N.S. Savannah:

The Final Phase

One of the early chapters in the history of nuclear power is about to enter its final phase.  The N.S. Savannah, which was built as part of the Atoms for Peace program started by President Eisenhower to demonstrate peaceful uses of atomic energy, became the first nuclear-powered civilian cargo/passenger ship when it was put into operation in 1962.  It is currently being readied for decontamination and final disposition.

The ship was operated until 1971, and the fuel rods were removed from the reactor core a few years later.  It has been maintained in that state, and in recent years, has been berthed in Baltimore Harbor awaiting a final determination of its fate.  The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) has maintained it, and over time, has even restored portions of the public areas of the ship.  However, this has always been regarded as a temporary state.

Now, MARAD has begun the process of decontamination of the ship as a step towards its eventual disposition.  The most exciting aspect of this process is that part of the containment has been cut away.  This will enable the removal of asbestos and and the reactor core.  In the meantime, the opening of the containment allows this rare panoramic view of the inside of a reactor containment:

The decontamination process is triggered by the fact that the ship still holds a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  That license expires in 2031, and by law, decommissioning should be completed before the license expires.  Decontamination is the first step in the decommissioning process, and expected to take several months. 

For those who are interested, there is a great virtual tour that takes you to a number of locations on the ship, including around the outside of the containment (before the containment was opened).  The website also has more information on the history of the ship. 

In the meantime, the ultimate disposition of the ship is still under consideration.  MARAD and a number of other interested organizations are actively discussing the next steps.  Possibilities range from preservation of the entire ship to scrapping the hull and preserving only a few key components at a museum or other facility.  Obviously, everyone is hoping the ship can be saved intact, but that depends on it finding a suitable home.  I would be happy to pass on any offers to host this historic ship!

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ANS Conference:

A Wealth of Anniversaries

The theme of this year's American Nuclear Society (ANS) Winter meeting, which just concluded, was "75 Years of Nuclear Fission," so I fully expected a lot of reflection on this milestone event.  I was not mistaken.  What I did not expect was that a number of speakers would pick up on the theme of anniversaries, and would point out the fact that this year is a significant anniversary of several other milestones in nuclear history as well.

During the course of the opening plenary of the conference, we were reminded of the following milestones we can celebrate this year:

• It is 100 years since the discovery of the structure of the atom.

• It is 75 years since the discovery of fission.

• It is 65 years since the start of the Naval Reactor Program.

• It is 60 years since President Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace address.

• It is the 20th anniversary of the Megatons to Megawatts program.

As the author of a book on nuclear history, I wrote about most of these events, so I feel a little chagrined I didn't think about all these anniversaries during the course of the year.  However, I'm glad that others reflect on history as well, and were thoughtful enough to mention the milestones in their remarks.

Speakers made note of how quickly we moved from the theoretical concept of nuclear fission to applications.  One plenary speaker, Dr. Sidney Drell, Professor Emeritus at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), reflected on fact that Enrico Fermi did an experiment in 1934 that resulted in fission, but he did not recognize it as such.  Ida Noddack, a German chemist, observed that there might be an alternative explanation to the one Fermi proposed, but her idea fell on deaf ears at the time.  Drell speculated that, had scientists heeded Noddack in 1934, Germany might have had the bomb before World War II. 

The organizers of the conference assembled an outstanding lineup of speakers to celebrate the 75th anniversary.  In addition to Dr. Drell, the opening plenary included: Ernie Moniz, Secretary of Energy; George Shultz, former Secretary of State; and Sam Nunn, former U.S. Senator.  The ANS President's Special Session that followed included: Allison Macfarlane, Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Pete Lyons, Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy, U.S. Department of Energy (who also spoke in several other sessions during the course of the conference); Ralph Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences; Dan Mote, President of the National Academy of Engineering; John Browne, Director Emeritus of the Los Alamos National Laboratory; Susan Eisenhower, Chairman Emeritus of the Eisenhower Institute; and Admiral John Richardson, Director of Naval Reactors.

These sessions were followed by a technical program that included many other distinguished members of the nuclear community, and spanned the whole scope of nuclear-related activities.  Particularly noteworthy were the 4 "embedded topicals" that took place during this meeting, covering risk management, small modular reactors (SMRs), nuclear nonproliferation, and a young professionals congress.   I gained many insights from the sessions I attended, far too many to cover in one post, but I hope to have a chance to weave some of these insights into future posts.

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