Shippingport Atomic Power Station

Infobox NPP
Picture=Shippingport Reactor.jpg
Pic_des=The Shippingport reactor was the first full-scale PWR nuclear power plant in the United States
Status=D
Utility=Duquesne Light Company
Location=Beaver County, Pennsylvania
Supplier=
Type=Pressurized water reactor
Generators=
Capacity=60
Architect=
Construction=
Cost=$72.5 million
Built=1954-09-06
Start=1958-05-26
Expires=1982-10-01
Region=1The Shippingport Atomic Power Station, "the world’s first full-scale atomic electric power plant devoted exclusively to peacetime uses," [http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/emerg-preparedness/history.html] was located near the present-day Beaver Valley Nuclear Generating Station on the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, about 25 miles from Pittsburgh. The reactor first went critical on December 2, 1957, and was in operation until October, 1982.

Shippingport was created and operated under the auspices of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, whose authority included a substantial role within the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

The reactor was capable of an output of 60 MWe. The reactor was designed with two uses in mind: for powering aircraft carriers, and serving as a prototype for commercial electrical power generation. [http://books.google.com/books?id=BR1PQ6fPLz4C&pg=PA50&ots=v1sDQ-z8lZ&dq=Rickover,+Shippingport,+carrier&sig=SbpB67JP342tzgGwhG43un7dQkk] In 1977, it was converted to a Pressurized Light-Water Breeder Reactor (PLWBR).

Construction

In 1953, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his Atoms for Peace speech to the United Nations. Commercial nuclear power generation was cornerstone of his plan. A proposal by Duquesne Light Company was accepted by Admiral Rickover and the plans for the Shippingport Atomic Power Station started.

Ground was broken on Labor Day, 1954-09-06. President Eisenhower remotely initiated the first scoop of dirt at the ceremony [cite web |title= Historic Achievement Recognized: Shippingport Atomic Power Station, A National Engineering Historical Landmark |url=http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Communities/History/Landmarks/5643.pdf |format=PDF |pages=4 |accessdate=2006-06-24] . The reactor first went critical at 4:30 AM on 1957-12-02"ibid.", pp. 9] . On 1957-12-18, the first power was generated and full power was achieved on 1957-12-23, although the station remained in test mode. Eisenhower opened the Shippingport Atomic Power Station on 1958-05-26. The plant was built in 32 months at a cost of $72.5 million [cite web|url=http://www.nrc.gov/what-we-do/emerg-preparedness/history.html|title = NRC:History|accessdate=2006-06-24] .

Decommissioning

On October 1st, 1982, the reactor ceased operations after 25 years [cite web|url=http://www.nukeworker.com/nuke_facilities/North_America/usa/NRC_Facilities/Region_1/shippingport/index.shtml |title=Shippingport|accessdate=2006-06-24] . Dismantlement of the facility began in September 1985cite web|url=http://www.nuclearpowerprocon.org/pop/decommission.htm|title=Nuclear Energy Decommisioning|accessdate=2006-06-24] . In December 1988, the 956-ton (870-T) reactor pressure vessel/neutron shield tank assembly was lifted out of the containment building and loaded onto land transportation equipment in preparation for removal from the site and shipment to a burial facility in Washington State [cite journal | first = David | last = Duerr | year = 1990 | month = March | title = Lift of Shippingport Reactor Pressure Vessel | journal = Journal of Construction Engineering and Management | volume = 116 | issue = 1 | pages = 188–197 | url = http://www.pubs.asce.org/WWWdisplay.cgi?9000757 | doi = 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1990)116:1(188) ] . The site has been cleaned up and released for unrestricted use.

The $98 million (1985 estimate) cleanup of Shippingport has been used as an example of a successful reactor decommissioning by proponents of nuclear power. However, critics point out that Shippingport was smaller than most commercial nuclear power plants; most reactors in the United States are about 1,000 MWe, while Shippingport was only 60 MWe.

References

External links

* [http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/doe_shippingport_01.htm Brief history of site] Note: The picture above is the original site. This link shows the site after 1974 when Beaver Valley Units 1 and 2 were built adjacent the Shippingport Atomic Plant
* [http://www.ieee-virtual-museum.org/exhibit/exhibit.php?taid=&id=159249&lid=1&seq=17 Shippingport and Eisenhower]