It's All Nuclear

Here's something I've experienced here in the Washington Tri-Cities area that I definitely won't experience anywhere else - the whole town (okay, three-ish cities) was built on and still mostly runs for one reason - the Manhattan project and its aftermath. For those of you who don't know, the Hanford Site, which is outside of Richland, was the place where the first full scale nuclear reactor was built and was where the plutonium for the Fat Man bomb dropped on Nagasaki was produced. Building this reactor was a massive construction project that was completed in record time with almost complete secrecy which wiped out a lot of the farms and the Native American territory that was there before World War Two. A lot of the structures that were built then still exist out in the middle of miles of scrub-brush-filled desert. And of course, there are the tanks full of 40 million-odd gallons of nuclear waste out there, which I am helping to work to clean up.

But here's the thing - even in town, you cannot forget the town's legacy. For example, Richland High School's mascot is the Bombers. Streets are named Atom, Einstein, Innovation, Leslie, Groves, Fermi. Most non-Bechtel people I've met are from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which helps with processing waste, or CHM2Hill, which manages the tank farms. Most people seem to be pro-nuclear power. I even went to a museum about the geology and history of the place, where they had an exhibit on vitrification where I could point out exactly what I was working on, which was undoubtedly very strange and very cool. Honestly, I'm a bit worried that once all the waste and stuff from the Manhattan Project is cleaned up, there won't be much here afterwards. On the other hand, it is definitely awesome to see that what I am working on has local and historical significance.

Work is going very well. There have been some exciting moments where I've seen stuff I've been working on has been used at the plant and to make important decisions in town. I did some work on a project for my manager that got presented to some of his bosses, and I became the work-off curve queen. Only problem - my manager just got transferred to work on another building, so I'm going to have to start all over with the new guy, who seems nice enough.

I also did my report out - my final presentation - last week, even though I've still got a while left to go. It went well - I got the most laughs, and I think I impressed upper management. I was slightly blindsided by a question about how much force it takes to haul a space shuttle on the back of a Toyota, but other than that, it went great.

This is probably one of the best places I could have interned because asking questions and being open to answering questions, regardless of position or ability, is highly encouraged. This attitude is important enough that there are even a lot of acronyms associated with it (SCWE*, anyone?), because, on a government job, anything important has an acronym.

I am definitely having a great experience here, and am not really looking forward to going back to school. It's nice only having to focus on a few things at a time, and having everyone actively on the same page working to succeed. Honestly, I'm a different person here than I am allowed to be at school, which is nice. Also, I've heard from pretty much everyone - junior year, especially in engineering, is hell. It's also nice not to have to worry about monsoon rains.

I will be returning to Tucson in a few short weeks, but I still have some time to have a good time here.

*SCWE - Safety Conscious Work Environment - as part of a nuclear safety and quality culture (NSQC), an open work environment where people are encouraged to ask questions and point out potential safety issues without fear of retribution. Opposite of a "chilled" work environment. Yes, I had to get training for this.

Hoists and Cranes and Robot Arms - Oh My!

One of the weirdest things about this internship is not something I even considered going in, and it's simply this -  that everybody seems to be married, or close to it. I'll admit that that should not have come as a surprise to me - I'm working with mostly older people who have been established for a while, but it was still a bit of a shock to go from an environment full of horny college kids to an environment where people ask about your kids. Even the intern who is one cubicle over has a wife and two kids (he is a bit older, though). It's a total change in attitude.

The internship is going well on pretty much every front. My manager likes me, my group lead loves me, and I'm getting a lot of good work done. My lead wonders how I get so much done, but I've gone from juggling a lot of classes in hard majors, having leadership positions in two clubs and being fairly active in two more, and trying to have a social life - to focusing on one or two things at a time and having my social life pretty much handed to me (the other interns are much better at planning stuff to do than I am, and my housemate has connections). Also, I don't have the experience to know how to responsibly procrastinate (yet) and I like what I'm doing much better than the stuff I'm doing at school. So yes, I do good work and I'm enjoying myself immensely. I'm definitely having a good experience

I'm still working mostly with cranes, hoists, and manipulators, and all of those can be more intricate than you'd think, especially if the operator can't be in the room with them. Some of the cranes in black cells, where no one will be allowed after the plant starts up because of intense radiation, have some pretty cool configurations that involve cameras and lasers. When I've visited the site, I've seen that there are two colors of cranes. The yellow cranes are permanent, and the blue ones come out after construction is done. There are a lot more permanent cranes in the buildings than temporary ones. 

Outside of work, I've been pretty active. My housemate is training for a triathlon, so I've been tagging along when she goes to the gym. I'm still biking a lot, more out of convenience than for exercise. I've gone out hiking a few times. Some hikes have been spectacular, some have just been so-so, but it's fun getting out with friends. I've also gone to a few more Tri-Cities Dust Devil baseball games, but they've lost every game I've been at, so I might stop going.

I've gained a guard dog. My housemate has two small poodles, and I've won the loyalty of one, D.O.G. (emphasis on the "O"), by virtue of my generosity with belly rubs and treats. He's quite the funny puppy.  

I missed 4th of July at home. In Washington, I saw some fireworks, and had some awesome ribs and a pint ..... of blueberries (still not quite drinking age). I miss the pageantry, and the awesome fireworks from back home, but nothing can quite compare to those on the coast.

TLDR: I'm doing fine, people like me, I like people, 4th of July at home is better.

Have a great week!