Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station
Encyclopedia
Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station is currently the only nuclear power plant
operating in the United States Commonwealth of Massachusetts
. It is located in the Manomet
section of Plymouth on Cape Cod Bay
, south of the tip of Rocky Point and north of Priscilla Beach
. Like many similar plants, it was constructed by Bechtel, and is powered by a General Electric
boiling water reactor
and generator
-- a General Electric Mark I reactor of the same type and design as the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant
. It has a 690 MW production capacity. Pilgrim generates enough power for nearly 600,000 homes.
Built at a cost of $231 million in 1972 by Boston Edison
, it was sold in 1999 to the Louisiana
-based Entergy Corporation, part of a complex deal that is the result of deregulation
of the electrical utility industry.
On April 11, 1986 a recurring equipment problems force emergency shutdown of the plant. The resulting issue cost $1.001 billion.
Pilgrim keeps its spent nuclear fuel
in an on-site storage pool, waiting for federal direction on the correct disposal process. The Yucca Mountain site in Nevada
was being considered for this purpose until its deselection in 2009.
Pilgrim's license to operate expires in 2012. An application for an extended operating license (until 2032) is under consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
.
Opposition to Pilgrim's license extension in recent years has come mainly from a local watchdog group, Pilgrim Watch, which has filed legal and procedural challenges, largely on behalf of neighboring towns. The state attorney general has also raised questions about, among other issues, the possible danger posed by storage of spent nuclear fuel at the Plymouth site.
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 Pilgrim was 75,835, an increase of 40.5 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 4,737,792, an increase of 10.2 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Boston (35 miles to city center).
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
operating in the United States Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. It is located in the Manomet
Manomet, Massachusetts
Manomet is a seaside village of Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. It is named for the Manomet Native American sub-group of the Wampanoag whose settlement was located atop the dominant hill in the region when European settlers arrived in Plymouth in 1620. Manomet has a Post Office in the...
section of Plymouth on Cape Cod Bay
Cape Cod Bay
Cape Cod Bay is a large bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Measuring below a line drawn from Brant Rock in Marshfield to Race Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts, it is enclosed by Cape Cod to the south and east, and Plymouth County, Massachusetts, to the west....
, south of the tip of Rocky Point and north of Priscilla Beach
Priscilla Beach, Massachusetts
Priscilla Beach is a village of Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. It consists of a private beach on Cape Cod Bay in the Manomet section of Plymouth, located between Pilgrim Station and White Horse Beach. The Priscilla Beach Association was formed on July 17, 1937, to promote and foster the...
. Like many similar plants, it was constructed by Bechtel, and is powered by a 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...
and generator
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
-- a General Electric Mark I reactor of the same type and design as the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant
Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant
The , also known as Fukushima Dai-ichi , is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a site in the towns of Okuma and Futaba in the Futaba District of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. First commissioned in 1971, the plant consists of six boiling water reactors...
. It has a 690 MW production capacity. Pilgrim generates enough power for nearly 600,000 homes.
Built at a cost of $231 million in 1972 by Boston Edison
NSTAR
NSTAR is a utility company that provides retail electricity and natural gas to 1.4 million customers in eastern and central Massachusetts, including the Boston urban area....
, it was sold in 1999 to the Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
-based Entergy Corporation, part of a complex deal that is the result of deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
of the electrical utility industry.
On April 11, 1986 a recurring equipment problems force emergency shutdown of the plant. The resulting issue cost $1.001 billion.
Pilgrim keeps its spent nuclear fuel
Spent nuclear fuel
Spent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor...
in an on-site storage pool, waiting for federal direction on the correct disposal process. The Yucca Mountain site in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
was being considered for this purpose until its deselection in 2009.
Pilgrim's license to operate expires in 2012. An application for an extended operating license (until 2032) is under consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear 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...
.
Opposition to Pilgrim's license extension in recent years has come mainly from a local watchdog group, Pilgrim Watch, which has filed legal and procedural challenges, largely on behalf of neighboring towns. The state attorney general has also raised questions about, among other issues, the possible danger posed by storage of spent nuclear fuel at the Plymouth site.
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 Pilgrim was 75,835, an increase of 40.5 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 4,737,792, an increase of 10.2 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Boston (35 miles to city center).