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From 1962 to
1972, the Saxton
Nuclear Power Plant
was the second
privately owned
nuclear reactor in
the United States.
It was a power and
research reactor
that was used to
develop a number of
technologies used
today in the nuclear
power industry.
Saxton pioneered the
use of boron in
cooling water to
control the chain
reaction, and was
also the first
privately owned
power reactor to use
plutonium as fuel.
Today the plant is
being decommissioned
and the site will
return to its
natural state.
The Saxton
Nuclear Experimental
Facility near
Saxton, Pa. was
owned by GPU Nuclear
Corporation and the
Saxton Nuclear
Experimental
Corporation. The
23-megawatt plant
operated from 1962
to May, 1972 as a
research reactor for
the nuclear power
industry.
In April, 1998,
the NRC granted a
license amendment to
the plant's owners
allowing major
decommissioning work
to begin. These
activities include
the removal of large
components -- the
reactor vessel,
steam generator and
pressurizer -- and
the dismantlement of
the containment
building, the domed
structure that
surrounds the
reactor. Once
removed, the large
components will be
shipped to a
low-level
radioactive waste
facility for
disposal.
The
decommissioning of
the plant is
projected to cost
about $22 million
and be completed in
2000. On February 2,
2000, the plant's
owners submitted the
License Termination
Plan to the NRC.
The Saxton Nuclear
Power Facility is
owned by the Saxton
Nuclear Experimental
Corporation (SNEC)
and supported by GPU
Nuclear, Inc. The
plant is located on
less than two acres
in Saxton, PA, about
100 miles northwest
of Harrisburg, and
is adjacent to the
greater site of the
Saxton Steam
Generating Station.
Saxton functioned
primarily as a
research and
training reactor.
Pennsylvania State
University and
Rutgers University
investigated
improvements on PWR
design, rod cluster
control, and
chemical shim
reactivity control.
Construction began
in April of 1962 and
power was first
generated by
November of that
year. The facility
operated until 1972,
when a scheduled
shutdown of the
plant ultimately
resulted in the
decision to
permanently cease
operations and
pursue a minimal
decommissioning
followed by safe
storage. The
operating license
was amended to
possess but not
operate the reactor.
The 23.5 MWt PWR
supplied steam to an
existing 10 MW
turbine generator.
The reactor vessel
is a vertical steel
cylinder with a
hemispherical
flanged, removable
top head and a
hemispherical bottom
head. It is 58 feet
in diameter, with an
over-all height of
110 ft. The thermal
shield, a stainless
steel cylinder
concentric with the
core, nests on
supported legs
attached to the
vessel wall. The
bottom of the
containment
(approximately 50%)
is located 50 feet
below grade. A hole
was created in the
bedrock, the bottom
head was embedded in
concrete, and the
annulus around the
containment was
back-filled. The
portion below grade
is provided with
expansion material
between the steel
shell and the inner
concrete wall to a
depth of six feet
below grade to
provide for
differential
expansion between
the steel shell and
the inner concrete
wall.
During the period of
1972 through 1974,
fuel was shipped to
the Savannah River
site, control rod
blades and steam
test loop were
shipped off-site,
and equipment,
tanks, and piping
located outside the
vessel were removed.
The buildings and
structures
supporting reactor
operations were
partially
decontaminated.
Activities were
suspended in 1974
and the facility was
placed in a
monitored SAFSTOR
condition. The
radiological
condition of the
facility was
documented and
forwarded to the NRC
in 1975. Reactor
support
structures/buildings
were decontaminated
from 1987 to 1989,
followed by an
8-month final
release survey to
verify the residual
contamination was
within NRC
guidelines for
unrestricted use of
the site. These
major support
buildings were
demolished in 1992.
Most of the
mechanical and
electrical was
removed during the
period from 1992 to
1999. In 1998, after
the NRC approved the
transition from
SAFSTOR to DECON
(active
decontamination and
dismantling), the
reactor vessel was
removed (with intact
internals) and
transported to
Barnwell, SC for
direct disposal. The
majority of
contaminated systems
and components have
been dismantled and
dispostioned as
radioactive waste.
And then came
project delays. That
random contingency
factor we have grown
to appreciate within
this industry.
The original
decommissioning plan
had been to perform
radiation surveys of
the concrete in the
containment,
characterize the
contamination, and
remediate the
contamination by
performing selective
decontamination and
concrete scabbling.
In that way, most of
the concrete in
containment could be
free-released and
abandoned in place
in accordance with
NRC site release
regulations.
However, random
concrete
contamination was
found throughout the
containment
structure in 1999
and 2000, during the
required extensive
efforts to survey
and decontaminate
vessel concrete.
Added to this factor
was that there was
the potential lack
of structural
integrity following
any further concrete
removal. These two
areas of concern
extended the
decommissioning
schedule. The
restart of the
project will begin
with the
stabilization of the
containment vessel
and the removal and
decontamination or
disposal of its
concrete walls,
structural members,
and liner. The
current target date
for completing the
removal of all
containment concrete
is the spring of
2002.
Other remaining
decommissioning
activities include
the removal of
radioactive and
hazardous industrial
materials in yard
areas and other
remaining support
structures, sampling
surveys, remediation
and restoration. The
License Termination
Plan has been
submitted tot he
NRC, with a target
date of early 2003
for site restoration
and project
completion.
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