Susquehanna Steam Electric Station
Encyclopedia
The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, a nuclear power station, is in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
, just south of Shickshinny
, in Salem Township, Pennsylvania
, United States. It is operated by PPL
and has two General Electric
boiling water reactor
s on a site of 1,075 acres (4.4 km²), with 1,130 employees working on site and another 180 employees in Allentown, Pennsylvania
. While PPL operates the facility, Harrisburg-based Allegheny Electric Cooperative purchased 10% of the plant in 1977.
Susquehanna produces 63 million kilowatt hours per day. It has been in operation since 1983. The prime builder was Bechtel Power Corporation of San Francisco, California. In the plant's first emergency, an electrical fire erupted at a switch box that controls the supply of cooling water to emergency systems. No injuries were reported following the 1982 incident.
Roughly 10,000 gallons of radioactive water spilled at the Station's Unit 1 turbine building after a gasket failed in the filtering system in 1985.
In November 2009, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) extended the operation licenses of the reactors for an additional 20 years.
In 2008, PPL filed an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to build and operate a new nuclear plant under consideration near Berwick, Pennsylvania. The Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant
would be built near the company’s existing two-unit Susquehanna nuclear power plant. A decision by PPL on whether to move forward with the Bell Bend plant will not be made for several years.
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 Susquehanna was 54,686, an increase of 3.3 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 1,765,761, an increase of 5.5 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Wilkes-Barre (18 miles to city center).
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
- Demographics :As of the 2010 census, the county was 90.7% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 3.3% were of some other race, and 1.5% were two or more races. 6.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry...
, just south of Shickshinny
Shickshinny, Pennsylvania
Shickshinny is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 959 at the 2000 census, and declined to 896 in the 2007 Economic Census....
, in Salem Township, Pennsylvania
Salem Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Salem Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,269 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 30.0 square miles , of which, 29.0 square miles of it is land and...
, United States. It is operated by PPL
PPL (utility)
PPL, formerly known as PP&L or Pennsylvania Power and Light, is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. It currently controls about 19,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and Montana, and delivers electricity to...
and 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 on a site of 1,075 acres (4.4 km²), with 1,130 employees working on site and another 180 employees in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
. While PPL operates the facility, Harrisburg-based Allegheny Electric Cooperative purchased 10% of the plant in 1977.
Susquehanna produces 63 million kilowatt hours per day. It has been in operation since 1983. The prime builder was Bechtel Power Corporation of San Francisco, California. In the plant's first emergency, an electrical fire erupted at a switch box that controls the supply of cooling water to emergency systems. No injuries were reported following the 1982 incident.
Roughly 10,000 gallons of radioactive water spilled at the Station's Unit 1 turbine building after a gasket failed in the filtering system in 1985.
In November 2009, 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 operation licenses of the reactors for an additional 20 years.
In 2008, PPL filed an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a license to build and operate a new nuclear plant under consideration near Berwick, Pennsylvania. The Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant
Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant
The Bell Bend Nuclear Power Plant is a prospective nuclear power plant , which may be built on the Bell Bend of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania near the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station....
would be built near the company’s existing two-unit Susquehanna nuclear power plant. A decision by PPL on whether to move forward with the Bell Bend plant will not be made for several years.
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 Susquehanna was 54,686, an increase of 3.3 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 1,765,761, an increase of 5.5 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Wilkes-Barre (18 miles to city center).