Hatch (Edwin I. Hatch) Nuclear Generating Station
Encyclopedia
The Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Power Plant is near Baxley, Georgia
, on a 2,244-acre (9 km²) site. It has two General Electric
boiling water reactor
s with a total capacity of 1,726 megawatts. Previously, the reactors had a combined capacity listing of 1,848 MW. Unit 1 went online in 1974 and was followed by Unit 2 in 1978.
The plant was named for Edwin I. Hatch, president of Georgia Power
from 1963 to 1975, and chairman from 1975 to 1978.
In 2002, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) extended the operating licenses for both reactors for an additional twenty years.
. Hatch's owners are:
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 Hatch was 11,061, an increase of 6.7 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 424,741, an increase of 12.0 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Vidalia (19 miles to city center).
The Hatch Plant, a BWR, near Baxley GA is estimated by DOE, as of this year, to have generated 1,446 metric tons of spent fuel containing about 179 million curies. About 56 percent of the spent fuel inventory at Hatch is Cs-137. So the Hatch spent fuel contains approximately 100 million curies of Cs-137—about 52 times the amount released at Chernobyl.
Baxley, Georgia
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,150 people, 1,567 households, and 1,048 families residing in the city. The population density was 580.7 people per square mile . There were 1,866 housing units at an average density of 261.1 per square mile...
, on a 2,244-acre (9 km²) site. It 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...
s with a total capacity of 1,726 megawatts. Previously, the reactors had a combined capacity listing of 1,848 MW. Unit 1 went online in 1974 and was followed by Unit 2 in 1978.
The plant was named for Edwin I. Hatch, president of Georgia Power
Georgia Power
Georgia Power is an electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the largest of the four electric utilities that are owned and operated by Southern Company....
from 1963 to 1975, and chairman from 1975 to 1978.
In 2002, 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...
(NRC) extended the operating licenses for both reactors for an additional twenty years.
Ownership
The Hatch plant is operated by Southern Nuclear Operating Company, a subsidiary of Southern CompanySouthern Company
Southern Company is a public utility holding company of primarily electric utilities in the southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with executive offices also located in Birmingham, Alabama. The company is currently the 16th largest utility company in the world and the...
. Hatch's owners are:
- Georgia PowerGeorgia PowerGeorgia Power is an electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is the largest of the four electric utilities that are owned and operated by Southern Company....
(50.1%) (also a Southern Company subsidiary) - Oglethorpe Power Corporation (30%)
- Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia http://www.meagpower.org/ (17.7%)
- Dalton Water & Light Sinking Fund Commission (2.2%)
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 Hatch was 11,061, an increase of 6.7 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 424,741, an increase of 12.0 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Vidalia (19 miles to city center).
Onsite storage of spent nuclear fuel
Spent nuclear fuel is stored on-site in concrete casks. According to the National Academy of Sciences (National Research Council, Radiation Dose Reconstruction for Epidemiologic Uses, National Academy of Sciences Press. P.105), Chernobyl released about 1.89 million curies of Cs-137.The Hatch Plant, a BWR, near Baxley GA is estimated by DOE, as of this year, to have generated 1,446 metric tons of spent fuel containing about 179 million curies. About 56 percent of the spent fuel inventory at Hatch is Cs-137. So the Hatch spent fuel contains approximately 100 million curies of Cs-137—about 52 times the amount released at Chernobyl.