Unique
Reactors
In this ordinary-looking photograph, taken in Idaho in December 1951,
the reader is witnessing a technological breakthrough that will change
history. The light bulbs are quite ordinary but they rely on the
Experimental Breeder Reactor-1 for their source of power. Years later,
President Eisenhower will launch the international "Atoms for
Peace" program. Idaho's National Energy and Environmental
Engineering Lab web site provides a film of the EBR-1 in action.
1951: The EBR-1 and
the Four Light Bulbs
Idaho might not be the first
State that comes to mind when people think about the atom, but "the
Gem of the Mountains" has
played a significant role in developing nuclear power for more than
50 years. In 1951, the National Reactor Testing Station (now known
as the Idaho National Energy and Environmental Laboratory, or INEEL)
used the world's first nuclear-provided electricity to light
one of its buildings. The source of the power was the Station's
Experimental Breeder Reactor-1 (EBR-1), a unit that continued in
service until decommissioned in 1964. More information on the EBR-1,
including tours at the museum site, and on the lab's other
projects, can be obtained on the INEEL web
site.
1954: The First (World)
In the mid-1950's, both the Soviet Union and western countries were expanding
their nuclear research to include non-military uses of the atom. However,
as with the military program, much of the non-military work was done in secret.
On June 27, 1954, the World's first nuclear power plant generated electricity
but no headlines--at least, not in the West. The capacity of the world's
first nuclear electricity generator was only 5 megawatts (electric), unimpressive
when compared to some of today's giants (about a fourth of the World's
generators exceed 1,000 megawatts in capacity). Of course, being the first
makes the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant no less impressive. Minatom povides
a photo of the Obninsk plant on its web site.
Also in 1954: the
world's first nuclear
powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched.
1955: The X-39 Engine and
the Aircraft that Never Was (and Likely never Will Be)
By 1955, nuclear bombs, nuclear power plants, and nuclear-powered
ships and submarines had been developed. Was an atomic-powered aircraft
a logical next step? No. But in 1955, the X-39 engine for a proposed
atomic-powered bomber was tested in the Heat Transfer Reactor Experiment-1.
The original X-39 engine was too heavy to lift by aircraft. The problem
was overcome by eliminating the shielding. It will never be known
if the Nation could have found a pilot willing to risk significant
exposure to radiation while guiding his nuclear-powered bomber down
its 10-mile long runway. President Kennedy cancelled the project
in 1961. The aircraft was never built but the twin X-39 engines are
on display at the Idaho National Energy and Environmental Laboratory.
Also in 1955:Arco,
Idaho, became the first town to be lit entirely by nuclear power.
The BORAX II reactor, a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
prototype was used. By the end of the 20 th century, 20 percent of
the Nation's
electricity was supplied by nuclear power.
1956: Calder Hall unit 1 Comes on Line; the longest-operating
reactor
The oldest commercial nuclear generating unit still in operation
in 2001 was the Calder Hall Unit 1 (Capacity, 50 MWE) at Seascale,
Cumbria, Great Britain. When Calder Hall 1 began operation in August
1956, there were no commercial jet airliners, no man or woman had
flown in space, U.S. refineries exported $600,000,000 worth of petroleum
products, and motor gasoline sold for 30 cents per gallon . Unit
1 was later joined by the World's second oldest currently operational
unit (Unit 2, February 1957) and the third oldest (Unit 3, March
1958). Calder Hall outlasted the 20th century, but none of the quartet
(which includes Calder Hall 4) will outlast the 21st century. On
March 31, 2003, Cader Hall shut down permanently. Update: The
World's Oldest Reactor Retires.
1957: The First Nuclear-Powered Surface Ship (World)
Launched by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the World's
first nuclear-powered surface ship never fired a shot in anger: it
had no guns, missiles, depth charges or weapons of any kind. Built
in the Admiralty Shipyards of what was then Leningrad, the Soviet
icebreaker Lenin was launched on December 5, 1957.
The Lenin's career was disrupted in the 1960's
by a nuclear accident that killed 30 crewmen. The vessel was repaired and the
reactor replaced. It retired in 1989, having completed three decades of service.
The first nuclear-powered icebreaker is being converted into a museum, but
it has descendents. The Murmansk Shipping Company in Russia has the largest
nuclear surface fleet in the world: five Artic-type icebreakers, two icebreakers
designed to serve on rivers, and one nuclear-powered container ship. And the Lenin is
not the only one that can claim a first. The Artika, which began operation
in 1975, was the first surface ship to reach the North Pole. More information
on the Lenin and the Artika, and the other
eight vessels is available on the Bellona web site.
Also in 1957: Shippingport, the first U.S. Nuclear Power
Plant, comes on line Before the first U.S. nuclear power plant went on line in 1957, nuclear reactors
were already in service in the former Soviet Union and in the United Kingdom.
Contrary to the saying that there is no glory in being second (let alone third
or fourth), the Shippingport Nuclear Power Plant fully earned a place in history.
The Dusquesne Light Company worked in partnership with the Federal Government
to build the world's first large scale commercial nuclear power plant.
The reactors were designed by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in cooperation
with the Division of Naval Reactors of the Atomic Energy Commission. By the
standards of the day, it seemed to belong to a different era. President Eisenhower
attended the opening ceremonies. Shippingport continued to provide power during
the terms of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter before finally
retiring in 1982, during President Reagan's first term. It was decommissioned
and the Government declared the site safe for public use in 1987. The Federation
of American Scientists displays a photograph worth
a look, especially by readers who might wonder if this description is too grandiose.
1962: The First U.S. Nuclear-Powered Surface Ship
The contrast between the world's first nuclear-powered surface
ship, Lenin,
and the world's first nuclear-powered commercial vessel, the Nuclear
Ship Savannah, is substantial. They can be visualized as two
horses, the workhorse Lenin and the show horse Savannah,
snubbing each other. The U.S. vessel is the namesake of a vessel launched a
century earlier, the first steam-powered vessel to cross the ocean. The nuclear-powered
version was a remarkably beautiful and graceful ship, that could (and did)
carry cargo. It was an expensive way to carry cargo, however, so the vessel
was heavily dependent on the Federal subsidy it received as a unique ship.
The nuclear-powered Savannah was conceived by President Eisenhower to promote
the "Atoms for Peace" program (a program that also led to the building
of the first U.S. nuclear power plant. The ship was launched in 1962 and retired
in 1979. Their careers were vastly different, but the show horse and the workhorse
share identical fates: put out to pasture as museums.
Also in 1962: The first Swiss
Reactor begins a short life
It
is quite possible that the first thought that will occur to most
readers is, "I didn't know Switzerland had any nuclear
reactors." Those familiar with the Swiss nuclear industry may
be surprised that Switzerland's oldest reactor is not Beznau
1. Beznau 1 is the oldest of Switzerland's 5 commercial reactors.
According to Swissinfo1 ,
the experimental reactor at Lucens opened in 1962 and generated electricity
for the first time in January 1968. The reactor closed permanently
following a pressure tube burst in 1969, the same year that Beznau
1 went on line. No tours of the power plant are conducted—in
fact, visitors to Lucens, Switzerland, may be tempted to ask if this
power plant is in a cave somewhere. The answer is yes.
1964: Construction
Begins on a “Time Machine”
A vehicle that can carry people back and forth through time remains
a product of science fiction, but the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR)
is, in a sense, a virtual “time machine.” Construction of the ATR
began in 1964, and the reactor first reached criticality in 1967.
The impact of years of radioactive exposure of materials in a commercial
nuclear reactor can be duplicated in weeks or months by the ATR.
Why would anyone want to duplicate years of exposure in such a
hurry? One answer is that the Navy used it to test materials and
fuels used by nuclear-powered vessels. Now that you've read about
the birth of the ATR, leap ahead in time to 2004 and read about
the ATR: Still New After 37 Years.
1965: The ML-1:
Reactor in a Box
The startup date for the ML-1 Mobile Power System is believed
to have been some time in 1965. Although the ML-1 reactor itself
could be packed into a single box, the complete system required
6 shipping containers. In addition to the reactor, a container
was needed for the control room, another for the heat conversion
system, and a total of three boxes for the cabling, auxiliary
gas storage and handling equipment, and tools and supplies. The
containers could then be loaded aboard a train, truck, or large
cargo plane. The ML-1 is described by Atomic newsletter was “the
first nitrogen cooled, water moderated reactor with a nitrogen
turbine energy conversion system.”
1967: The Last that Became a First2.
Years ago, Hollywood produced a comedy called, "The Wackiest Ship in
the Army." It was loosely based of the real life (and highly dangerous)
exploits of the USS Kiwi, a spy ship in World War II. The Kiwi was not the
Army's only ship. The last nuclear power plant built by the U.S. Army
was on a converted liberty ship, the USS Sturgis. The Department of Energy
describes the Sturgis as follows: STURGIS Floating Nuclear Power Plant; Designation
MH-1A,
Location: Gatun Lake, Canal Zone; Principal nuclear contractor: Martin; Pressurized
water reactor, Capacity: 10,000 net kW(e), Authorized 45,000 kW(t), Initial
criticality, 1967; Shutdown (permanently), 1976. The vessel provided power
to the Canal Zone. It was the first floating nuclear power plant and, for nearly
three decades, appeared to be the last. In 2008 (described in the 2008 highlight),
the Russians plan to bring on line the next floating nuclear power plant. More
information on the Sturgis, is available from two sources: "MH-1A" First
Nuclear Power Barge: Pioneer Barge Built in America" in the August 1996
issue of Atomic and "Nuclear
Power: An Option for the Army's Future," in the Army
Almanac. In the latter source, there is a photo of the ship.
1969: Oyster Creek and Nine Mile Point, the two Oldest
U.S Reactors, go on line
By the time the 21 st century began,
the United States had no commercial nuclear generating units still
in operation that were built in the 1950's. The retirement of Haddam
Neck 1 (the U.S. record-holder for longevity) in 1996, reduced to 4
the number of operable U.S. reactors built during the 1960's. The record
for longevity is now shared by two reactors that went into service one year
after Haddam Neck: Oyster Creek 1 in Forked River, New Jersey, and Nine Mile
Point 1 in Oswego, New York. Both units are boiling water reactors, both
went into service on the first day of December 1969, both were built by General
Electric, and both were still producing electricity according to the latest
available data (February 2003). Oyster Creek's license was issued before
that of Nine Mile Point, making it officially the oldest operating U.S. reactor.
1986: The Reactor that Changed History (plus Three
Reactors that did Not)
More than a decade has passed since a nuclear accident in
the Ukraine made "Chernobyl" a
household word throughout the world. Even with the millions (billions?) of
words written since the incident in April 1986, many false perceptions continue.
For example, the death toll was not in the hundreds. The fire did not destroy
the power plant. In fact, three of Chernobyl's four reactors were later
returned to service. The number 3 reactor continued operating into the 21st
century (depending on how the century is calculated, since it closed in December
2000). As often happens, however, failures are better remembered than successes.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) produced
a fact sheet on Chernobyl which may or may not answer
all the questions, but at least approaches the subject impartially.
1989:
(August 1988 and June 1989)
Largest U.S. Reactors Go into Operation
When the South Texas Project reactors went on line in 1988 (unit 1) and 1989 (unit 2), they were the largest reactors in the United States at that time. They were the largest ever to go on line in the United States but new construction at Palo Verde may have increased capacity sufficiently to make Palo Verde unit 2 the largest (as of July 31, 2005) in operation now. Only one fourth of the World's commercial nuclear generating units currently in operation have capacities of 1,000 MWE or greater. The United States has 51 such units, the most of any country. The five largest U.S. units are located in the Southwest.
The largest reactors are not in the United States, however. (see 2000: The First of the World's Two Largest Reactors Goes On Line)
2000: The First of the World's Two Largest Reactors Goes On Line
The United States has the most nuclear reactors, Russia had the
first, and the United Kingdom has the longest-operating, but all
four of the largest reactors ever built are in France. They were
supplied by a French company, Framatome, to Electricite
de France. Chooz B1 (with a net capacity of 1,455 megawatts/electric)
, was the first of the four to be completed. It went into service
in the Ardennes in August 1996. Its twin, Chooz B2, is equal in capacity
and is now also in service. They are larger (by 5 megawatts/electric)
than the recently completed Civaux 1 and 2 reactors. By comparison,
the total capacity of all the electric powerplants, nuclear and otherwise,
in Vermont and Rhode Island (as of January 1, 1997) is slightly under
1,650 MWE.
2003: Do They Deliver? Japan Offers to Build a Reactor
in Galena, Alaska
As pro- and anti-nuclear advocates (and many of those in between)
ponder when, where, and if the next commercial reactor will come
on line in the United States, the possibility arises that it might
be in Galena. Where?? Japan's Toshiba Corporation has offered
to build a 10 MWe reactor to provide light and heat to Galena, a
remote Alaskan village on the Yukon River. The proposal, its possible
implications, its prospects and potential hurdles are discussed in "Village
invited to test cheap, clean nuclear power," by Joel Gay. The article,
which includes a diagram of the proposed reactor, appears on the
web page of the Anchorage Daily News. One of the obstacles cited
is "public skepticism." For many of the reactors described
in this section, public skepticism proved a very significant hurdle—before
they were built.
Also in 2003, India
Announces a Breakthrough
Anil Kakodkar, Chairman of India's Atomic Energy
Commission, announced that India plans to build a prototype advanced
heavy water reactor (AWHR). The unique design has completed peer
review. The estimated construction time is seven years, but a start
date has not yet been announced. According to The Times of India,
this unique reactor will be fueled by a mix of thorium and uranium
and will yield more uranium than it consumes3.
2004: The ATR: Still New After 37 Years
Construction work on Idaho's Advanced Test Reactor (ATR)
began in 1964, making 2004 its 40 th anniversary. The unit
went critical in 1967. Most of the new technologies of the
1960's have long ago disappeared into obsolescence, but the
ATR remains “the most powerful test reactor in the United States.” The
ATR has had a very active life, but it is far from ready for
retirement. It is currently being used to support the development
of the Generation IV reactors for the U.S. Department of Energy,
and it will be contributing to NASA's space program. For some
spectacular photos of the ATR and a more information
on its very active past and future, see Tamara Bailey's article
entitled, “The Advanced Test Reactor Turns 40 and Still Meeting
Research Needs” on the INEEL web site.
2008: The
Floating Reactor (the Severodvinsk Reactor)
In 2008, if all goes according to plan, the world's first
commercial floating nuclear power plant will
be ready to begin operation... Pravda,
the Russian news publication, reported the project was approved by the head
of the Ministry for Nuclear Power, Alexander Rumyantsev. Sevmash Enterprise,
which specializes in submarine construction, will build the vessel. Rosenergoatom,
the Russian nuclear firm, will supply the reactors. Two such floating power
stations are planned, each anticipated to cost $100 to $120 million. The first
one will supply power to the city of Severodvinsk, approximately 50 miles west
of Archangel.
1Swissinfo, on line:
http://www.swissinfo.org , “Switzerland’s first nuclear plant decommissioned,” September
17, 2003.
2 Our thanks to Korey Jackson, who corrected an error in the item on the Floating
Reactor. The power plant planned for Severodvinsk was identified as the
first floating nuclear power plant. We’ve inserted the adjective
“commercial.” Mr. Jackson, also supplied the two highly informative
links included in the item on the Sturgis.
3 The
Times of India, “India Makes breakthrough in nukes agenda,” online http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/uncomp/articleshow?msid=207406,
September 29, 2003, India, as cited in UxC News Headlines.
Diagrams
of Unusual Reactors
The Berkeley web site contains diagrams and photos of various reactors,
including the following:
Advanced
Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR)
Advanced
Liquid Metal Reactor: (ALMR)
Integral
Fast Reactor (IFR)
Modular
High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (MHTGR)
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