- Name and surname: Adolfo Manuel Haro Irigoyen
- Current position or responsibility: Head of the team of fuel transfer
- Company in which she works: GDES
- Education: FP2
- Experience: More than 20 years in nuclear industry
How many years have you been in your current job and what are the main activities you carry out? What drove you to get to your current position?
I have been working continuously in this position since 2014. I carry out almost all my tasks in the fuel building. My main job is to transport fuel and inspect new and spent fuel. In addition, in recent years, I have also been carrying out work loading spent fuel containers to take them to the ATI.
My main motivation when doing this job is that it was and is very attractive to be able to work with a technology that is not very common.
The most interesting part of your job… any milestone you would like to highlight?
The work I perform is highly specialized so it allows me to carry out very specific activities, which I find out very interesting, and in particular, I would like to highlight the following topics:
- To have access to uncommon tools, gadgets and equipment even within the nuclear industry, which has allowed me to increase my technical knowledge not only from a general point of view but also from a particular one, for example in my personal life, applying mechanics and electricity concepts.
- To have the luck of meeting other working teams from other countries, with whom I have worked side by side, learning and teaching each other based on our experience. The fact to work with so many different working teams has allowed me to know and learn about other working cultures that I try to implement in my day by day.
The main topic that I would like to highlight is to have worked on the segmentation of control rods at Cofrentes Nuclear Power Plant, which gave me the opportunity to acquire more experience and improve my skills in the execution of work in the fuel storage pool.
We carried out the work practically from the very beginning, which had never been done at the plant before, and the fact of giving solutions to all the problems that come up as they arose, I believe, personally toughened us and, above all, strengthened us as a team.
The most rewarding thing about your day to day at work…
I enjoy my job, and entering the Fuel Building is something I find out very gratifying because I reach to see the magnitude of the equipment and components I work with, as well as being surrounded by my colleagues and feeling their support in the tasks we perform.
I feel like part of a team, and together we achieve what we set out to do. The work, although complex, accurate, and often involving high levels of stress due to the materials we handle, ends up being very engaging, and solving problems as a team is, at the end of the day, very positive and rewarding.
What brought you to the nuclear industry and how did people around you react to your decision? And now?
It was my friends who advised me that the nuclear sector had many opportunities, in addition to my passion for mechanics.
My close ones saw it as a great opportunity for my professional development, and now they see that it was the right choice.
How do you see the evolution of the industry since you joined it? and well, … And now what?
Based on my experience along the years in the nuclear industry, I have seen a great evolution in safety, both for the plant and for the workers performance.
I have witnessed significant changes in fuel handling. When I started working at Cofrentes nuclear power plant, the spent fool pool was considered the only way for storing the spent fuel elements, so then, re-racking projects were carried out in order to increase the storage capacity. Currently, they are also stored dry in the Individualized Temporary Storage (ATI) at the same site, with the containers used for their transport and storage in this new facility gaining prominence.
Now, considering that we have a definitive shutdown date, it is inevitable to start thinking about all the work to empty the fuel pools, both of fuel elements and other high-activity items.
Would you encourage young people to pursue a career in this industry?
I would indeed encourage them; I believe it is a sector that will need to develop towards more efficient plants. Likewise, despite the closure schedule, the dismantling tasks will be very extensive and will require lots of professionals who have already the knowledge and experience of Cofrentes nuclear power plant.
What message would you like to convey to the rest of your nuclear colleagues? and to non-nuclear peers?
To my nuclear colleagues, I would like to say that we should work to make our sector a source of well-being for society through more productive plants with less waste, and convey the safety of this energy to society, which we all know it is.
And to those outside the nuclear sector, I invite them to get a better knowledge about nuclear industry, because once you start discovering it, you will realize its advantages and especially the number of professions that work on it.
Can you tell us two hobbies?
One of my passions is music, especially indie music, and another is hiking.
Years ago, I played in different bands, both guitar and bass, and now I try to keep practicing the guitar, but at home.
Hiking became something I naturally fell into because of the many trails in the area where I live. A hike helps me disconnect, sometimes alone and other times with friends to spend time with them.
And to get to know you a bit better: 1 book, 1 song (or music piece) and 1 movie
A book: Tokio Blues, de Murakami.
A song: No Cars Go, de Arcade Fire.
A film: Pulp Fiction, de Tarantino.
Finally, to conclude, a wish for the future
Well, what I think everyone would want: a fairer society and world peace. And for me in particular, to finish my career at Cofrentes at least as well as I have so far, and that my family lacks nothing.
