Limerick Nuclear Power Plant
Encyclopedia
The Limerick Generating Station in Pennsylvania
is located next to the Schuylkill River
in Limerick Township
, Montgomery County
, northwest of Philadelphia. The facility has two General Electric
boiling water reactor
(BWR) units, cooled by natural draft cooling towers. When conditions are right, these cooling towers emit enough water vapor to be seen for distances of over 50 miles.
The two units are capable of producing almost 1,200 megawatts of power each, which combined would provide electricity to over 2 million households. Exelon Corporation owns and operates this facility.
For critical standby power, Exelon depends on eight Fairbanks Morse Opposed Piston 38D 8 1/8 Emergency Diesel Generator sets that deliver 26 MW of power and are capable of achieving rated speed within ten seconds of start.
defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16.1 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80.5 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16.1 km) of Limerick was 252,197, an increase of 18.7 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80.5 km) was 8,027,924, an increase of 6.1 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Philadelphia (28 miles to city center).
Power Corporation to June 1974.
Limerick Unit 1 first attained criticality
(began producing nuclear power, at limited capacity) on December 22, 1984 and was certified for commercial operation on February 1, 1986.
Limerick Unit 2 attained criticality on August 1, 1989, and commercial operation began on January 8, 1990.
Former President George W. Bush
visited the Limerick Generating Station in May 2006 to discuss nuclear power
and its role in the Advanced Energy Initiative, which he announced at the 2006 State of the Union Address
. He toured the facility, including a trip to the control room of the plant.
In 1984, a worker repeatedly triggered contamination alarms as he entered the plant; subsequent investigation showed the contamination's origin to be not the plant but radon in the worker's home (see Health effects of radon).
In May 2011, a glitch shut down a reactor at the plant twice.
in 2011, government regulators announced the plant would undergo further evalutions for seismic activity risk.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
is located next to the Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
in Limerick Township
Limerick Township, Pennsylvania
Limerick Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was named for the hometown of early settler William Evans, whose family arrived in the area from Limerick, Ireland in 1698. The township is mentioned in Philadelphia court records in the 1710s, but was not...
, Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
, northwest of Philadelphia. The facility has two General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
boiling water reactor
Boiling water reactor
The boiling water reactor is a type of light water nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor , also a type of light water nuclear reactor...
(BWR) units, cooled by natural draft cooling towers. When conditions are right, these cooling towers emit enough water vapor to be seen for distances of over 50 miles.
The two units are capable of producing almost 1,200 megawatts of power each, which combined would provide electricity to over 2 million households. Exelon Corporation owns and operates this facility.
For critical standby power, Exelon depends on eight Fairbanks Morse Opposed Piston 38D 8 1/8 Emergency Diesel Generator sets that deliver 26 MW of power and are capable of achieving rated speed within ten seconds of start.
Surrounding population
The Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16.1 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80.5 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.
The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16.1 km) of Limerick was 252,197, an increase of 18.7 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data for msnbc.com. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 miles (80.5 km) was 8,027,924, an increase of 6.1 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Philadelphia (28 miles to city center).
History
The site was chosen and plans to build the station were announced in 1969, by the Philadelphia Electric Company (now PECO Energy, a subsidiary of Exelon). It is located approximately one mile south of Sanatoga, PA. Community protests by the Keystone Alliance and other delays pushed the start of construction by the BechtelBechtel
Bechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...
Power Corporation to June 1974.
Limerick Unit 1 first attained criticality
Criticality
Criticality may refer to:* Critical thinking in education* Critical reflection in adult education* Critical mass in nuclear reactions* Criticality accident* Criticality matrix* Nuclear Criticality Safety...
(began producing nuclear power, at limited capacity) on December 22, 1984 and was certified for commercial operation on February 1, 1986.
Limerick Unit 2 attained criticality on August 1, 1989, and commercial operation began on January 8, 1990.
Former President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
visited the Limerick Generating Station in May 2006 to discuss nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
and its role in the Advanced Energy Initiative, which he announced at the 2006 State of the Union Address
2006 State of the Union address
The 2006 State of the Union Address was delivered by United States President George W. Bush at 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 to a joint session of the U.S. Congress...
. He toured the facility, including a trip to the control room of the plant.
In 1984, a worker repeatedly triggered contamination alarms as he entered the plant; subsequent investigation showed the contamination's origin to be not the plant but radon in the worker's home (see Health effects of radon).
In May 2011, a glitch shut down a reactor at the plant twice.
Seismic risk
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Limerick was 1 in 18,868, according to an NRC study published in August 2010. Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disasterFukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The is a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric ,...
in 2011, government regulators announced the plant would undergo further evalutions for seismic activity risk.