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Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station
Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant in 1998. At the time, it was owned and operated by General Public Utilities.
Map
CountryUnited States
LocationLacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey
Coordinates39°48′53″N 74°12′18″W / 39.81472°N 74.20500°W / 39.81472; -74.20500
StatusBeing decommissioned
Construction beganDecember 15, 1964 (1964-12-15)
Commission dateDecember 23, 1969[1]
Decommission dateSeptember 17, 2018
Construction cost$488 million (2007 USD)[2]
OwnerOyster Creek Environmental Protection
OperatorHoltec Decommissioning International
Nuclear power station
Reactor typeBWR
Reactor supplierGeneral Electric
Cooling sourceBarnegat Bay
Power generation
Make and modelBWR-2 (Mark 1)
Units decommissioned1 × 619 MW (1930 MWth)
Nameplate capacity
  • 550 MW
  • 652 MW
Capacity factor100.14% (2017)
74.0% (lifetime)
External links
WebsiteOyster Creek Generating Station
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Station is an inactive single unit 636 MWe boiling water reactor power plant in the United States. The plant is located on an 800-acre (3.2 km2) site adjacent to Oyster Creek in the Forked River section of Lacey Township in Ocean County, New Jersey. At the time of its closure, the facility was owned by Exelon Corporation and, along with unit 1 at Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station, was the oldest operating commercial nuclear power plant in the United States.[3] The plant first started commercial operation on December 23, 1969,[1] and is licensed to operate until April 9, 2029, but Oyster Creek was permanently shut down in September 2018.[4] The plant got its cooling water from Barnegat Bay, a brackish estuary that empties into the Atlantic Ocean through the Barnegat Inlet.

At the time of shutdown, Oyster Creek was one of four licensed nuclear power reactors in New Jersey. The others are the two units at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant, and the one unit at Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station.[5] As of January 1, 2005, New Jersey ranked 9th among the 31 states with nuclear capacity for total MWe generated. In 2003, nuclear power generated over one half of the electricity in the state.[6]

In 1999, GPU agreed to sell the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant to AmerGen Energy for $10 million.[7] AmerGen was later purchased by Exelon in 2003.[8] Exelon fully integrated AmerGen's former assets, including Oyster Creek, in early 2009.[9]

The reactor was shut down on September 17, 2018.[10]

In September 2019, Ocean Wind, a proposed 1,100 MWe offshore wind farm, with the approval of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, secured the capacity interconnection rights to bring the power generated by the wind farm on-shore at Oyster Creek. It can use the existing power infrastructure of the plant, after some upgrades, to connect to the regional transmission grid.[11][12][13]

In January 2021, Holtec suggested that a "new generation" nuclear plant might be built at the location.[1]

Design

Oyster Creek was a single unit 636 MWe boiling water reactor power plant which first came online on December 23, 1969; it was one of the oldest operating nuclear power plants in the United States[1] until it permanently ceased operation on September 17, 2018.[14] The plant was located 50 miles (80 km) east of Philadelphia and 75 miles (121 km) south of New York City.[citation needed]

Cooling water for the plant was drawn from Barnegat Bay, a brackish estuary that empties into the Atlantic Ocean through the Barnegat Inlet. Rankine cycle condenser cooling was used, with a coolant flow rate of 1.4 billion US gal (5.3 billion L) per day. The average temperature increase was 10.4 °F (5.8 °C).

Oyster Creek was originally licensed for 40 years, but in April 2009 its license was extended for another 20 years by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "Based on the Atomic Energy Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues licenses for commercial power reactors to operate for up to 40 years and allows these licenses to be renewed for up to another 20 years. This original 40-year term for reactor licenses was based on economic and antitrust considerations – not on limitations of nuclear technology. Due to this selected period, however, some structures and components may have been engineered on the basis of an expected 40-year service life."[15]

License extension

In July 2005, Exelon submitted an application to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a 20-year extension of the existing 40-year license for Oyster Creek, which was due to expire in 2009. According to a 2006 survey commissioned by the operators, relicensing of the power plant was supported by the majority of citizens living in areas surrounding the plant, and by local elected officials.[16] However, some local opposition to re-licensing was evident at public hearings on the issue. On May 31, 2007, several Ocean County residents attended the Atomic Safety Licensing Board (ASLB) hearing in the county administration building. At that meeting, several of the local residents were opposed to re-licensing of the nuclear power plant.[17]

The ASLB's decision on May 31, 2007 hearing led to a full public hearing on the issue of the monitoring of corrosion in the plant's drywell liner. The hearing was scheduled for September 24, 2007 in the county seat Toms River.[18] In 2008, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board twice rejected citizens' contentions concerning Oyster Creek. The majority of the three-judge panel ruled in favor of the plant, deciding "that the group's motion did not follow the proper guidelines for late-filed contentions and failed to link an alleged inadequacy to a significant safety issue."[19]

In May 2007, the state Attorney General's Office, on behalf of the state Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), petitioned the federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals to compel the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consider the potential for a terrorist attack as part of the criteria for Oyster Creek's licensing renewal process.[20] In July 2007, the NJDEP faulted both Exelon and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for relying on environmental studies that were up to 30 years old at the time of Exelon's relicensing application. The NJDEP refused to make a "positive consistency determination" for Oyster Creek, as required by the federal Coastal Zone Management Act. The positive determination is required for all applicants seeking to relicense an existing facility.[21]

On April 8, 2009 the plant was granted a license extension to operate until April 9, 2029. This came a week after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 3–1 against an appeal by anti-nuclear groups.[22]

As of June 2009, five environmental and citizen groups were appealing the decision in the federal court. Richard Webster, attorney for the groups, claims the NRC did not have sufficient information to determine whether the plant can operate safely for the next 20 years.[23][24]

“This has been the most extensive license renewal review to date, including the first adjudicatory hearing of a license renewal application,” said Eric Leeds, NRC's director of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. “The staff’s licensing and inspection scrutiny, along with the independent contributions of the ACRS, the ASLB and various citizen groups, should give the people of New Jersey added confidence that Oyster Creek will remain safe during its continued operation.”[25]

Closure and decommissioning

In December 2010, Exelon reported that Oyster Creek would close in 2019, 10 years earlier than planned so that cooling towers will not have to be installed to meet new environmental standards.[26] In February 2018 the closure date was adjusted to October 2018.[27] The reactor was ultimately shut down on September 17, 2018, and its fuel was removed by September 25, 2018.[28]

Work will now begin on dismantlement and long-term decommissioning. Oyster Creek was sold to Holtec International in July 2019 after clearing regulatory approval, and a Holtec and SNC-Lavalin joint venture called Comprehensive Decommissioning International will be responsible for decommissioning the plant. About 200 of Oyster Creek's employees will remain at the plant to carry out decommissioning work with Holtec.[10][29]

Electricity Production

Generation (MWh) of Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station[30]
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Annual (Total)
2001 433,564 427,523 471,220 453,386 405,749 438,676 452,567 446,703 425,377 467,935 322,151 470,154 5,215,005
2002 473,737 422,619 471,484 432,791 455,302 441,178 446,911 439,116 426,571 94,125 453,863 473,574 5,031,271
2003 473,401 403,181 463,915 457,220 352,179 449,042 454,267 364,217 447,339 470,091 445,239 476,234 5,256,325
2004 468,817 441,925 470,564 433,876 378,355 413,985 444,850 447,543 287,988 462,856 122,953 483,600 4,857,312
2005 470,468 428,862 465,336 445,546 463,245 401,539 445,128 427,260 439,466 464,112 454,138 469,812 5,374,912
2006 393,315 335,565 464,659 451,483 365,940 439,082 441,405 424,983 413,071 185,896 261,532 467,645 4,644,576
2007 470,588 426,143 408,508 411,225 402,088 441,324 322,411 441,765 437,113 461,624 455,744 399,399 5,077,932
2008 424,201 400,430 422,238 356,828 459,296 434,294 442,550 449,651 437,727 326,548 121,372 388,870 4,664,005
2009 473,879 191,784 469,082 375,920 406,739 445,612 352,978 422,406 447,749 464,990 455,890 471,372 4,978,401
2010 472,768 426,270 464,105 405,250 433,442 433,078 427,746 449,906 437,488 460,659 -3,574 194,257 4,601,395
2011 462,729 420,667 472,427 441,659 365,920 445,206 446,626 403,411 439,618 470,365 455,628 474,191 5,298,447
2012 467,426 439,520 470,632 452,612 461,845 443,494 368,011 444,186 436,262 308,423 -3,515 425,781 4,714,677
2013 464,882 425,949 461,117 454,523 455,270 433,256 444,287 453,796 431,057 345,547 367,275 364,595 5,101,554
2014 468,949 423,080 466,779 441,407 456,609 456,509 341,593 448,316 192,732 226,347 458,565 470,021 4,850,907
2015 473,390 427,213 387,221 455,461 346,831 443,823 451,332 450,892 441,359 468,485 441,346 471,476 5,258,829
2016 470,925 441,507 468,627 359,421 283,272 443,185 447,472 429,866 242,675 274,148 377,142 346,851 4,585,091
2017 474,368 426,684 472,874 453,440 465,893 443,538 408,812 452,018 442,436 464,303 454,544 471,281 5,430,191
2018 462,083 425,864 470,380 453,710 462,664 439,334 382,807 289,886 153,587 0 -- -- 3,540,315

Environment

As a part of Exelon Corporation, Oyster Creek followed the corporation's environmental policy.[31]

In August 2009, workers found and stopped two small leaks of tritium,[32] a radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a decay half-life of about 12 years. An NRC investigation of the leak found that the levels were too low to be a danger to public health. The leaks originated from two buried pipes that had not been properly insulated when they were last worked on in 1991.[33] A second leak was discovered in August 2009, from a pipe leading into an electrical turbine building. Tritium levels found in this leak were measured at 10 microcuries per liter of water, higher than the 5 to 6 microcuries per liter found in the earlier leak.[34] Tritium-contaminated groundwater remained on site and had not spread to any public water supplies.[35]

In May 2010, the New Jersey DEP announced that water from the leak had spread to a nearby aquifer, though it stated there "was no imminent danger" to water supplies. At the current rate of migration, the water will reach the closest public wells within 10 to 15 years. The DEP stated there are several ways to address the problem, such as pumping out the tainted water, or injecting fresh water to force the tainted water backwards. A spokesman for Oyster Creek said they are working with the state on the issue, and have seen contamination levels steadily dropping, sometimes by "as much as 90%".[36] Tritium causes less concern than other radioactive substances such as strontium, caesium and iodine. It does not bio-accumulate inside human tissue.

Safety

Employees at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant averaged less radiation exposure from 2005 through 2008 than workers at any other nuclear power plant of similar design in the United States.[37]

In early May 2011, fuel supplier General Electric notified the operators of the Oyster Creek and Nine Mile Point nuclear plants regarding safety calculation errors. General Electric had made mathematical errors which could have resulted in nuclear fuel getting hotter than operators expected, reducing the plants' margin of safety. Plant operators were able to make corrections.[38]

Hurricane Sandy

On October 30, 2012, during Hurricane Sandy, the nuclear power plant's intake structure was flooded with six and a half feet of water as a result of the storm surge from the hurricane, with no damage sustained,[39] and at the same time the plant was already down for maintenance and lost its electrical power from the grid, so operators called an alert that escalated the plant a step up from the lowest emergency level, and turned to backup generators to keep cooling the reactor.[40]

In following months, local residents continued to voice their worries despite a statement by Gordon K. Hunegs of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that during Hurricane Sandy "the plant was always safe."[41]

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 Oyster Creek was 1 in 71,429, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.[42][43]

Surrounding population

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 miles (16 km), concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 miles (80 km), concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.[44]

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 miles (16 km) of Oyster Creek was 133,609, an increase of 35.8 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 km) was 4,482,261, an increase of 10.4 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles (80 km) include Atlantic City (30 miles (48 km) to city center), Toms River (10 miles (16 km) to city center), Lakewood (19 miles (31 km) to city center), Asbury Park (30 miles (48 km) to city center), and Cherry Hill (42 miles (68 km) to city center).[45]

  • A close-up view of the Oyster Creek complex with the reactor building & off gas stack.
    A close-up view of the Oyster Creek complex with the reactor building & off gas stack.
  • A view of the core control simulator which is an exact replica of the real core control station.
    A view of the core control simulator which is an exact replica of the real core control station.
  • Another view of the core control simulator.
    Another view of the core control simulator.
  • Another view of the core control simulator.
    Another view of the core control simulator.
  • Another view of the core control simulator.
    Another view of the core control simulator.
  • Another view of the core control simulator.
    Another view of the core control simulator.

See also

References

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  2. ^ "EIA – State Nuclear Profiles". www.eia.gov. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  3. ^ "How old are U.S. Nuclear power plants, and when was the newest one built? - FAQ - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)". Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  4. ^ Davis, Mike (September 17, 2018). "Oyster Creek shut down: Lacey nuclear power plant, oldest in US, closed after 49 years". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  5. ^ "NRC – Licensed Facilities by Region or State – New Jersey". US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  6. ^ "New Jersey Nuclear Industry". United States Department of Energy. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  7. ^ Jones, Dow (September 15, 1999). "NYT Metro Business; GPU to Sell Oyster Creek". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  8. ^ EXELON TO MATCH FPL'S $276.5-MILLION OFFER FOR AMERGEN PURCHASE FROM BRITISH ENERGY
  9. ^ Exelon Generation Formally Integrates AmerGen Assets Into Exelon Nuclear
  10. ^ a b "Oyster Creek retires after 49 years". World Nuclear News. September 18, 2018. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  11. ^ "Exelon to shut NJ Oyster Creek reactor in 2019". Reuters. December 9, 2010. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  12. ^ Davis, Mike (September 17, 2018). "Oyster Creek shut down: Lacey nuclear power plant, oldest in US, closed after 49 years". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  13. ^ Johnson, Tom (September 16, 2019). "Ørsted OK'd to Bring Offshore Wind Power Ashore at Oyster Creek". NJ Spotlight. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
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  15. ^ "NRC:Backgrounder on Reactor License Renewal". Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  16. ^ AmerGen press release, August 15, 2006, Results of Public Opinion Survey Regarding Oyster Creek Relicensing Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Examiner, June 28, 2007, Oyster Creek's time is up, residents tell board Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Asbury Park Press, June 20, 2007, [1][dead link‍]
  19. ^ The Press of Atlantic City Archived August 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Three Mile Island Alert, N.J. FILES APPEAL OF RULING ON REACTOR Archived July 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, April 26, 2007
  21. ^ Brick Township Bulletin, July 5, 2007, Board sides with citizens' groups on Oyster Creek Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 9, 2009, Oyster Creek nuclear plant gets 20-year license renewal Archived January 27, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ NJ nuclear plant opponents appeal relicensing
  24. ^ "Nuclear license renewal sparks protest". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  25. ^ "NRC RENEWS OPERATING LICENSE FOR OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT FOR AN ADDITIONAL 20 YEARS". Archived from the original on May 12, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  26. ^ NJ Nuke Plant Closing 10 Years Early
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  28. ^ "NRC – Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station". US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Archived from the original on February 7, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  29. ^ Bader, Emily (July 30, 2019). "Holtec, SNC-Lavalin close on deal to decommission Oyster Creek nuclear power plant". ROI-NJ. Archived from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  30. ^ "Electricity Data Browser". www.eia.gov. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  31. ^ "Climate change demands action. We're not waiting". Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2008.
  32. ^ "Officials: Oyster Creek nuclear plant tritium leak stopped, no danger to public". April 30, 2009. Archived from the original on November 24, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  33. ^ Christopher Dela Cruz (April 16, 2009). "Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in N.J. probles possible chemical release". New Jersey Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on April 19, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  34. ^ These amounts may be compared to the exposure due to the normal potassium content of the human body, 2.5 g per kg,[12] or 175 grams in a 70 kg adult. This potassium will naturally generate 175 g × 31 Bq/g ≈ 5400 Bq of radiation, through the person's lifetime.Ben Leach (August 26, 2009). "Tritium found in new leak at Oyster Creek nuclear plant". Press of Atlantic City. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  35. ^ Wayne Parry (September 9, 2009). "Nation's oldest nuclear plant is showing its age". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  36. ^ [2] Archived May 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
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  38. ^ Matthew L. Wald (May 11, 2011). "Nuclear Problems in the Rearview Mirror". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
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  40. ^ "Sandy, Fukushima, and the Nuclear Industry". The New Yorker. November 2, 2012. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
  41. ^ Powell, Michael (January 7, 2013). "Hurricane Brings More Worry to Neighbors of Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  42. ^ Bill Dedman, What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk, NBC News, March 17, 2011 http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42103936 [3] Accessed April 19, 2011.
  43. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 25, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  45. ^ Bill Dedman, Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors, NBC News, April 14, 2011 http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42555888 [4] Accessed May 1, 2011.
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