Telling the nuclear power story
Touring the exhibits at the
Carolina Power and Light Co.
Brunswick Nuclear Plant visitors
center near Southport can put the _
visitor inside the control room of the
twin nuclear reactors.
Well, not exactly.
But a replica lets people know
what the control room is like at the
I center located on N. C. 87/133 north
•of Southport. It's open Tuesdays,
Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. Groups can call for
appointments, 457-6041. Individuals
can tour anytime during regular
hours.
The best thing about the center is
that persons can see much more
than they would see on an actual
tour of the plant. Exhibits show how
the turbines look, how the genera
tors work, how the walls were con
structed — things you cannot see
inside the actual plant.
Last year, the center welcomed
more than 9,500 visitors, including
school groups, tourists and curious
local residents who want to know
more about nuclear energy and how
the plant operates. CP&L operates
two generating units that represent
an initial cost of $790 million and a
total investment of $1.7 billion. Unit
2 began commercial operation first
in November, 1975. Unit 1 came on
line in March, 1977. •
Electricity from the Brunswick
plant is used throughout CP&L's
30,000-square-mile service area, cov
ering much of eastern and central
North Carolina, the Asheville area
and north-central South Carolina.
The plant produces about 25 percent
of all electricity supplied to CP&L
customers.
The reality is nuclear power is a
process which most people find
confusing. The visitors center is
designed to educate, inform and
interest all ages as to how power is
actually generated. Visitors can
walk into a replica of the control
room and get a feel for what it is
like to be in an actual operations
center.
The most popular exhibit is the
bicycle generator. All ages, children
to adults, want to see how much
, electricity they can generate by ped
aling cycles. In less than an hour,
visitors have a grasp of nuclear
power and can get answers from the
center staff to their most-asked
questions. There is also a picnic area
at the center and place for visitors to
sign in and leave comments.
The most recent exhibits show
steps taken by CP&L to protect
marine life. At the mouth of the
plant's intake canal, a diversion
screen has been installed to block
large marine life and debris from
the Cape Fear River. It includes a
traveling screen which moves up
and down beneath the water, catch
ing smaller marine life. Spray noz
zles gently spray organisms off the
screens and into a trough called the
"slide of life."
Other exhibits show plant life
unique to Brunswick County that
can continue to thrive in the shadow
of a nuclear plant — carnivorous
plants like the Venas flytrap, sun
dew, pitcher plant and butterwort.
The nuclear plant strives to strike a
balance between providing electrici
ty and preserving the environment.
The control room replica gives vis
itors a sense of the "nerve center"
where licensed reactor operators
command all plant operations. From
their stations, operators can tell
from a glance how equipment is
functioning, make adjustments and
regulate the flow of electricity. At
least five licensed operators and five
auxiliary operators are on duty in
the plant at all times, day and night.
What visitors can also see are dis
plays of the steel lmers and rein
forcement patterns within the walls
of the primary containment unit. It
keeps radioactive materials from
reaching the environment and pro
tects the reactors and cooling sys
tems from outside occurrences.
These are in addition to approxi
mately 30 exhibits on electricity,
nuclear power and energy conserva
tion.
Good Homestyle Cooking Everyday I
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Serving Breakfast All Day & Daily Lunch Specials.
. __ As well as great hamburgers!
Hours: Open 5:30 am - 2 pm
Breakfast All Day - Everyday
910-475-0600
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910-457-6166
305 N. HOWE STREET SOUTHPORT
U2 Block North From Franklin Square