Saxton Nuclear Generating Station
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The Saxton Nuclear Experiment Station, also known as the Saxton Nuclear Generating Station or Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation Facility, was a small
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
plant located in Bedford County, near Saxton,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.


Design

The Saxton nuclear power plant was a small, light water,
pressurized water reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water reactor, light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary ...
. The plant was sited immediately east of an existing
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
fueled electricity generating plant, the 1923 Saxton Steam Generating Station, to share systems and components; the nuclear power plant did not have its own turbine or generator. The nuclear reactor and associated systems were designed and constructed by
Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...
; nuclear fuel was likewise fabricated and supplied by Westinghouse from allocations of
uranium-235 Uranium-235 (235U or U-235) is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium. Unlike the predominant isotope uranium-238, it is fissile, i.e., it can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. It is the only fissile isotope that exis ...
provided by the Atomic Energy Commission. The reactor coolant system contained a single loop of piping and components, including the reactor vessel, reactor coolant pump, pressurizer, and
steam generator A Steam generator is a device used to boil water to create steam. More specifically, it may refer to: *Boiler (steam generator), a closed vessel in which water is heated under pressure *Monotube steam generator *Supercritical steam generator or Ben ...
. Unlike some contemporary low pressure and low temperature pressurized water reactors (e.g. the Westinghouse TR-2), Saxton operated at pressures and temperatures typical of later commercial nuclear reactors; nominal reactor coolant system pressure was 2,250 psig and reactor vessel average temperature of 493 degrees Fahrenheit.Monthly operating rept for Jul 1969 for Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corp. 07/31/1969. NRC ADAMS Accession Number ML20085G789. As the facility was designed to perform testing and development functions, a superheated steam test loop was among the reactor's features. Additional equipment included process systems piping and components, a water filled spent fuel pool, and an overhead polar crane.Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation Facility; Decommissioning Environmental Report Revision 1. February 2000. NRC ADAMS Accession Number ML003685273. The reactor vessel and reactor coolant system were housed inside of a steel containment vessel. The steel containment vessel was a right cylinder topped by a hemispherical dome with an embedded semi-hemispherical lower head. The containment vessel was 109 feet tall by 50 feet in diameter. To provide radiological shielding and protection from environmental hazards, approximately 50 percent of the structure was below the surrounding grade. Underground tunnels connected the containment vessel and enclosed systems to other facilities and the adjacent steam plant. The plant was located in a elbow of the
Raystown Branch Juniata River The Raystown Branch Juniata River is the largest and longest tributary of the Juniata River in south-central Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2004. The Raystown Branch Juniata River begins a ...
, approximately 3/4 mile north of downtown Saxton.


Nuclear fuel

The Saxton reactor was unique and notable in its early, routine use of mixed oxide fuels, use of fuel assemblies with different fuels together in the same core, and use of fuels with differing cladding materials. By way of example, the second core loading contained fuel assemblies of the following attributes: *
stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
clad low enriched
uranium oxide Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium. The metal uranium forms several oxides: * Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (UO2, the mineral uraninite or pitchblende) * Diuranium pentoxide or uranium(V) oxide (U2O5) * Uranium trioxide or u ...
(UO2); *
Zirconium Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name ''zirconium'' is taken from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian '' zargun'' (zircon; ''zar-gun'', ...
clad mixed
plutonium oxide Plutonium(IV) oxide or (plutonia) is the chemical compound with the formula Pu O2. This high melting-point solid is a principal compound of plutonium. It can vary in color from yellow to olive green, depending on the particle size, temperature a ...
(PuO2) -
uranium oxide Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium. The metal uranium forms several oxides: * Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (UO2, the mineral uraninite or pitchblende) * Diuranium pentoxide or uranium(V) oxide (U2O5) * Uranium trioxide or u ...
(UO2); * Zirconium / stainless steel clad PuO2 - UO2. The stainless steel, Zirconium, and Zirconium / stainless steel fuel rods were contained within cylindrical fuel "cans" fabricated of perforated stainless steel. The cans were in turn held in a 9 x 9 rod position matrix in fuel assemblies with a square cross section. Fuel assemblies included positions for control rods, instrumentation, and other inserts; fuel assemblies contained between 32 and 72 individual fuel rods. The Saxton core held a total of 21 fuel assemblies."Safeguards Rept for Saxton Core III." 08/31/1968. NRC ADAMS Accession Number ML20085F974.


Operation

Construction began in February 1960 on the Saxton Nuclear Experimental Generating Station. The facility was privately financed. Westinghouse Electric Corporation designed and built the reactor. By the end of 1960, construction was about 35 percent complete. Construction was essentially complete in late 1961. The plant was connected to an existing turbine generator at the immediately adjacent Saxton Steam Generating Station of Pennsylvania Electric Company for production of electrical power. The plant received its Atomic Energy Commission license to begin operations November 15, 1961. It had a net power output of 23.5 MW-thermal and 3.25 MW-electric, and its purposes were primarily to research various aspects of
nuclear reactor technology A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...
and to train personnel. Major areas of research for the plant were the chemical control of reactivity using
boron Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the ''boron group'' it has th ...
and the use of
MOX fuel Mixed oxide fuel, commonly referred to as MOX fuel, is nuclear fuel that contains more than one oxide of fissile material, usually consisting of plutonium blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. MOX fuel is an alt ...
. The plant hosted many reactor operator trainees from SNEC and customers of Westinghouse. Routine plant operation was more focused on operator training exercises such as reactor shut downs and startups than maximizing electrical generation. For example, in July 1969 the reactor was shut down and the brought back to criticality 79 times to provide training opportunities.


Shutdown and decommissioning

The plant was shut down in May 1972 and decommissioned. After shutdown, the reactor fuel was removed from the facility and shipped to the
Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...
Savannah River Site The Savannah River Site (SRS) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation in the United States in the state of South Carolina, located on land in Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties adjacent to the Savannah River, southeast of August ...
in
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
. All site decommissioning, decontamination, and remediation work was completed by 2005. Other than some electrical infrastructure which remains as part of the local electricity grid, above ground structures were demolished and removed. Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation (SNEC) 2005 Annual Report. 09/15/2005. NRC ADAMS Accession Number ML052630383.Kathy Mellott. "After $75 million, nuke site clean". October 11, 2005. (Johnstown, PA) Tribune-Democrat. https://www.tribdem.com/news/local_news/after-75-million-nuke-site-clean/article_dd63eed1-a37c-5754-ac5a-413ebdc310a5.html


Owners/operators

The owners/operators of the facility were Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation (SNEC) and, ultimately through a series of mergers, General Public Utilities Nuclear. Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation was a consortium of Mid-Atlantic electrical utilities interested in nuclear power.


Status

On November 7, 2005, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operat ...
terminated Facility Operating License Number DPR-4 on NRC Docket No. 50-146 and released the site for unrestricted use.Termination of Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation Facility Operating License No. DPR-4 (TAC No. MC8350). 11/07/2005. NRC ADAMS Accession Number ML052660419.


Further reading

Will Davis. "The Hook-Ons" American Nuclear Society


See also

*
List of nuclear reactors A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...


References


External links


Ceremony Recognizes Historic Role of Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corporation PlantSaxton residents skeptical about reactor's transport
{{U.S. Nuclear Plants Energy infrastructure completed in 1961 Buildings and structures in Bedford County, Pennsylvania Former nuclear power stations in the United States Nuclear power plants in Pennsylvania FirstEnergy Former power stations in Pennsylvania