Nuclear Divers, A Definite Breed
29 mar 2007 | Source: DiveSter

According to David Harner, "Not everyone would want to jump in a nuclear reactor. It's a definite breed." Harner should know whereof he understates, because Harner is a nuclear diver, one of those "definite breed" who dives inside the cooling reactors of nuclear power plants while wearing a specialized, 100-pound "cool suit." Claiming he enjoys diving in reactors because the vis is so good, I've got two words for him: Cayman Brac.

Interestingly, a nuke diver's logbook doesn't just track depth and bottom time. It also includes data concerning millirems, a measure of radiation exposure. Nuclear divers try to keep their exposure below 2000 millirems a year, although the government allows divers to be exposed to 5000 millirems a year. (For comparison, an x-ray delivers about 40 millirems, and people sitting too close to the television can receive up to 890 millirems of radiation to the eyes annually.)

Most nuclear power plants don't retain full-time divers. Rather, most work as subcontractors and travel as teams. If you want to learn more about nuclear diving, start with Kathryn Kranhold's profile of several nuclear divers, and after that, try these: Underwater Construction Corporation is the largest nuclear diving company in the world. With over 200 employees (about 5 of which are women), they travel the world offering nuclear plants the services they need. Guess what? They've got job openings right now.
Both MescoDivers and The Ocean Corporation offer nuclear diver training programs.
Diving Heritage has an excellent history and overview of nuclear divers, including some tiny but illuminating images of nuclear divers at work (like the thumbnail in this post). Valhalla, Texas is home to a missile silo that used to house a nuclear-tipped missile. While it may not be as, um, glamorous as diving in a real nuclear reactor, it's probably a lot safer and requires a lot less training.

[Thanks, CharlieK!]




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