told not to take pictures or talk about it. The plant could have been built within budget and on time but the state wanted to be the general contractor big mistake! Dixy Lee Ray the governor was a nuclear physicist, a democrat wanted to do it her way and the world's contractors took advantage of her. The cooling towers are 496' tall. The reactor is in #3 and weighs 700. I saw the crane Big Blue set it. Big Blue crashed and burned a few years later back east killing 3 workers. There were 4 maybe 5 workers killed on this project.
Wow crazy... thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experiences at the site. I see, so the dome housed the reactor? I heard it was a dangerous place to work and what you wrote definitely confirms that. Thanks for watching the video!
You have good info. But I am sure the crane did not collapse from moving the lid. The collapse was caused by an underskilled worker trying to operate the crane in May 1980. The main crane crew were not on site.
@@MidnightWarrior1976 What happened was the operator was there with a limited crew on site and let the lid free fall then hit the brakes just before it hit the ground so the stress pulled the boom away from the reactor containment vessel. Upon investigation they discovered the iron workers who assembled the crane "short bolted the thing together. The contractors were self insured so L&I never heard a thing about it.
@@scuddrunner1 We have a problem here. The entire site was shut down because of Mt. St. Helens ash cleanup. VERY few people worked that day -- except the crew on fire hoses. I was on site that day. Can you back up your statement about the dome lid? Why wasn't it damaged? And why were they doing an extremely major operation on a day when the crews were not there? (Someone has to align the dome with the top) This would have required a very large crew.
@@MidnightWarrior1976 As you know we all showed up for work that day at 7am. I worked for MK, carpenter in hole 3. We were told to go home while the labors cleaned the the ash off the site. The lid was on the reactor building as you know, you were there. The operator removed the lid sometime in the day and that's when the accident happened. There was a number of guys working under the crane the week before including me. The lid was destroyed. The lid sitting next to hole 3 is from hole 5. I never said it wasn't destroyed. I think we're on the same page. Remember the MK trucks flattened by the cables supporting the craine. I wish I brought a camera. So, did you work for MK? What crew were you on? My forman was Richendollar.
I liked the different direction of this video. Can’t believe how much money was spent on something that never started! And the jokes about the acronym were great. Hi Thora!
Thanks, we were trying to come up with something different. For the last 30+ years I have seen those cooling towers up on the hill every time we drove out to the coast. I thought let's go up there and make a video! Oh, by the way our Puget Sound War video has really taken off in the last couple days. Thanks again for the suggestion to explain that history! We just weighed Thora, 72 pounds at 11 months old, is she going to keep growing?!
The #5 reactor building is the one with the rebar sticking out of the top. The dome is its lid that was not installed (refer to more complete #3) The "dome" was once used as storage or a business.
My brother worked there as a union pipefitter. He said it was done in a horribly wastefull manner. One thing he said they were told to do was to fit a pipe, then leave it and pick up another one and walk across to the other side of the site and back. When he got back he was to see if the last fit was tagged, (signed off) and if it was then he could do another one. If not then he was to pick up the pipe again and take the walk!! He said they were to always look busy!! It was a long way across and they were getting paid well!! And with a lot of overtime!! Somewhere to the north, close to the river was a huge yard where supplies were brought and stored. I think he said the railroad brought the supplies there, and they had built a huge railyard. That would have been the Milwaukee RR that has since been torn out. He said one of them was 90% complete when they threw in the towel, and I think he said the other one was something like 60% done. The whole thing was a financial disaster for the taxpayers, but incredibly lucrative for certain contractors! ! What do you think the odds are that they were friends of some key decision makers?? I know that the taxpayers paid for that massive financial disaster for decades and I don't know if its even paid off yet!!
I remember back then, 3 mile island nuclear incident also had a hand in people not wanting a nuclear plant there, and being scared of it. Another interesting fact, it was the biggest Judicial bond failure in U.S. history.
Interesting, so a court assured payment to someone, but it failed to happen... was it the state or the contactor that didn't get paid? Thanks for leaving a comment and watching the video!
Those reactors are Combustion engineering system 80 , they sold the high pressure coolant pump motors to Palo Verde in Arizona , bigger motors so they could pass the coolant flow tests they also used system 80 reactors, It's basically become a Nuclear parts junk yard for parts now. All the parts are documented just like the rest of the industry. I worked for the company that welded the reactor to the steam generators. Hard to believe the units were never completed.
That would be really cool. Hopefully someone that has the legal authority will see this video and invite us back for a more detailed exploration. Thanks for watching!
I should add... Youre right that these facilities could never be utilized. Even though the most skilled craftsmen (and women) constructed this campus, not being operated is worse than regular use & maintenance
To my knowledge nothing. That is the last attempt at building a new power plant in Washington that I am aware of (other than wind and solar in more recent years). At the same time they were building WNP-3 and 5 they did finish a WNP-2 on the Hanford Site in eastern Washington, which I believe is still in operation. With that being said, Washington has one coal fired power plant (that has a closure date coming up) and several Dams that generate power. I speculate that any need for power beyond what is generated here must be pulled off the grid from out of state.
WPPSS was domonated by Elected PUD and REA oficials who were completely oblivious to the price elasticity of the Aluminun industry. Eventually it became obvious the plant was not needed and not affordable.
A couple more interesting reuse facts: in 2018, after Volkswagen had to recall millions of cars, they stored thousands of vehicles there for a time. Factoid no. 2. Several movies have been shot on site, and the area can be booked/rented for filming.
I heard about the site being used for car storage but not about being a movie location. Do you happen to know which movies had scenes filmed there? Thanks for watching!
@@searchingforhistory yes.. Transformers 4 and 5 both had scenes shot there.. and I also read of a local filmmaker that used the site for a piece about the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
I remember seeing the Volkswagons up there , lots of them , all shipped off to some unregulated country I think , I dunno . but there were a lot of them.
Whoops was probably the most debatable issue in Grays Harbor back in the 80s and 90s The administrative offices have been used for various uses Grays harbor court was used during pandemic so social distancing could be practiced Inside the tower it has probably the best acoustics that can be found Music videos have been shot there So much to learn about the "nuke site era"
I worked there in the early 80s for McMullin Painting and the waste of time and theft of materials was under estimated. Stolen generators, saws and so much other stuff besides the drug use and sales. We used the dome that's on the ground for a sand blasting shack for steel before we painted it. I found out years later that the "coatings" we applied one day with squeegees then sanded the ridges the next day contained asbestos and we only wear dust masks. Big business figures Humans as a RENEWABLE RESOURCE. Most all of us locals are so happy it never got finished.
With every comment like yours I read it sure does reinforce that the Satsop Nuclear Power Plant project was a colossal waste of money. I can only image the disaster potential it would have had if it had made it to completion. Thanks for sharing your experience there.
Seems everyplace I ever worked at there was a lot of drug use and booze drinking on the job, High pay and I have seen some guys paid friday broke monday ,
The entire location is owned/controlled by the Port of Grays Harbor. Some of the buildings are being utilized by different companies, the space which they lease from the Port. PGH is also actively trying to recruit more businesses to the location. Obviously, they are focusing on industrial or similar types. As stated by others the area is used by first responders and military for various types of training. The military training is only on occasion. They warn law enforcement ahead of time as sometimes calls come in about the noise or helicopters, etc. As far as the Transformer movies you wouldn't recognize the scenes as they were shot inside the reactor building. Final note, PGH prosecutes ALL trespassers if caught. If there is a fence do not go cross it. Multiple people are caught every year trespassing under the cooling towers and some go into the buildings because the have a false belief they are unused. Just a little advice for anyone who sees this video and wants to go check the location out.
Where were the people whose cars were parked there? I have read there is still a guard presence but I can't remember where I read that. I do remember the controversy from the 80's, and back then the term "WPPSS" was definitely bandied about a lot. A huge whoopsie for sure!
I have heard about the new cars parked there but I'm not sure which auto company. It is currently an active industrial/commercial park, so I would expect some level of security. No one seemed to mind us filming, although we were respectful of not trespassing. Thanks for watching!
my 2 uncles were chosen with another 198 top welders in the country and did all the welding of the pipes..... once this project flopped my grandparents purchased a HUGE multiroom house on williams creek road oakville for dirt cheap that was built for someone who was going to live there once the plant was up and runninG.. it never happened thank god,..
@@searchingforhistory around 2010 or so it was awhile ago so give or take a few years. I’ve been to so many auctions a bought a lot of stuff since. I myself bought copper wire and bus bar. The electric motors were huge and way out of my capabilities to buy. I toured it in the 1980s as a kid so it was always an awesome place to me. I also bought a bunch of scrap from the Olympia Brewery up north… good times.
@@searchingforhistory It really was! The person who built it made it to scale. It was only the main part of a building. It had all the water pipes, and electrical lines in colors. It even had little people working on their jobs. The person, or persons who did it were VERY smart. It blew my mind how much detail it had in it. You would of been really impressed seeing it! I could of spent hours looking at it, but we were painting in the building. If you ever go back you should ask to see it!
Nuclear power is making a comeback but with a much different system and fuel. Liquid fluoride salt thorium reactors are now starting to come to market. They can't melt down such a Chernobyl or Fukushima. Thorium is a waste product of rare earth metal refining. These plants can also be powered by nuclear waste from conventional nuclear reactors.
@@searchingforhistory Ramtha the enlightened one of Yelm fame once said that they did not want it to become operational and sabotaged it. He did not specify how but ,said it is unwise to have such dangerous material in a tsunami zone.
@@searchingforhistory It's just a business park now. They lease business space to private companies. It's also the location for the grays harbor college CDL training.
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
It was pretty cool to get so close to a nuclear power plant even one that was never completed. Have you ever been to the Satsop Nuclear Power Plant site?
To see such a monumental waste of money is really astounding. However, with the 9 point something earthquake we are due, maybe i'm OK with it having not been built!
I live two miles from this place
@@gurnblanstein9816 We like Grays Harbor county!
@@searchingforhistory the military (and area police) do make good use of this site as training. Last summer FEMA stopped by to do a 5 day mock nuclear emergency training thing.
@@bluejedi723 That is interesting. I wonder what a mock nuclear emergency training entails...
that is so cool I passed on the highway and saw those towers during my vacation. Good to see what it was. Wish I knew before, would of love to stop by and check it out. Next time I guess.
Yes, it's pretty cool to see them up close. Thanks for watching!
That saucer-shaped contraption was last used for the Lost in Space episode Will and Penney Make It Home!
Lol!
Thanks you guys, for making this video. I worked at Everybody's in Elma (grocery store) in the early 80s, and I haven't seen that parts of God's green earth since. I worked with some guys who worked at Satsop [as Ironworkers] and they'd tell me that they'd work for a couple of hours, and read the paper & play cards the rest of the night. They'd come back the next night, to find that the day shift was told to take apart everything from the night before.
Good luck with your videos
Sounds about right for that project. You are very welcome and thanks for watching!
A lot of waste of taxpayers $$ In time and supplies Rumors say that a whole dump truck is buried in cement
@@denisemorrison649 Hopefully no one was in the dump truck!
The removal of vast quantities of gravel from the Chehalis River valley was completely ignored in the Environmental Impact statement. The gravel was used in the mixing of concrete for construction of the towers. Removal of the valley gravel caused large scale changes to the course of the river and siltation destroying untold amounts of salmon habitat. Impacts that continue to this day.
I wonder if the project went through SEPA? It would be interesting to see a study done on those impacts. Thanks for leaving a comment and thanks for watching!
@@searchingforhistory Yes, it went through SEPA. Google Grays Harbor County Gravel transport and you will find several studies dealing with the issue of the gravel pits created by the project. Thanks for the video, btw.
@@searchingforhistory A full EIS was prepared for the project. The Gravel issue can be found in various reports under the heading "Gravel Transport Grays Harbor County". Also, here is a link to what each building is on the site: th-cam.com/video/kQkrwfFQ6_k/w-d-xo.html
@@Sunnbobb Thanks!
Why don’t you research your subjects a little before making half-intelligent comments/remarks ,like some nosey tourists . Maybe talk to local residents or on-site administrators or employees?
I worked on the plant as a carpenter setting the forms to pour concrete on #3.
That "dome" looking thing is the containment top for #5. #3's top saw destroyed when a Chicago Bridge and Iron crane fell when it was removing the dome off #3. When the crane collapsed it punctured a hole through every floor of the nuke plane into the 9' think slab. There floors were 2 and 3 feet thick concrete and so much rebar you couldn't see through it. As workers we were told not to take pictures or talk about it.
The plant could have been built within budget and on time but the state wanted to be the general contractor big mistake! Dixy Lee Ray the governor was a nuclear physicist, a democrat wanted to do it her way and the world's contractors took advantage of her.
The cooling towers are 496' tall. The reactor is in #3 and weighs 700. I saw the crane Big Blue set it. Big Blue crashed and burned a few years later back east killing 3 workers. There were 4 maybe 5 workers killed on this project.
Wow crazy... thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experiences at the site. I see, so the dome housed the reactor? I heard it was a dangerous place to work and what you wrote definitely confirms that. Thanks for watching the video!
You have good info. But I am sure the crane did not collapse from moving the lid. The collapse was caused by an underskilled worker trying to operate the crane in May 1980. The main crane crew were not on site.
@@MidnightWarrior1976 What happened was the operator was there with a limited crew on site and let the lid free fall then hit the brakes just before it hit the ground so the stress pulled the boom away from the reactor containment vessel. Upon investigation they discovered the iron workers who assembled the crane "short bolted the thing together.
The contractors were self insured so L&I never heard a thing about it.
@@scuddrunner1 We have a problem here. The entire site was shut down because of Mt. St. Helens ash cleanup. VERY few people worked that day -- except the crew on fire hoses. I was on site that day.
Can you back up your statement about the dome lid? Why wasn't it damaged? And why were they doing an extremely major operation on a day when the crews were not there? (Someone has to align the dome with the top) This would have required a very large crew.
@@MidnightWarrior1976
As you know we all showed up for work that day at 7am. I worked for MK, carpenter in hole 3. We were told to go home while the labors cleaned the the ash off the site. The lid was on the reactor building as you know, you were there. The operator removed the lid sometime in the day and that's when the accident happened. There was a number of guys working under the crane the week before including me.
The lid was destroyed. The lid sitting next to hole 3 is from hole 5. I never said it wasn't destroyed. I think we're on the same page.
Remember the MK trucks flattened by the cables supporting the craine. I wish I brought a camera.
So, did you work for MK? What crew were you on? My forman was Richendollar.
I liked the different direction of this video. Can’t believe how much money was spent on something that never started! And the jokes about the acronym were great.
Hi Thora!
Thanks, we were trying to come up with something different. For the last 30+ years I have seen those cooling towers up on the hill every time we drove out to the coast. I thought let's go up there and make a video! Oh, by the way our Puget Sound War video has really taken off in the last couple days. Thanks again for the suggestion to explain that history! We just weighed Thora, 72 pounds at 11 months old, is she going to keep growing?!
I just think it's refreshing to hear the word nuclear not pronounced as nu-kyu-lar. Nice video!
Lol. Glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
Wow. Cool video. I love this. Thanks for showing us!
Thank you for watching and leaving a comment!
The #5 reactor building is the one with the rebar sticking out of the top. The dome is its lid that was not installed (refer to more complete #3) The "dome" was once used as storage or a business.
Thanks for the info and thanks for watching!
I live about 20 minutes from here. Love visiting the place, it's awesome.
It really is awesome looking up at those giant structures! Thanks for watching!
My brother worked there as a union pipefitter. He said it was done in a horribly wastefull manner. One thing he said they were told to do was to fit a pipe, then leave it and pick up another one and walk across to the other side of the site and back. When he got back he was to see if the last fit was tagged, (signed off) and if it was then he could do another one. If not then he was to pick up the pipe again and take the walk!! He said they were to always look busy!!
It was a long way across and they were getting paid well!! And with a lot of overtime!! Somewhere to the north, close to the river was a huge yard where supplies were brought and stored. I think he said the railroad brought the supplies there, and they had built a huge railyard. That would have been the Milwaukee RR that has since been torn out.
He said one of them was 90% complete when they threw in the towel, and I think he said the other one was something like 60% done.
The whole thing was a financial disaster for the taxpayers, but incredibly lucrative for certain contractors! ! What do you think the odds are that they were friends of some key decision makers?? I know that the taxpayers paid for that massive financial disaster for decades and I don't know if its even paid off yet!!
Thanks for sharing this. I think pretty good odds, corrupt officials, and contractors made a lot of money. Thanks for watching!
76% for #3. 16% for #5
I remember back then, 3 mile island nuclear incident also had a hand in people not wanting a nuclear plant there, and being scared of it. Another interesting fact, it was the biggest Judicial bond failure in U.S. history.
Interesting, so a court assured payment to someone, but it failed to happen... was it the state or the contactor that didn't get paid? Thanks for leaving a comment and watching the video!
Those reactors are Combustion engineering system 80 , they sold the high pressure coolant pump motors to Palo Verde in Arizona , bigger motors so they could pass the coolant flow tests they also used system 80 reactors, It's basically become a Nuclear parts junk yard for parts now. All the parts are documented just like the rest of the industry. I worked for the company that welded the reactor to the steam generators. Hard to believe the units were never completed.
Yes, crazy. Did not know they had been parting it out over the years. Thanks for the information, and thanks for watching.
If I'm not mistaken, the tall, circular building behind you at 6:22 would be one of the reactors.
I believe you are correct. I would love to tour the inside. Thanks for watching!
There is many amazing 3D models of that place.
That is cool. I watched a video tour of the inside. Would be neat to see up close.
I worked for a company that rented the building to manufacture steel tanks for storing fuel I got to explore the inside from top to bottom
That would be really cool. Hopefully someone that has the legal authority will see this video and invite us back for a more detailed exploration. Thanks for watching!
I should add... Youre right that these facilities could never be utilized. Even though the most skilled craftsmen (and women) constructed this campus, not being operated is worse than regular use & maintenance
I imagine so. Too much time has passed.
Thank you for this video. Am new to the area and was wondering what those towers were.
I'm glad you liked the video. We have more videos on local history if you are interested. Thanks for watching!
WPPS = most appropriate acronym ever! Whoops! indeed. Sad how these projects can play out. What did WPPS do to replace the needed power generation?
To my knowledge nothing. That is the last attempt at building a new power plant in Washington that I am aware of (other than wind and solar in more recent years). At the same time they were building WNP-3 and 5 they did finish a WNP-2 on the Hanford Site in eastern Washington, which I believe is still in operation. With that being said, Washington has one coal fired power plant (that has a closure date coming up) and several Dams that generate power. I speculate that any need for power beyond what is generated here must be pulled off the grid from out of state.
@@searchingforhistory No worries, Hanford is ready for a kick-start!
I was a Security guard there I know every inch of that place inside and out. Above and below the ground.
That would be really cool to see.
WPPSS was domonated by Elected PUD and REA oficials who were completely oblivious to the price elasticity of the Aluminun industry. Eventually it became obvious the plant was not needed and not affordable.
It's amazing the failures surrounding that project. Thanks for watching!
A couple more interesting reuse facts: in 2018, after Volkswagen had to recall millions of cars, they stored thousands of vehicles there for a time. Factoid no. 2. Several movies have been shot on site, and the area can be booked/rented for filming.
I heard about the site being used for car storage but not about being a movie location. Do you happen to know which movies had scenes filmed there? Thanks for watching!
@@searchingforhistory yes.. Transformers 4 and 5 both had scenes shot there.. and I also read of a local filmmaker that used the site for a piece about the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
@@robnewman19 I will have to rewatch T4 and T5 and look for the scenes. Thanks!
I remember seeing the Volkswagons up there , lots of them , all shipped off to some unregulated country I think , I dunno . but there were a lot of them.
The dome is the unfinished roof of one reactor. Used as storage now or garage.
Thanks for the information and thanks for watching!
Whoops was probably the most debatable issue in Grays Harbor back in the 80s and 90s The administrative offices have been used for various uses Grays harbor court was used during pandemic so social distancing could be practiced Inside the tower it has probably the best acoustics that can be found Music videos have been shot there So much to learn about the "nuke site era"
Yes, we just scratched the surface. I would love to get a closer look at the structures and buildings. Thanks for watching!
I worked there in the early 80s for McMullin Painting and the waste of time and theft of materials was under estimated. Stolen generators, saws and so much other stuff besides the drug use and sales. We used the dome that's on the ground for a sand blasting shack for steel before we painted it.
I found out years later that the "coatings" we applied one day with squeegees then sanded the ridges the next day contained asbestos and we only wear dust masks.
Big business figures Humans as a RENEWABLE RESOURCE.
Most all of us locals are so happy it never got finished.
With every comment like yours I read it sure does reinforce that the Satsop Nuclear Power Plant project was a colossal waste of money. I can only image the disaster potential it would have had if it had made it to completion. Thanks for sharing your experience there.
Seems everyplace I ever worked at there was a lot of drug use and booze drinking on the job, High pay and I have seen some guys paid friday broke monday ,
An uncle of mine was a crew leader a lot of crews for many things up there , concrete was his job.
It seems a lot of people worked up there.
The entire location is owned/controlled by the Port of Grays Harbor. Some of the buildings are being utilized by different companies, the space which they lease from the Port. PGH is also actively trying to recruit more businesses to the location. Obviously, they are focusing on industrial or similar types. As stated by others the area is used by first responders and military for various types of training. The military training is only on occasion. They warn law enforcement ahead of time as sometimes calls come in about the noise or helicopters, etc.
As far as the Transformer movies you wouldn't recognize the scenes as they were shot inside the reactor building.
Final note, PGH prosecutes ALL trespassers if caught. If there is a fence do not go cross it. Multiple people are caught every year trespassing under the cooling towers and some go into the buildings because the have a false belief they are unused. Just a little advice for anyone who sees this video and wants to go check the location out.
Do not trespass is always good advice. Thanks for the additional information. Hope you liked the video and thanks for watching!
Thank you for the Heads Up!
Where were the people whose cars were parked there? I have read there is still a guard presence but I can't remember where I read that. I do remember the controversy from the 80's, and back then the term "WPPSS" was definitely bandied about a lot. A huge whoopsie for sure!
I have heard about the new cars parked there but I'm not sure which auto company. It is currently an active industrial/commercial park, so I would expect some level of security. No one seemed to mind us filming, although we were respectful of not trespassing. Thanks for watching!
my 2 uncles were chosen with another 198 top welders in the country and did all the welding of the pipes..... once this project flopped my grandparents purchased a HUGE multiroom house on williams creek road oakville for dirt cheap that was built for someone who was going to live there once the plant was up and runninG.. it never happened thank god,..
Lucky for your grandparents. Hopefully your uncles were able to make some good money while it lasted. Thanks for watching!
I bought a lot of scrap from this place when they auctioned off most the original electrical… made good money
That is interesting. When did they auction off equipment? Thanks for watching!
@@searchingforhistory around 2010 or so it was awhile ago so give or take a few years. I’ve been to so many auctions a bought a lot of stuff since. I myself bought copper wire and bus bar. The electric motors were huge and way out of my capabilities to buy. I toured it in the 1980s as a kid so it was always an awesome place to me.
I also bought a bunch of scrap from the Olympia Brewery up north… good times.
@@Livnglrg Thanks for sharing your experiences there.
In one of the buildings there's a model of what it would of looked like!
That would be cool to see.
@@searchingforhistory It really was! The person who built it made it to scale. It was only the main part of a building. It had all the water pipes, and electrical lines in colors. It even had little people working on their jobs. The person, or persons who did it were VERY smart. It blew my mind how much detail it had in it. You would of been really impressed seeing it! I could of spent hours looking at it, but we were painting in the building. If you ever go back you should ask to see it!
@@davidregan9872 Wow, sounds awesome. Thanks for watching!
Nuclear power is making a comeback but with a much different system and fuel. Liquid fluoride salt thorium reactors are now starting to come to market. They can't melt down such a Chernobyl or Fukushima. Thorium is a waste product of rare earth metal refining. These plants can also be powered by nuclear waste from conventional nuclear reactors.
Thorium reactors sound like a great alternative and the future of energy production. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment.
The site is a business park now.
It is interesting to drive up there to see the site. Thanks for watching!
It would be nice if they tore that entire place down and let nature take it back. It's an eyesore that should have never happened.
I imagine the cost would be so high to demolish it that it will probably never happen.
The question is how to repurpose it!?
With the amount of rebar in the construction, it's probably very difficult to demolish. It would be nice to see a new use for it.
I live here the floor on plant cracked
Sounds like there was poor quality control.
Yes kinda glad it did not get to operate it could have killed a lot of peeps , sad about the corruption and the people taking the tab for it.
It does make you wonder what would have happened had it become operational.
@@searchingforhistory Ramtha the enlightened one of Yelm fame once said that they did not want it to become operational and sabotaged it. He did not specify how but ,said it is unwise to have such dangerous material in a tsunami zone.
I've been told they still use Satsop as a training facility. I'm also glad it was never operational with the Big One looming.
Do you know what type of training? Thanks for watching!
@@searchingforhistory It's just a business park now. They lease business space to private companies. It's also the location for the grays harbor college CDL training.
military training I heard when I was a kid
My husband toured it as part of a class in college, and I've heard that first responders have used it for training purposes, too.
@@AllTheHappySquirrels That would be a real interesting tour. One of the other commenters wrote about nuclear disaster training takes place there.