Some operational problems of the nuclear power plant

IN PLACE of the boiler, as found in the steam power plant today, a nuclear-fueled steam generator will be applied in many instances in the years immediately ahead. In fact, the atomic plants already in design exceed 1,000,000 kw capacity. The industry has been so deeply involved in the evaluation of the economic feasibility of nuclear power that very little attention has been devoted to the problems which are to be expected in the operation of these plants. In general, this phase of the problem has been dismissed by one of two statements: (a) The nuclear plant should be only slightly more difficult to operate than the conventional plant. (b) The nuclear plant will require about the same kind of operating crew as will the conventional plant. The authors subscribe to both of these general statements, but they also believe the time has come to look more closely at the details of nuclear plant operation. Glasstone1 indicates less than one mill per kilowatt-hour variation in the estimated ultimate total cost of power between five reactor types. These are recognized to be rough estimates, but they do indicate that rather small factors of cost, such as operation and maintenance, may strongly influence the final selection of reactor type.