The most important issue being addressed at the 2011 American Nuclear Society (ANS) Annual Meeting are the events that have and are currently taking place at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Rightfully so. Over 20,000 people are either dead or missing and over 100,000 have been displaced from their homes following the events that took place after the 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami. The amount of property damage is expected to be in the $300 billion range. Yet the nuclear crisis has been lead news globally since March 11. The earthquake and tsunami were devastating and the events at the Fukushima plant are hard to understand. It is very pre-mature to look at possible lessons learned until the industry knows exactly what went wrong.
As large as the earthquake was, though, the units that were operating at full power, Units 1, 2 and 3, shut down as they should have. The other three units, Units 4, 5 and 6, were in various stages of refueling. When the tsunami struck Units 1 though 4 the cooling systems were rendered inoperable. Hisashi Ninokata with the Tokyo Institute of Technology said that possible seismic damage to the piping systems and the complete structure may never been known due to the damage caused by the tsunami and hydrogen explosions onsite. Ninokata continued by saying that the earthquake caused the loss of offsite power at Fukushima and the damage “severely hampered recovery efforts.”
“Long-term station black out was not assumed in the hope that the offsite power would be recovered and diesel generators would be restored soon,” he said. “But it was not true.”
Joe Colvin, president of the American Nuclear Society, said there are many things that can be discussed and many conclusions that may be drawn about what exactly took place following the impact of the tsunami. But he did say, in his opinion, that the design basis for the facility was not adequate.
“The plant sustained a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which was beyond its design basis of 8.2,” he added.
But the plant was designed for a tsunami of roughly 5.7 meters, which is about 19 feet. The actual tsunami triggered by the earthquake is believed to have been in the range of 48 feet tall.
“Clearly that is a significant impact difference,” said Colvin.
The design of the plant placed critical equipment, such as the diesel generators, below grade which caused the loss of that equipment when trying to bring the reactors to a safe shutdown.
“The elevation of some components was not appropriate to cope with the tsunami,” said Dr. Akira Omoto, Commissioner of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission.
This will be reviewed as the industry tries to understand the events.
In total, 14 nuclear power units along the coast of Japan were affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Both the Onagawa and the Tokai stations were safe from the looming disaster at Fukushima due to the height of these plants’ sites, added Omoto.
Still, Ninokata said that the area was never prepared for a 14 meter high tsunami, even with warnings of an impending tsunami. But the quick actions by the manager at the Fukushima Daini plant to distribute the only remaining power line to the unit at Daini without power saved this plant, too, from disaster.
Impact on U.S. Nuclear Plants
The United States has 24 operating boiling water reactors and 23 of these plants are of similar design to the Mark 1 reactors at Fukushima Daiichi. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has launched a task force to perform both a short- and long-term review of all nuclear power plants in the U.S. Resident inspectors have been reviewing plants’ extensive mitigation guidelines, station black out, seismic and flooding issues, as well as severe accident management guidelines. Spent fuel storage pools have also been inspected at both operating and inactive facilities.
To date, the task force and resident inspectors have yet to find any issues that would undermine the confidence of the NRC in the continued safe operation and emergency preparedness of the U.S. plants, although the safety review is still in its early stage as is the investigation at Fukushima Daiichi. Michael Weber, deputy executive director for operations at the NRC, said they do expect the near term task force will recommend actions for the Commission’s consideration to enhance both safety and emergency preparedness.
“The Fukushima event has highlighted the challenges of coping with long-term station blackout and underscored the importance of mitigating its consequences,” said Weber.
He did add that if there are lessons to be learned from Japan that indicate the NRC needs to make improvements to the regulatory program, they will do so.
Still a Long Road Ahead
“The impact of the Fukushima event has led many, many countries, those involved in nuclear energy and those thinking about it, to reexamine the ongoing role of nuclear power in their country,” said Colvin.
Some countries have already made the decision to end their nuclear programs, such as Germany and Italy.
“I always find it fascinating that countries will hold votes for referendums before the facts are in,” said Dale Klein, former NRC Commissioner.
China will continue with its nuclear program to keep up with the large demand for electricity as the nation continues to grow. China did take a slight pause after the Fukushima events, “but have no choice than to continue” with nuclear energy, said Klein.
The global community outside of the nuclear industry will still be somewhat concerned with nuclear technology. It is up to the industry to educate the public so they can make an informed decision regarding the use of nuclear power.
Ironically, the units at Fukushima Daiichi were schedule for closure next year. The disaster has changed the landscape of nuclear power and as the industry attempts to move forward globally, they must adjust.
“We need to be thinking more broadly,” said Colvin. “We will probably learn lessons that will not only be applied to the technology now, but also the technologies that we look to in the future.”
As has been said multiple times, understanding what exactly took place at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will take quite some time.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Seizing the Opportunity
“It is an incredibly bright future.”
Jim Miller, Chairman, President and CEO of Southern Nuclear Operating Co., and other nuclear executives confidently delivered this message to the hundreds of attendees during the Opening Plenary Session at the 2011 American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting. The theme of this year’s conference, “Seizing the Opportunity: Nuclear’s Bright Future.”
Some may say that the future for nuclear power is anything but bright following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed portions of the East coast of Japan and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Since, the possibility of a nuclear renaissance in the United States has been questioned. But Miller said that in order for the U.S. to keep pace with the growing demand for electricity, new nuclear is needed. Electricity demand is expected to increase 31 percent by 2035. That is one reason there has not been a pause in the construction activities for Vogtle Units 3 and 4. The project is on-schedule and the new Westinghouse AP1000 units are expected to be online in 2016.
And Southern is not alone. The Tennessee Valley Authority is continuing with construction at the Watts Bar 2 Unit that will add 1,180 MW to TVA’s generation portfolio. TVA conducts the deployment of its nuclear power projects in three phases: a development, or study phase; an engineering and licensing phase; and actual construction. Bill McCollum, Chief Operating Officer for TVA, said the utility will never have more than one nuclear project in each phase at the same time.
“We manage the way we develop projects and the way we execute them so we can deliver on our commitments,” said McCollum.
And in order for new nuclear build to be successful, the existing fleet must continue to be operated both safely and reliably. This year TVA was met with challenges when unusual storm events sent tornadoes throughout the southeast region of the U.S. Over 350 transmission lines were tore down and 108 lines were out of service following the outbreak of twisters. Of those lines were the lines that provided most of the off-site power for the three-unit 3,440 MW Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. Diesel generators powered a safe shutdown.
“The plant was prepared. The systems and equipment functioned as it should have,” said McCollum.
Watts Bar 2 is expected to be complete and online in 2013. Other than safe operations, in order for the nuclear renaissance to flourish new projects must be completed on time. The nuclear industry has a lot of eyes on it right now and any delays will bring with it harsh criticism. The public must trust the nuclear industry.
“Nuclear technology struggles with explaining the great goods it can provide,” said U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner William Magwood.
And the only way to gain the public’s trust and help them understand nuclear power is by taking the lead in communicating the truth. That is also vital to nuclear’s bright future. Within the first three weeks following the events in Japan, ANS members participated in over 250 interviews with the media to discuss the events.
“As big of a crisis as it is, and continuing to be, I do believe we should be very proud of the response from the country and the industry in attempting to help,” said Dr. Pete Lyons, acting assistant secretary for Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Leading Today
The industry will continue to move forward after knowing more about the events in Japan. It will be challenging in a Post-Fukushima nuclear world, but the opportunities are rising. Over $110 million in awards has been granted to 66 U.S. universities for nuclear research. Miller, who is retiring this year, said those students and young people who are just now starting their career in nuclear are starting at the perfect time.
“The nuclear business in this country and in this world is taking off,” he said.
That is being seen with the government’s continued support of nuclear energy research and development. Currently, there is a five-year, $67 million program taking place to select two light water reactor small modular reactor designs to move through design certification. Small modular reactors, like the industry as a whole, face challenges. NRC licensing must be complete. And economics will continue to be a challenge especially with gas prices staying low. But Lyons said the industry may see deployment of the country’s first small modular reactor by 2020.
One success already seen within DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy is the Nuclear Power 2010 initiative, said Lyons. The two main goals of Nuclear Power 2010 were to remove the technical, regulatory, and institutional barriers to building new nuclear power plants in the U.S., and secure industry decisions to construct and operate those plants. Lyons said the industry demonstrated key untested regulatory processes and developed new, advanced, passively safe light water reactors. This, and the selection of sites for new nuclear plants, is leading to a bright future.
“This new technology is real and there is a ton of energy behind it,” said Ferland.
Still, even with the loan guarantee ceiling for nuclear projects proposed to increase to $54 billion in Fiscal Year 2011 the challenge of financing remains. Nuclear power plants are not cheap to construct. Just last year, Constellation Energy pulled out of negotiations for a $7.5 billion federal loan guarantee to build a nuclear reactor in Maryland with its French partner Electricite de France (EDF) stating that the high estimate of the credit subsidy would force Constellation and its partners to pay the U.S. Treasury 11.6 percent, or $880 million, to obtain the loan guarantee.
“Such a sum would clearly destroy the project’s economics (or the economics for any nuclear project for that matter) and was dramatically out of line with both our own and independent assessments of what the figure should reasonably be,” a statement from Constellation read.
Numerous obstacles are still present for the nuclear renaissance. The industry, though, should “Seize the Opportunity” that has arisen to learn from the tragic events in Japan to make sure the U.S. existing fleet and planned reactors will continue to be operated safely. As Magwood noted, to construct these plants is a long process. So there is time to be pro-active and engage with the public. There is time to not only learn lessons from the events in Japan, but to implement them, too. After all, the goal is to have a bright future.
Jim Miller, Chairman, President and CEO of Southern Nuclear Operating Co., and other nuclear executives confidently delivered this message to the hundreds of attendees during the Opening Plenary Session at the 2011 American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting. The theme of this year’s conference, “Seizing the Opportunity: Nuclear’s Bright Future.”
Some may say that the future for nuclear power is anything but bright following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed portions of the East coast of Japan and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Since, the possibility of a nuclear renaissance in the United States has been questioned. But Miller said that in order for the U.S. to keep pace with the growing demand for electricity, new nuclear is needed. Electricity demand is expected to increase 31 percent by 2035. That is one reason there has not been a pause in the construction activities for Vogtle Units 3 and 4. The project is on-schedule and the new Westinghouse AP1000 units are expected to be online in 2016.
And Southern is not alone. The Tennessee Valley Authority is continuing with construction at the Watts Bar 2 Unit that will add 1,180 MW to TVA’s generation portfolio. TVA conducts the deployment of its nuclear power projects in three phases: a development, or study phase; an engineering and licensing phase; and actual construction. Bill McCollum, Chief Operating Officer for TVA, said the utility will never have more than one nuclear project in each phase at the same time.
“We manage the way we develop projects and the way we execute them so we can deliver on our commitments,” said McCollum.
And in order for new nuclear build to be successful, the existing fleet must continue to be operated both safely and reliably. This year TVA was met with challenges when unusual storm events sent tornadoes throughout the southeast region of the U.S. Over 350 transmission lines were tore down and 108 lines were out of service following the outbreak of twisters. Of those lines were the lines that provided most of the off-site power for the three-unit 3,440 MW Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant. Diesel generators powered a safe shutdown.
“The plant was prepared. The systems and equipment functioned as it should have,” said McCollum.
Watts Bar 2 is expected to be complete and online in 2013. Other than safe operations, in order for the nuclear renaissance to flourish new projects must be completed on time. The nuclear industry has a lot of eyes on it right now and any delays will bring with it harsh criticism. The public must trust the nuclear industry.
“Nuclear technology struggles with explaining the great goods it can provide,” said U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner William Magwood.
And the only way to gain the public’s trust and help them understand nuclear power is by taking the lead in communicating the truth. That is also vital to nuclear’s bright future. Within the first three weeks following the events in Japan, ANS members participated in over 250 interviews with the media to discuss the events.
“As big of a crisis as it is, and continuing to be, I do believe we should be very proud of the response from the country and the industry in attempting to help,” said Dr. Pete Lyons, acting assistant secretary for Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Leading Today
The industry will continue to move forward after knowing more about the events in Japan. It will be challenging in a Post-Fukushima nuclear world, but the opportunities are rising. Over $110 million in awards has been granted to 66 U.S. universities for nuclear research. Miller, who is retiring this year, said those students and young people who are just now starting their career in nuclear are starting at the perfect time.
“The nuclear business in this country and in this world is taking off,” he said.
That is being seen with the government’s continued support of nuclear energy research and development. Currently, there is a five-year, $67 million program taking place to select two light water reactor small modular reactor designs to move through design certification. Small modular reactors, like the industry as a whole, face challenges. NRC licensing must be complete. And economics will continue to be a challenge especially with gas prices staying low. But Lyons said the industry may see deployment of the country’s first small modular reactor by 2020.
One success already seen within DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy is the Nuclear Power 2010 initiative, said Lyons. The two main goals of Nuclear Power 2010 were to remove the technical, regulatory, and institutional barriers to building new nuclear power plants in the U.S., and secure industry decisions to construct and operate those plants. Lyons said the industry demonstrated key untested regulatory processes and developed new, advanced, passively safe light water reactors. This, and the selection of sites for new nuclear plants, is leading to a bright future.
“This new technology is real and there is a ton of energy behind it,” said Ferland.
Still, even with the loan guarantee ceiling for nuclear projects proposed to increase to $54 billion in Fiscal Year 2011 the challenge of financing remains. Nuclear power plants are not cheap to construct. Just last year, Constellation Energy pulled out of negotiations for a $7.5 billion federal loan guarantee to build a nuclear reactor in Maryland with its French partner Electricite de France (EDF) stating that the high estimate of the credit subsidy would force Constellation and its partners to pay the U.S. Treasury 11.6 percent, or $880 million, to obtain the loan guarantee.
“Such a sum would clearly destroy the project’s economics (or the economics for any nuclear project for that matter) and was dramatically out of line with both our own and independent assessments of what the figure should reasonably be,” a statement from Constellation read.
Numerous obstacles are still present for the nuclear renaissance. The industry, though, should “Seize the Opportunity” that has arisen to learn from the tragic events in Japan to make sure the U.S. existing fleet and planned reactors will continue to be operated safely. As Magwood noted, to construct these plants is a long process. So there is time to be pro-active and engage with the public. There is time to not only learn lessons from the events in Japan, but to implement them, too. After all, the goal is to have a bright future.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Coal-Gen Returns to Columbus!
The most-up-to date discussions of what is happening in the coal-fired power generation industry will take place when the 11th annual Coal-Gen conference and exhibition gets underway in Columbus, Ohio beginning August 17th and running through August 19th.
The conference sessions at Coal-Gen 2011 will take place during an uncertain time for the coal-fired power industry. In February, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final Clean Air Act standards for boilers and certain incinerators. And in March, EPA proposed the first-ever national standards for mercury, arsenic and other toxic air pollution from power plants. Following these rules, many plants are beginning retrofits to comply with the mandates or as part of settlement agreements.
Pre-conference workshops are offered again this year at Coal-Gen. You may choose from two full-day courses and two half-day courses, all offered on Tuesday, August 16.
“Capital Investment Analysis at Coal-fired Power Plants: Co-firing with Biomass” is a full-day course that will be taught by John Hynes, partner with Excidian LLC. John’s courses are perennial favorites at Coal-Gen. This course will provide participants with the financial knowledge to analyze power plant projects and to make better business decisions. The course will cover two modules: financial statements and capital investment decision analysis. Much of the day is spent working in groups.
“Power Plant Construction Management: A Guide to Survival” is the second full-day course on offer. It will be taught by Peter Hessler, president of Construction Business Associates, and Mark Bridgers, a consultant with ContinuumAG. The morning will be devoted to understanding the contract and becoming familiar with its requirements. The afternoon will be devoted to managing safety, quality and the economics of the site works. Success of the course comes from a blend of instruction-provided guidance along with active participation by the attendees.
The first half-day course is “Specialized Marketing, Sales & Communication Techniques to the Power Generation Market.” This course will be taught by Ravi Krishman, principal consultant with Krishnam & Associates. This course offers specialized marketing techniques and strategies tailored to utility and industrial markets, particularly those with facilities affected by emission control regulations.
The second half-day course is “Process Instrumentation for Coal-fired Power Plants.” It will be taught by Ravi Jethra, industry manager for Endress + Hauser’s Power group. This course covers operations of a typically coal-fired power plant and the process instrumentation associated with it, specifically level, pressure, flow and temperature. Technologies linked with each of these parameters will be discussed along with relevant applications.
Coal-Gen’s Keynote Session on the morning of Wednesday, August 17th is intended to help understand the future of existing and planned coal-fired power plants. One featured speaker is Mike Morris, chairman and CEO of American Electric Power, which owns and operates 80 power generating stations in the U.S. Coal-fired generation counts for 66 percent of AEP’s total 38,000 MW of capacity. Morris is leading AEP's efforts to develop innovative carbon capture and storage systems at one or more AEP coal-powered generating plants at a time when research related to carbon capture and sequestration is considered to be one of the best solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Joining Morris will be Fred Palmer, senior vice president of Government Relations for Peabody Energy. At Peabody, Mr. Palmer is responsible for advancing government policies around the globe to unlock the potential for coal as the world's future fuel.
The Keynote Session is rounded out by Robert Fisher, senior vice president of fossil generation for Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA is in a period of transition, reducing its reliance on coal-fired generation and making plans to add more nuclear generating capacity. Mr. Fisher is responsible for the operation, maintenance, engineering, fuels and outage activities of TVA’s 11 coal-fired power plants, 87 peaking combustion turbines and six combined cycle units, totaling 22,647 MW of capacity.
Following the Keynote Session, three days of conference sessions get underway with tracks focusing on new generation; environmental, regulatory and carbon capture and sequestration issues; asset optimization; coal supply, handling and by-products; emerging clean coal technologies; and circulating fluidized bed combustion options.
On Thursday, August 18th, a plenary session titled “Boiler MACT: What It does, What It Means, How It Affects You” will help shed light on the looming Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) regulation for coal-fired power plants. Speakers from the Institute of Clean Air Companies, Edison Electric Institute, both the U.S and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and engineering firm Burns and McDonnell will discuss the implications of this proposed rule.
On Friday, August 19th, three mega-sessions will take place. One session will focus on coal combustion residuals management and issues, such as closing ash ponds and converting to dry ash handling. A second morning mega-session will give the audience on update on regulations facing coal generation facilities such as MACT, coal combustion residuals, National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and greenhouse gas emissions and their impact.
A third mega-session takes place Friday afternoon and will focus on how engaging with the public early and often to understand the importance of CCS implementation can be beneficial to the community.
If your company generates electricity, you can qualify for discounted registration fees for Coal-Gen. For a single $500 payment, your company may send an UNLIMITED number of personnel to Coal-Gen. Registration includes access to the Keynote Session, mega-sessions, all conference sessions and delegate lunches. For complete details on the Power Generators’ Discount Program, contact David Wagman at davidw@pennwell.com or call him at 918-831-9866.
Full Coal-Gen conference registration and exhibition details are available online at http://www.coal-gen.com/.
The conference sessions at Coal-Gen 2011 will take place during an uncertain time for the coal-fired power industry. In February, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final Clean Air Act standards for boilers and certain incinerators. And in March, EPA proposed the first-ever national standards for mercury, arsenic and other toxic air pollution from power plants. Following these rules, many plants are beginning retrofits to comply with the mandates or as part of settlement agreements.
Pre-conference workshops are offered again this year at Coal-Gen. You may choose from two full-day courses and two half-day courses, all offered on Tuesday, August 16.
“Capital Investment Analysis at Coal-fired Power Plants: Co-firing with Biomass” is a full-day course that will be taught by John Hynes, partner with Excidian LLC. John’s courses are perennial favorites at Coal-Gen. This course will provide participants with the financial knowledge to analyze power plant projects and to make better business decisions. The course will cover two modules: financial statements and capital investment decision analysis. Much of the day is spent working in groups.
“Power Plant Construction Management: A Guide to Survival” is the second full-day course on offer. It will be taught by Peter Hessler, president of Construction Business Associates, and Mark Bridgers, a consultant with ContinuumAG. The morning will be devoted to understanding the contract and becoming familiar with its requirements. The afternoon will be devoted to managing safety, quality and the economics of the site works. Success of the course comes from a blend of instruction-provided guidance along with active participation by the attendees.
The first half-day course is “Specialized Marketing, Sales & Communication Techniques to the Power Generation Market.” This course will be taught by Ravi Krishman, principal consultant with Krishnam & Associates. This course offers specialized marketing techniques and strategies tailored to utility and industrial markets, particularly those with facilities affected by emission control regulations.
The second half-day course is “Process Instrumentation for Coal-fired Power Plants.” It will be taught by Ravi Jethra, industry manager for Endress + Hauser’s Power group. This course covers operations of a typically coal-fired power plant and the process instrumentation associated with it, specifically level, pressure, flow and temperature. Technologies linked with each of these parameters will be discussed along with relevant applications.
Coal-Gen’s Keynote Session on the morning of Wednesday, August 17th is intended to help understand the future of existing and planned coal-fired power plants. One featured speaker is Mike Morris, chairman and CEO of American Electric Power, which owns and operates 80 power generating stations in the U.S. Coal-fired generation counts for 66 percent of AEP’s total 38,000 MW of capacity. Morris is leading AEP's efforts to develop innovative carbon capture and storage systems at one or more AEP coal-powered generating plants at a time when research related to carbon capture and sequestration is considered to be one of the best solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Joining Morris will be Fred Palmer, senior vice president of Government Relations for Peabody Energy. At Peabody, Mr. Palmer is responsible for advancing government policies around the globe to unlock the potential for coal as the world's future fuel.
The Keynote Session is rounded out by Robert Fisher, senior vice president of fossil generation for Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA is in a period of transition, reducing its reliance on coal-fired generation and making plans to add more nuclear generating capacity. Mr. Fisher is responsible for the operation, maintenance, engineering, fuels and outage activities of TVA’s 11 coal-fired power plants, 87 peaking combustion turbines and six combined cycle units, totaling 22,647 MW of capacity.
Following the Keynote Session, three days of conference sessions get underway with tracks focusing on new generation; environmental, regulatory and carbon capture and sequestration issues; asset optimization; coal supply, handling and by-products; emerging clean coal technologies; and circulating fluidized bed combustion options.
On Thursday, August 18th, a plenary session titled “Boiler MACT: What It does, What It Means, How It Affects You” will help shed light on the looming Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) regulation for coal-fired power plants. Speakers from the Institute of Clean Air Companies, Edison Electric Institute, both the U.S and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and engineering firm Burns and McDonnell will discuss the implications of this proposed rule.
On Friday, August 19th, three mega-sessions will take place. One session will focus on coal combustion residuals management and issues, such as closing ash ponds and converting to dry ash handling. A second morning mega-session will give the audience on update on regulations facing coal generation facilities such as MACT, coal combustion residuals, National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and greenhouse gas emissions and their impact.
A third mega-session takes place Friday afternoon and will focus on how engaging with the public early and often to understand the importance of CCS implementation can be beneficial to the community.
If your company generates electricity, you can qualify for discounted registration fees for Coal-Gen. For a single $500 payment, your company may send an UNLIMITED number of personnel to Coal-Gen. Registration includes access to the Keynote Session, mega-sessions, all conference sessions and delegate lunches. For complete details on the Power Generators’ Discount Program, contact David Wagman at davidw@pennwell.com or call him at 918-831-9866.
Full Coal-Gen conference registration and exhibition details are available online at http://www.coal-gen.com/.
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