Nuclear Power Plant for Byrd Station

Press, Volume C, Issue 29625, 22 September 1961, Page 13

Nuclear Power Plant for Byrd Station

(* Jteerer— Copvrig hi)

ThT S Atomic Energy Commission ar nounced plans yesierdav negotiate with an American firm to build si nuclear power plant at Byrd station, only 700 miles from the Sou'h Pole The plant was expected to be operating in the Antarctic by March, 1964, the commission said. A proposal by Alco Products, Inc., Schenectady, .lew York, had been chosen as a basis for contract negotiation. This decision moved the Antarctic's second nucleapower plant “closer to

re ®JjfF>” sa *d the commission. „ The, plant, designated PL-3” (portable low power reactor (No. 3), will be assembled by naval construction battalion ‘Seabees" at Byrd • station will be operated by the United States Navy after a testing programme by the commission. It will be the second reactor authorised by Congress last year for the Antarctic. The PL-3 will be used to provide electric power and steam for Byrd station, and as a base for studies supported by the United States Nah on al Science Foundation The plant also will produce steam to operate snow-melt-ing equipment for providing an ample supply of fresh water at the site.

It will be assembled in sections, suitable for air transport from McMurdo Sound to Byrd station. Ships will take the plant from the United States to McMurdo Sound late in 1963. _„ The Plant, designed for a 20-year life, would reduce the need for fuel oil at polar sites and simplify logistical problems in supplying remote locations.