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Trojan Nuclear Power Plant

November 01, 2023

Trojan Nuclear Power Plant was a pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant (Westinghouse design) in the northwest United States, located southeast of Rainier, Oregon,[2] and the only commercial nuclear power plant to be built in Oregon. There was much public opposition to the plant from the design stage. The three main opposition groups were the Trojan Decommissioning Alliance, Forelaws on the Board, and Mothers for Peace. There were largely non-violent protests from 1977, and subsequent arrests of participants.

Trojan Nuclear Power Plant
May 2006, shortly before demolition
CountryUnited States
LocationColumbia County, Oregon, U.S.
(near Rainier, Oregon)
Coordinates46°2′18″N 122°53′6″W / 46.03833°N 122.88500°W / 46.03833; -122.88500
StatusDemolished
Construction began1 February 1970
Commission date20 May 1976
Decommission date9 November 1992
Construction cost$460 million[citation needed] ($1.73 billion in 2021[1])
Operator(s)Portland General Electric
Nuclear power station
Reactor typePWR
Reactor supplierWestinghouse
Cooling towers1 × Natural Draft
Thermal capacity1 × 3411 MWth
Power generation
Units decommissioned1 × 1095 MW
Capacity factor53.6% (lifetime)
Annual net output4,962 GW·h (lifetime average)
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]

The plant was connected to the grid in December 1975.

After 16 years of irregular service, the plant was closed permanently in 1992 by its operator, Portland General Electric (PGE),[3] after cracks were discovered in the steam-generator tubing. Decommissioning and demolition of the plant began the following year and was largely completed in 2006.[4]

While operating, Trojan represented more than 12% of the electrical generation capacity of Oregon. The site lies about twelve miles (20 km) north of St. Helens, on the west (south) bank of the Columbia River.

History edit

See also: Anti-nuclear movement in the United States

The Trojan Powder Company had formerly manufactured gunpowder and dynamite on a 634-acre (2.57 km2) site on the banks of the Columbia River, four miles (6.5 km) from the town of Rainier, Oregon. In 1967, Portland General Electric chose the site for a new nuclear power plant.[5] Construction began on February 1, 1970;[6][7][8] first criticality was achieved on December 15, 1975, and grid connection eight days later on December 23. Commercial operation began on May 20, 1976,[9] under a 35-year license to expire in 2011. At the time, the single 1,130 megawatt unit at Trojan was the world's largest pressurized water reactor; it cost $460 million to build the plant.[10]

Environmental opposition dogged Trojan from its inception,[8] and the opposition included non-violent protests organized by the Trojan Decommissioning Alliance. Direct action protests were held at the plant in 1977 and 1978, resulting in hundreds of arrests.[11]

 
Two people fishing near the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant. The reactor dome is visible on the left, and the massive cooling tower on the right.

In 1978, the plant went offline on March 17 for routine refueling and was idle for nine months while modifications were made to improve its resistance to earthquakes.[12] This followed the discovery of both major building construction errors and the close proximity of a previously unknown fault.[13] The operators sued the builders, and an undisclosed out-of-court settlement was eventually reached.[citation needed]

The Trojan steam generators were designed to last the life of the plant, but it was only four years before premature cracking of the steam tubes was observed.[citation needed] In October 1979, the plant was shut down through the end of the year for repairs.[14][15][16] The plant had an extended shutdown in 1984, with difficulty restarting.[17]

In the 1980 election, a ballot measure to ban construction of further nuclear power plants in the state without federally approved waste facilities was approved by the voters 608,412 (53.2%) to 535,049 (46.8%).[18] In 1986, a ballot measure initiated by Lloyd Marbet for immediate closure of the Trojan plant failed 35.7% yes to 64.3% no.[19] This proposal was resubmitted in 1990, and again in 1992 when a similar proposal (by Jerry and Marilyn Wilson) to close the plant was also included. Each measure was soundly defeated by vote margins over 210,000 votes.[20][21][22] Although all closure proposals were defeated, the plant operators committed to successively earlier closure dates for the plant.

 
The demolition of the 499-foot (152 m) cooling tower at 7:00 AM on May 21, 2006.

In 1992, PGE spent $4.5 million to successfully defeat ballot measures seeking to close Trojan immediately, rather than within four years, as PGE had planned.[23][24] At the time, it was the most expensive ballot measure campaign in Oregon history.[25] A week after the election, the Trojan plant suffered another steam generator tube leak of radioactive water, and was shut down.[26] It was announced that replacement of the steam generators would be necessary. In December 1992, documents were leaked from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission showing that staff scientists believed that Trojan might be unsafe to operate.[26] In early January 1993, PGE chief executive Ken Harrison announced the company would not try to restart Trojan.[27][28][29]

After 1993 decision not to restart edit

The spent fuel was transferred from cooling pools to 34 concrete and steel storage casks in 2003.[30]

 
The site in 2022. Site of the water cooling tower is in the foreground.

In 2005, the reactor vessel and other radioactive equipment were removed from the Trojan plant, encased in concrete foam, shrink-wrapped, and transported intact by barge along the Columbia River to Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington, where it was buried in a pit and covered with 45 feet (14 m) of gravel, which made it the first commercial reactor to be moved and buried whole.[31] It was awaiting transport to the Yucca Mountain Repository until that project was canceled in 2009.[32]

The iconic 499-foot-tall (152 m) cooling tower, visible from Interstate 5 in Washington and U.S. Route 30 in Oregon, was demolished in 2006 via dynamite implosion at 7:00 a.m. PDT on Sunday, May 21.[33][34] This event marked the first implosion of a cooling tower at a nuclear plant in the United States.[citation needed] Additional demolition work on the remaining structures continued through 2008. The central office building and the reactor building were demolished by Northwest Demolition and Dismantling[35] in 2008. Remaining are five buildings: two warehouses, a small building on the river side, a guard shack, and offices outside the secured facility. It is expected that demolition of the plant will cost approximately $230 million, which includes the termination of the plant possession-only license, conventional demolition of the building and continuing cost for storage of used nuclear fuel.[citation needed]

A number of the civil defence sirens that were originally installed within a 10-mile (16 km) radius of Trojan, to warn of an incident at the plant that could endanger the general public, continue to stand in the Washington cities of Longview, Kelso, and Kalama.[36] Some of the other sirens, which have been removed, have been repurposed as tsunami warning sirens along the Oregon coast.[37] While there are no plans to remove the remaining sirens, the city of Longview has removed a few of the sirens on an as-needed basis to make way for other projects.[38]

Heliport edit

Trojan Heliport (FAA LID: 3OR7) was a 60 x 60 ft. (18 x 18 m) private turf heliport located at the power plant. It is no longer listed in the FAA website.

References edit

  1. ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved January 1, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series.
  2. ^ "Nuclear power plant". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. (photo). November 19, 1969. p. 6.
  3. ^ Koberstein, Paul (2005-03-09). . Willamette Week. p. A1. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
  4. ^ (PDF). Issues in Perspective. Portland General Electric. March 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  5. ^ West, Robert D. (16 May 2014), Trojan in Twilight: History, retrieved 2019-08-02
  6. ^ "N-plant site work begins without OK". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. April 3, 1970. p. 4A.
  7. ^ "Construction to begin Monday on nuclear plant on Columbia". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. February 11, 1971. p. 1A.
  8. ^ a b Wyant, Dan (March 26, 1972). "Trojan N-plant site beehive of activity". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  9. ^ "Trojan test successful, PGE says". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. May 20, 1976. p. 9A.
  10. ^ Nipper, Gregory. "Progress and Economy: The Clash of Values over Oregon's Trojan Nuclear Plant [1] 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Daniel Pope. Anti-Nuclear Movement The Oregon Encyclopedia.
  12. ^ "Trojan plant OK, U.S. agency says". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. December 4, 1978. p. 1A.
  13. ^ Beaulieu and Peterson, [2] "St Helens area relative to the Trojan nuclear site" Dec 1981
  14. ^ "Five more protesters arrested in effort to shut down Trojan". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 17, 1979. p. 9B.
  15. ^ "Trojan nuclear plant operates at full capacity". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. January 2, 1980. p. 7A.
  16. ^ "Trojan nuke plant put on line again". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. January 2, 1980. p. 2B.
  17. ^ "Human error causing Trojan plant problems". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 4, 1984. p. 11B.
  18. ^ Oregon Blue Book. Initiative, Referendum and Recall: 1980-1987. November 4, 1980 - "Nuclear Plant Licensing Requires Voter Approval, Waste Disposal Facility Existence".
  19. ^ Oregon Blue Book. Initiative, Referendum and Recall: 1980-1987. November 4, 1986 - "Prohibits Nuclear Power Plant Operation Until Permanent Waste Site Licensed".
  20. ^ Oregon Blue Book. Initiative, Referendum and Recall: 1988-1995. November 6, 1990 - "Prohibits Trojan Operation Until Nuclear Waste, Cost, Earthquake Standards Met". Defeated 40.3% yes, 59.6% no.
  21. ^ Oregon Blue Book. Initiative, Referendum and Recall: 1988-1995. November 3, 1992 - "Closes Trojan Until Nuclear Waste, Cost, Earthquake, Health Conditions Met". Defeated 59.9% to 40.1%.
  22. ^ Oregon Blue Book. Initiative, Referendum and Recall: 1988-1995. November 3, 1992 - "Bans Trojan Power Operation Unless Earthquake, Waste Storage Conditions Met". Failed 42.7% yes to 57.3% no.
  23. ^ "Anti-Nuclear Movement". The Oregon Encyclopedia.
  24. ^ Esteve, Harry (November 4, 1992). "Oregon voters just said 'no' to measures". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 5B.
  25. ^ Malkin, Whitnes (November 8, 2007). "Tax defeat costs big tobacco big bucks". The Register-Guard.
  26. ^ a b "Split over N-plant safety revealed". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 20, 1992. p. 1A.
  27. ^ Esteve, Harry (January 5, 1993). "PGE shuts down Trojan for good". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1A.
  28. ^ Baum, Bob (January 5, 1993). "Oregon nuclear plant won't reopen". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. p. 7A.
  29. ^ Esteve, Harry (January 6, 1993). "Trojan will have a slow, expensive death". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1A.
  30. ^ Havrelly, Wayne (March 18, 2011). "Trojan's nuclear waste still on-site in steel, concrete casks". KGW News.
  31. ^ "Trojan Nuclear Power Plant". Center for Land Use Interpretation. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  32. ^ "GAO: Death of Yucca Mountain Caused by Political Maneuvering". New York Times. Aug 1, 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  33. ^ Harden, Blaine (May 22, 2006). "Nuclear tower takes volatile history with it". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Washington Post). p. A1.
  34. ^ Skidmore, Sarah (May 22, 2006). "Tower demolished at idle Oregon power plant". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. A6.
  35. ^ "Northwest Demolition and Dismantling". Retrieved 1 Aug 2011.
  36. ^ "Trojan Nuclear Plant old sirens - Google My Maps". Google My Maps.
  37. ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-03-13.
  38. ^ News, The Daily. "News Photo: Siren down". tdn.com. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trojan Nuclear Power Plant.
  • Portland General Electric information about the plant ()
  • Trojan Park recreation guide [3]
  • Local television news coverage of the implosion from many different angles
  • High Country News article providing some of the time line of the plant

November 01, 2023
trojan, nuclear, power, plant, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jst. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Trojan Nuclear Power Plant news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Trojan Nuclear Power Plant was a pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant Westinghouse design in the northwest United States located southeast of Rainier Oregon 2 and the only commercial nuclear power plant to be built in Oregon There was much public opposition to the plant from the design stage The three main opposition groups were the Trojan Decommissioning Alliance Forelaws on the Board and Mothers for Peace There were largely non violent protests from 1977 and subsequent arrests of participants Trojan Nuclear Power PlantMay 2006 shortly before demolitionCountryUnited StatesLocationColumbia County Oregon U S near Rainier Oregon Coordinates46 2 18 N 122 53 6 W 46 03833 N 122 88500 W 46 03833 122 88500StatusDemolishedConstruction began1 February 1970Commission date20 May 1976Decommission date9 November 1992Construction cost 460 million citation needed 1 73 billion in 2021 1 Operator s Portland General ElectricNuclear power stationReactor typePWRReactor supplierWestinghouseCooling towers1 Natural DraftThermal capacity1 3411 MWthPower generationUnits decommissioned1 1095 MWCapacity factor53 6 lifetime Annual net output4 962 GW h lifetime average External linksCommonsRelated media on Commons edit on Wikidata The plant was connected to the grid in December 1975 After 16 years of irregular service the plant was closed permanently in 1992 by its operator Portland General Electric PGE 3 after cracks were discovered in the steam generator tubing Decommissioning and demolition of the plant began the following year and was largely completed in 2006 4 While operating Trojan represented more than 12 of the electrical generation capacity of Oregon The site lies about twelve miles 20 km north of St Helens on the west south bank of the Columbia River Contents 1 History 1 1 After 1993 decision not to restart 2 Heliport 3 References 4 External linksHistory editSee also Anti nuclear movement in the United States The Trojan Powder Company had formerly manufactured gunpowder and dynamite on a 634 acre 2 57 km2 site on the banks of the Columbia River four miles 6 5 km from the town of Rainier Oregon In 1967 Portland General Electric chose the site for a new nuclear power plant 5 Construction began on February 1 1970 6 7 8 first criticality was achieved on December 15 1975 and grid connection eight days later on December 23 Commercial operation began on May 20 1976 9 under a 35 year license to expire in 2011 At the time the single 1 130 megawatt unit at Trojan was the world s largest pressurized water reactor it cost 460 million to build the plant 10 Environmental opposition dogged Trojan from its inception 8 and the opposition included non violent protests organized by the Trojan Decommissioning Alliance Direct action protests were held at the plant in 1977 and 1978 resulting in hundreds of arrests 11 nbsp Two people fishing near the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant The reactor dome is visible on the left and the massive cooling tower on the right In 1978 the plant went offline on March 17 for routine refueling and was idle for nine months while modifications were made to improve its resistance to earthquakes 12 This followed the discovery of both major building construction errors and the close proximity of a previously unknown fault 13 The operators sued the builders and an undisclosed out of court settlement was eventually reached citation needed The Trojan steam generators were designed to last the life of the plant but it was only four years before premature cracking of the steam tubes was observed citation needed In October 1979 the plant was shut down through the end of the year for repairs 14 15 16 The plant had an extended shutdown in 1984 with difficulty restarting 17 In the 1980 election a ballot measure to ban construction of further nuclear power plants in the state without federally approved waste facilities was approved by the voters 608 412 53 2 to 535 049 46 8 18 In 1986 a ballot measure initiated by Lloyd Marbet for immediate closure of the Trojan plant failed 35 7 yes to 64 3 no 19 This proposal was resubmitted in 1990 and again in 1992 when a similar proposal by Jerry and Marilyn Wilson to close the plant was also included Each measure was soundly defeated by vote margins over 210 000 votes 20 21 22 Although all closure proposals were defeated the plant operators committed to successively earlier closure dates for the plant nbsp The demolition of the 499 foot 152 m cooling tower at 7 00 AM on May 21 2006 In 1992 PGE spent 4 5 million to successfully defeat ballot measures seeking to close Trojan immediately rather than within four years as PGE had planned 23 24 At the time it was the most expensive ballot measure campaign in Oregon history 25 A week after the election the Trojan plant suffered another steam generator tube leak of radioactive water and was shut down 26 It was announced that replacement of the steam generators would be necessary In December 1992 documents were leaked from the U S Nuclear Regulatory Commission showing that staff scientists believed that Trojan might be unsafe to operate 26 In early January 1993 PGE chief executive Ken Harrison announced the company would not try to restart Trojan 27 28 29 After 1993 decision not to restart edit The spent fuel was transferred from cooling pools to 34 concrete and steel storage casks in 2003 30 nbsp The site in 2022 Site of the water cooling tower is in the foreground In 2005 the reactor vessel and other radioactive equipment were removed from the Trojan plant encased in concrete foam shrink wrapped and transported intact by barge along the Columbia River to Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington where it was buried in a pit and covered with 45 feet 14 m of gravel which made it the first commercial reactor to be moved and buried whole 31 It was awaiting transport to the Yucca Mountain Repository until that project was canceled in 2009 32 The iconic 499 foot tall 152 m cooling tower visible from Interstate 5 in Washington and U S Route 30 in Oregon was demolished in 2006 via dynamite implosion at 7 00 a m PDT on Sunday May 21 33 34 This event marked the first implosion of a cooling tower at a nuclear plant in the United States citation needed Additional demolition work on the remaining structures continued through 2008 The central office building and the reactor building were demolished by Northwest Demolition and Dismantling 35 in 2008 Remaining are five buildings two warehouses a small building on the river side a guard shack and offices outside the secured facility It is expected that demolition of the plant will cost approximately 230 million which includes the termination of the plant possession only license conventional demolition of the building and continuing cost for storage of used nuclear fuel citation needed A number of the civil defence sirens that were originally installed within a 10 mile 16 km radius of Trojan to warn of an incident at the plant that could endanger the general public continue to stand in the Washington cities of Longview Kelso and Kalama 36 Some of the other sirens which have been removed have been repurposed as tsunami warning sirens along the Oregon coast 37 While there are no plans to remove the remaining sirens the city of Longview has removed a few of the sirens on an as needed basis to make way for other projects 38 Heliport editTrojan Heliport FAA LID 3OR7 was a 60 x 60 ft 18 x 18 m private turf heliport located at the power plant It is no longer listed in the FAA website References edit Johnston Louis Williamson Samuel H 2023 What Was the U S GDP Then MeasuringWorth Retrieved January 1 2023 United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the Measuring Worth series Nuclear power plant Spokesman Review Spokane Washington photo November 19 1969 p 6 Koberstein Paul 2005 03 09 Trojan PGE s Nuclear Gamble Willamette Week p A1 Archived from the original on 2007 09 29 Retrieved 2007 06 15 Trojan Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Update PDF Issues in Perspective Portland General Electric March 2006 Archived from the original PDF on November 14 2007 Retrieved 2008 04 06 West Robert D 16 May 2014 Trojan in Twilight History retrieved 2019 08 02 N plant site work begins without OK Eugene Register Guard Oregon Associated Press April 3 1970 p 4A Construction to begin Monday on nuclear plant on Columbia Eugene Register Guard Oregon wire services February 11 1971 p 1A a b Wyant Dan March 26 1972 Trojan N plant site beehive of activity Eugene Register Guard Oregon p 1B Trojan test successful PGE says Eugene Register Guard Oregon UPI May 20 1976 p 9A Nipper Gregory Progress and Economy The Clash of Values over Oregon s Trojan Nuclear Plant 1 Archived 2013 11 02 at the Wayback Machine Daniel Pope Anti Nuclear Movement The Oregon Encyclopedia Trojan plant OK U S agency says Eugene Register Guard Oregon wire services December 4 1978 p 1A Beaulieu and Peterson 2 St Helens area relative to the Trojan nuclear site Dec 1981 Five more protesters arrested in effort to shut down Trojan Eugene Register Guard Oregon Associated Press October 17 1979 p 9B Trojan nuclear plant operates at full capacity Eugene Register Guard Oregon UPI January 2 1980 p 7A Trojan nuke plant put on line again Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho Associated Press January 2 1980 p 2B Human error causing Trojan plant problems Eugene Register Guard Oregon Associated Press November 4 1984 p 11B Oregon Blue Book Initiative Referendum and Recall 1980 1987 November 4 1980 Nuclear Plant Licensing Requires Voter Approval Waste Disposal Facility Existence Oregon Blue Book Initiative Referendum and Recall 1980 1987 November 4 1986 Prohibits Nuclear Power Plant Operation Until Permanent Waste Site Licensed Oregon Blue Book Initiative Referendum and Recall 1988 1995 November 6 1990 Prohibits Trojan Operation Until Nuclear Waste Cost Earthquake Standards Met Defeated 40 3 yes 59 6 no Oregon Blue Book Initiative Referendum and Recall 1988 1995 November 3 1992 Closes Trojan Until Nuclear Waste Cost Earthquake Health Conditions Met Defeated 59 9 to 40 1 Oregon Blue Book Initiative Referendum and Recall 1988 1995 November 3 1992 Bans Trojan Power Operation Unless Earthquake Waste Storage Conditions Met Failed 42 7 yes to 57 3 no Anti Nuclear Movement The Oregon Encyclopedia Esteve Harry November 4 1992 Oregon voters just said no to measures Eugene Register Guard Oregon p 5B Malkin Whitnes November 8 2007 Tax defeat costs big tobacco big bucks The Register Guard a b Split over N plant safety revealed Eugene Register Guard Oregon Associated Press December 20 1992 p 1A Esteve Harry January 5 1993 PGE shuts down Trojan for good Eugene Register Guard Oregon p 1A Baum Bob January 5 1993 Oregon nuclear plant won t reopen Lewiston Morning Tribune Idaho Associated Press p 7A Esteve Harry January 6 1993 Trojan will have a slow expensive death Eugene Register Guard Oregon p 1A Havrelly Wayne March 18 2011 Trojan s nuclear waste still on site in steel concrete casks KGW News Trojan Nuclear Power Plant Center for Land Use Interpretation Retrieved 2008 12 03 GAO Death of Yucca Mountain Caused by Political Maneuvering New York Times Aug 1 2011 Retrieved 11 May 2011 Harden Blaine May 22 2006 Nuclear tower takes volatile history with it Eugene Register Guard Oregon Washington Post p A1 Skidmore Sarah May 22 2006 Tower demolished at idle Oregon power plant Spokesman Review Spokane Washington Associated Press p A6 Northwest Demolition and Dismantling Retrieved 1 Aug 2011 Trojan Nuclear Plant old sirens Google My Maps Google My Maps Some sirens didn t sound but officials say response good KATU com Portland News Sports Traffic Weather and Breaking News Portland Oregon Portland Oregon Local amp Regional Archived from the original on 2011 03 13 News The Daily News Photo Siren down tdn com a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a last has generic name help External links edit nbsp Oregon portal nbsp Energy portal nbsp Nuclear technology portal nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trojan Nuclear Power Plant Portland General Electric information about the plant archived version of page from August 2008 available from archive org Trojan Park recreation guide 3 Local television news coverage of the implosion from many different anglesHigh Country News article providing some of the time line of the plant Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Trojan Nuclear Power Plant amp oldid 1152481776, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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