Experimental Power From Nuclear Plant At McMurdo

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29764, 6 March 1962, Page 19

Experimental Power From Nuclear Plant At McMurdo

The first nuclear power plant to be installed in the Antarctic went into operat on at 8 am. (New Zealand me) on Sunday. Located on a small plateau off the west slope of Observation H.II. the estimated £1.400.000 project will, in about six months, provide 1500 kilowatts of electric power for McMurdo station, which it overlooks. For the next 165 days the plant will undergo a trial period. If successful it will ■ ten be officially handed yer to the United States Navy by the Atomic Energy C mmission. Late yesterday the Atomic Energy Commission and the United States Department of Defence jointly announced a 19-man military operating c-ew who will man the plant during the trial period. Headed by Lieutenant T. J. Mitchell. UjS.N.. it will inci ude two men from the Navy, two from the United

States Air Force, four from the United States Army, and II Seabees. The throwing of the switch which caused the reader to ‘'go critical” early on Sunday brought to a climax two years of planning and hard work. The project was initiated in August, 1960. A tight 15-month schedule was set up for the design, construction and testing of the plant, so that the “prepackaged” power plant could reach the site by December last year. It was bought by the Navy on a guaranteedperformance basis. The greatest effect the installation will have when fully operative and in use will be the saving of about two-thirds of the 600,000 gallons of fuel used at the base annually, it will make possible the operation of a seawater distillation plant and a new sewerage system, and give adequate power for heat and light at McMurdo. News of the activation of the reactor was announced by the commander of the United States Antarctic operations (Rear-Admiral D. M. Tyree> at Harewood yesterday. He said the Navy crew had reported a sustained chain reaction being achieved at 333 am. local time.

After a final check of all dials on the L-shaped control console. the switch marked “rod motion control" was shifted to the “out" position. Fifteen feet below grund level near the bottom of the water-filled reactor tank, magnetic jacks lifted the three-bladed control rods at a rate of two inches a minute.

In the '“reactor period" window of the control panel a recording pen moved back and forth across a moving roll of graph paper and then shfited to the positive side of the sheet and stayed there The reactor was “critical" — meaning a chain reaction had begun.

The initial experimental output will be about 450 kilowatts which will gradually be increased to 1500 kilowatts. After this has been maintained for a time it is

believed the system will be stopped and an overhaul will be made of the components I before the operation begins i again. i The gross output of the plant is about 10 thermal { megawatts yielding a net output of 1500 kilowatts. Elec-: tricity will be generated at I a line voltage of 4160 volts; and will be of 3-phase. 60-1 cycle power. The key component of the! plant is a single core of about 730 stainless steel tubes! containing highly enriched 1 uranium. This core will op-| erate for two years at full I power. The next nuclear plant in] the Antarctic is to be built! at Byrd station. 700 miles | from the South Pole. The! contract was signed on No-! vember 3. 1961. and accord-| ing to the Atomic Energy! Commission the plant is ex-! pected to be in operation by! March, 1964. It is due to be| taken to tihe Antarctic from! the United States late next! year. After this plant has been! installed a third is expected' to be placed at the South I Pole scientific station. Later! still, a fourth is scheduled fori McMurdo station, which will then have two reactors. Admiral Tyree said yester-' day that Mr T R. Barker. I the manufacturing company's! chief engineer at McMurdo station, and two other company representatives, will' spend the Antarctic winter at McMurdo to direct the 165-day test operation.