Thats true. I remember seeing that kind of tower near where I live but there to my knowledge aren't any nuclear power plants near me.
On March 3, 1962 operators activated a nuclear power plant at the station. The plant, like nearby Scott's Discovery Hut, was prefabricated in modules. Engineers designed the components to weigh no more than 30,000 pounds (13,608 kg) pounds each and to measure no more than 8 ft 8 inches by 8 ft 8 inches by 30 feet. The size restriction allowed, if necessary, shipment by the Hercules LC-130 aircraft via an ice runway at the adjacent Williams Field. A single core no larger than an oil drum served as the heart of the nuclear reactor. Reportedly, the reactor replaced the need for 1,500 US gallons (1,200 imp gal/5,700 L) of oil daily.[2] Engineers applied the reactor's power, for instance, in producing steam for the salt water distillation plant. The U.S. Army Nuclear Power Program decommissioned the plant in 1972.
The Army Nuclear Power Program (ANPP) was a program of the United States Army to develop small pressurized water and boiling water nuclear power reactors for use in remote sites. Eight reactors were built in all:
* SM-1, 2 MWe. Fort Belvoir, VA, first criticality 1957 (several months before the Shippingport Reactor) and the first U.S. nuclear power plant to be connected to an electrical grid.
Originally posted by greenfruit
If they can run a nuclear reactor down in Antarctic for 10 yrs, why not at military bases.
Wiki - McMurdo Base, Antartica
On March 3, 1962 operators activated a nuclear power plant at the station. The plant, like nearby Scott's Discovery Hut, was prefabricated in modules. Engineers designed the components to weigh no more than 30,000 pounds (13,608 kg) pounds each and to measure no more than 8 ft 8 inches by 8 ft 8 inches by 30 feet. The size restriction allowed, if necessary, shipment by the Hercules LC-130 aircraft via an ice runway at the adjacent Williams Field. A single core no larger than an oil drum served as the heart of the nuclear reactor. Reportedly, the reactor replaced the need for 1,500 US gallons (1,200 imp gal/5,700 L) of oil daily.[2] Engineers applied the reactor's power, for instance, in producing steam for the salt water distillation plant. The U.S. Army Nuclear Power Program decommissioned the plant in 1972.
Not all Reactors have to look like Three Mile Island, Submarines and Aircraft carriers don't.
Army Nuclear Power Program
The Army Nuclear Power Program (ANPP) was a program of the United States Army to develop small pressurized water and boiling water nuclear power reactors for use in remote sites. Eight reactors were built in all:
* SM-1, 2 MWe. Fort Belvoir, VA, first criticality 1957 (several months before the Shippingport Reactor) and the first U.S. nuclear power plant to be connected to an electrical grid.
[edit on 30-8-2008 by greenfruit]
[edit on 30-8-2008 by greenfruit]