Rock Bolts rust maturity date at Peace Power Mica Creek Dam Power House roof

Fifty Five Years Ago the Rock Bolts which hold up the Loose Rock and Cement Overlay in the Powerhouse were not properly grouted at Peace Power Mica Creek Dam located near Hudson Hope British Columbia.

Six months after I was denied my scheduled job at CNR System Headquarters assisting and working with Civil Engineers I obtained employment doing exactly that as a Recording Technician and in house Builder Quality Control Inspector with KBR BRJ Halliburton at Peace Power where Chief Engineer Abercrombie said to me "I think you and I are the only ones aware of exactly what we are building here".  A few weeks later "I do not know where all the rock bolts are and what the torques are." There were many hundreds of Rock Bolts.

      I surveyed torqued and inspected every Rock Bolt in the walls and          up 180 feet at         the ceiling of the Peace Power Powerhouse and                         created an 8' x 4' map.

    The square pads in the ceiling were attached to 16' long rock bolts at Peace Power and were to be grouted.

When torques had stabilized, and retorquing was not required anymore, then thorough and complete High Pressure Grouting was maintained and continued until the void and all cracks were filled and bonded.

High

Pressure Grouting filled, sealed and bonded the Rocks and Cement and Rock bolts together.

All the Rock Bolts had a small diameter hole from the exposed bottom of the Bolt all the way to the top. Cement pours, streams and flows out of the bottom center hole from the top of the hole if the void is filled.  

                       

I documented a series of incorrect procedures being used to install Rock Bolts, which only I had been involved with the installation thereof previously.

The cement is pumped in at the bottom of the cavity which the rock bolt is in. You pump cement in at 90PSI till it fills every crack in the wall or ceiling. If the rock is fractured beyond the end of the Rock Bolt it will not take torque. When you pump until the cement comes down the hollow center of the bolt you know that you have filled every crack and the Rock Bolt acts like rebar in cenent making the fractured rock mass a support element in combination with the Rock Bolts, which exceeds the straight up weight bearing ability of Rock Bolts.

Incomplete High Pressure Cement Grouting which did not fill every void as required was faked as complete by pumping cement up indicator drill holes. "That is enough grouting" Shifter Morley said to his crew "Prime the Indicator Tube." That Indicator drill hole.  It was esential, ordered by Law and required by Engineering Ethics that this flawed procedure was reported to the Chief Engineer. I did of course. The Engineer apologized, the Shifter is going to get rid of you.   I was shipped out, problem solved, only until we have an earthquake possibly. I have sent this information to Authorities several times and there was legal action taken by BC Hydro, the Owner, against the Builder but nobody  replied to my warning

The all important Rock Bolts were improperly grouted and will have Rusted by now.