View source for MH-1A

{{short description|Former floating nuclear power station}}
{{redirect-distinguish-text|USS Sturgis|transport ship [[USS General S. D. Sturgis]]}}
{{Infobox power station
| name                 = MH-1A
| name_official        =
| image                = File:Undated image of STURGIS operating in the Panama Canal Zone - 180914-A-WZ074-004.jpeg
| image_caption        = MH-1A at the Panama Canal
| image_alt            =
| coordinates = {{coord|37|7|53.1618|N|76|38|51.2124|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| country             = United States of America
| location            =
| status              = D
| construction_began  = 1963
| commissioned        =
| decommissioned      = March 27, 2014
| cost                = $17 million
| owner               =
| operator            =
| np_reactor_type     = PWR
| np_reactor_supplier =
| website             =
| extra               =
}}
'''MH-1A''' was the first [[floating nuclear power station]]. Named ''Sturgis'' after General [[Samuel D. Sturgis III]], this [[pressurized water reactor]] built in a converted [[Liberty ship]] was part of a series of reactors in the US [[Army Nuclear Power Program]], which aimed to develop small nuclear reactors to generate electrical and space-heating energy primarily at remote, relatively inaccessible sites.<ref>[http://www.atomicinsights.com/nov95/ANPPSum.html Summary of the ANPP]</ref> Its designation stood for ''mobile, high power''{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}. After its first [[Criticality (status)|criticality]] in 1967, MH-1A was towed to the [[Panama Canal Zone]] that it supplied with 10 MW of electricity. Its dismantling began in 2014 and was completed in March 2019.<ref name=maritime-executive-20190316/>

==Design==
[[File:MH1Asimulator.JPG|thumb|MH-1A control room simulator at Fort Belvoir.]]
The MH-1A was designed as a towed craft because it was expected to stay anchored for most of its life, making it uneconomical to keep the ship's own propulsion system.<ref name="asc.army.mil">{{cite journal|url=https://asc.army.mil/docs/pubs/alt/archives/1966/Jun_1966.PDF|title=First Floating Nuclear Plant Undergoes Testing at Belvoir|date=June 1966|journal=Army Research and Development}}</ref>

It contained a single-loop pressurized water reactor, in a 350-ton containment vessel, using low [[enriched uranium]] (4% to 7% <sup>235</sup>U) as fuel.<ref>[http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/heu/appd.pdf ''Highly Enriched Uranium: Striking A Balance'', p. 4, retrieved 2010 October 25]</ref><ref>[http://www.ne.doe.gov/pdfFiles/Cong-Rpt-may01.pdf ''Report to Congress on Small Modular Nuclear Reactors'', p. 16, retrieved 2010 October 25] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716055134/http://www.ne.doe.gov/pdfFiles/Cong-Rpt-may01.pdf |date=2011-07-16 }}</ref>

The MH-1A had an elaborate analog-computer-powered simulator installed at Fort Belvoir.<ref>[http://www.enotes.com/topic/Army_Nuclear_Power_Program Army Nuclear Power Program], accessed 14 March 2012.{{dead link|date=April 2014}}</ref> The MH-1A simulator was obtained by Memphis State University Center for Nuclear Studies in the early 1980s, but was never restored or returned to operational service. Its fate is unknown after the Center for Nuclear Studies closed.

==Construction==
The reactor was built for the U.S. Army by [[Martin Marietta]]<ref name="asc.army.mil"/> under a $17,200,000<ref name="asc.army.mil"/> contract (August 1961), with construction starting in 1963.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailypress.com/news/military/do-nws-sturgis-leaves-ghost-fleet-20150416-story.html|title=Unique James River Reserve Fleet ship USS Sturgis leaves for Texas|first=Hugh|last=Lessig|date=April 16, 2015|work=[[Daily Press (Virginia)|Daily Press]]}}</ref> The reactor was built in ''Sturgis'', a converted [[Liberty ship]] formerly known as {{SS|Charles H. Cugle}}.

''Sturgis'' (named after General [[Samuel D. Sturgis Jr.]]) was hull number 3145, and not as sometimes supposed {{SS|William Sturgis}}, another liberty ship (hull number 800, scrapped in 1969).<ref>See [[list of Liberty ships]]</ref>

[[Fort Belvoir]], Virginia, was the headquarters of the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] and, beginning in 1954, the corps' newly created Army Reactors Branch.<ref>NBC Report, Spring/Summer 1998, Army Reactor Program,[http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=438491 “Army Reactor Office: The Second Year”], pp. 4–6; accessed 10 March 2012.</ref> This unit was established by the Department of Defense to develop compact nuclear power plants that could be utilized to supply heat and power at remote locations. The army's first nuclear power reactor, the [[SM-1]], was built at Fort Belvoir in 1955–57 by the [[American_Locomotive_Company#Diversification|American Locomotive Company (ALCO)]].  It was located in the southeast "corner" of the post, alongside Gunston Cove, off the Potomac River. The SM-1 reactor, also known as the Army Package Reactor Program, was used to train nuclear operations personnel for all three services. For that reason, the MH-1A was installed and tested aboard the ''Sturgis'' while it was moored in Gunston Cove, near the SM-1 facility.

Dredging a channel between the main course of the Potomac River and the shoreline of Gunston Cove began on 30 November 1964. At the same time, construction of an access road, power lines and the pier began, just below the SM-1 reactor facility. The ''Sturgis'' arrived at the new Gunston Cove pier on 22 April 1966, having been towed from Mobile, Alabama. The MH-1A reactor first went critical on 24 January 1967 and was formally "accepted" by the Army on 25 July 1967. The ''Sturgis'' remained at the pier for another 11 months, supplying power to Fort Belvoir, while the Corps of Engineers sought a suitable permanent site. In spring 1968, the US State Department entered into negotiations with the Panama Canal Company, and the ''Sturgis'' was towed out of Gunston Cove in late July 1968, arriving [[Gatun Lake]] on 7 August.<ref>Suid, Lawrence H. The Army's Nuclear Power Program: Evolution of a Support Agency (1990); (Greenwood Publishing: New York) page 101; accessed 13 March 2012.</ref>

==Panama Canal Zone, 1968–1976==
After testing at Fort Belvoir for five months starting in January 1967, ''Sturgis'' was towed to the [[Panama Canal Zone]]. The reactor supplied {{convert|10|MW|abbr=on}} electricity to the Panama Canal Zone from October 1968 to 1975.

A water shortage in early 1968 jeopardized both the efficient operation of the Panama Canal locks and the production of hydroelectric power for the Canal Zone. Vast amounts of water were required to operate the locks and the water level on Gatun Lake fell drastically during the December-to-May dry season, which necessitated curtailment of operations at Gatun Hydroelectric Station.<ref>[http://www.140.194.76.129/publications/eng-pamphlets/ep870-1-1/entire.pdf Distribution Restriction Statement; Historical Vignettes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724115817/http://140.194.76.129/publications/eng-pamphlets/ep870-1-1/entire.pdf |date=2009-07-24 }}, Volume II; by Historical Division, Office of Administrative Services, Office of the Chief of Engineers, 1979; "Emergency Power: the Nuclear Power Barge ''Sturgis'' in the Canal Zone", by Kenneth J. Deacon, pp. 43–44; accessed 14 March 2012.</ref>

The ship was moored in [[Gatun Lake]], between the [[Naval Base Panama Canal Zone|Gatun Locks]] and the Chagres dam spillway.<ref>[http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_14/issue_03/letters_01.html Letter to the Editor: Question about an old Nuke- Where was Sturgis moored?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328081514/http://www.thepanamanews.com/pn/v_14/issue_03/letters_01.html |date=2012-03-28 }}, ''The Panama News'', February 3–16, 2008; accessed 14 March 2012</ref> Beginning in October 1968 the 10 [[Megawatt|MW]] electrical power produced by the MH-1A plant aboard the ''Sturgis'' allowed it to replace the power from the Gatun Hydroelectric Station, which freed the lake water for navigation use. Additionally, the ''Andrew J. Weber'', a diesel-fueled power barge of 20&nbsp;MW capacity, was deployed to the Canal Zone in November 1968. These two barges not only contributed to meeting the Canal Zone’s power requirements, but also made possible conserving vast quantities of water that otherwise would be needed to operate the hydroelectric power station. The Corps of Engineers estimates that over one trillion gallons were saved (or, rather, freed up) between October 1968 and October 1972&nbsp;– enough to permit fifteen additional ships to pass through the locks of the canal each day.

After one year of operations in the Canal Zone, the MH-1A reactor had to be refueled, a process which took one week (17–25 October 1969), according to a 1969 Corps of Engineers report.<ref name="SearsDIV.1969">{{cite book|last=C. Frederick |first=Sears|editor=Army engineer reactors group fort Belvoir va engineering div.|title=MH-1A REFUELING, 17-25 OCTOBER 1969|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R6XcNwAACAAJ|year=1969|publisher=Defense Technical Information Center|pages= 39}}</ref> According to a 2001 report by the Federation of American Scientists, the MH-1A reactor had a total of five cores during its operational life. It used low-enriched uranium (LEU) in the range of 4 to 7 %, with a total amount of uranium-235 supplied being 541.4&nbsp;kilograms (for the five cores).<ref>[http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/heu/appd.pdf Highly Enriched Uranium: Striking a Balance - Appendix D: Military Reactors] (p. 146), January 2001 FAS report; accessed 14 March 2012.</ref>

The ''Sturgis'' was eventually replaced by two 21&nbsp;MW [[Hitachi]] turbines, one on the Pacific side of the isthmus and one on the Atlantic side.<ref>The Engineer - Volume 30, Issue 4 - Page 19,  by LaMar T. Sizemore regarding his service aboard Sturgis in Panama, ENGINEER: The Professional Bulletin for Army Engineers, October 2000; accessed Feb. 16, 2022 </ref>

==End of life==
===Deactivation and mothballing at James River, 1976–1977===
The MH-1A plant was retired from service in 1976 since the Army Reactor Program had been discontinued, and, as a unique prototype, operation cost for the unit was high.<ref>[http://www.atomicinsights.com/aug96/MH-1A.html MH-1A – First Nuclear Power Barge: Pioneer Barge Built in America], Atomic inside, retrieved 25 October 2010</ref> Also, the Panama Canal Company acquired additional land-based electrical capacity and in 1976 it was determined that the ''Sturgis'' was no longer needed. It operated at an effective annual [[capacity factor]] of 0.56 over nine years.

Between December 1976 and January 1977, the power barge was towed back to the United States, sustaining storm-related damage so severe that it had to divert to the [[Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point|Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point, North Carolina]], and undergo temporary structural repairs.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Gms0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=HxMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1651,1858556&dq=canal+cape+power+plant+storage+tank&hl=en  No nuclear leak on barge], Star-News, January 11, 1977</ref> Following repairs, the ''Sturgis'' was towed to Fort Belvoir, arriving in March 1977. Fuel was removed from the reactor at Fort Belvoir and shipped to the [[Savannah River Site]], and the plant was put into [[SAFSTOR]] (safe storage), with decontamination and physical barriers to prevent release of radioactivity.<ref>[http://www.wmsym.org/archives/2002/Proceedings/44/168.pdf Characterization Of The Nuclear Barge Sturgis, includes diagrams and photographs], 2002, retrieved October 25, 2010</ref> The ''Sturgis'' was then moored in the [[James River (Virginia)|James River]] outside [[Fort Eustis]], Virginia and became part of the [[James River Reserve Fleet]] for 37 years, till 2015. <ref>[http://www.virginiaplaces.org/energy/nuclearbelvoirmh1a.html MH-1A Nuclear Reactor at Fort Belvoir] ''virginiaplaces.org''</ref>

===Decommissioning, dismantling and disposal, 2014–2019===
On March 27, 2014, the US Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $34,663,325.34 contract to [[Chicago Bridge & Iron Company|Chicago Bridge & Iron]] (CB&I) for the decommissioning, dismantling and disposal of the MH-1A nuclear reactor installed on the ''Sturgis'' barge. The reactor had already been de-fueled, decontaminated, and sealed before being towed to the James River Reserve Fleet. According to the decommissioning plan the ''Sturgis'' was to be relocated to [[Galveston, Texas]], where CB&I would remove the residual radioactive waste materials. After that the remaining portions of the barge would be transported to [[Brownsville, Texas]], for disposal or recycling as scrap, using standard ship-breaking methods. In 2019 the ship was scrapped.<ref>[https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/About/Project-Fact-Sheets/Article/492833/sturgis/ Sturgis] – US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://home.cbi.ws/investor-relations/news-releases?release=1917519 |title= News Releases | publisher = CB&I |access-date=8 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160120122158/http://home.cbi.ws/investor-relations/news-releases?release=1917519 |archive-date=20 January 2016}}</ref>  The move to Galveston, originally planned for September 2014, was delayed waiting for the city to issue a permit for the decommissioning. The Army started the move in April 2015, to be completed in mid-May.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/Sturgis.aspx| work = Baltimore District > Missions | title = Environmental > Sturgis| publisher = Army |access-date=8 November 2015}}</ref> The ship arrived in Brownsville, TX on September 26, 2018 and was scrapped by 2019.<ref name= maritime-executive-20190316>{{cite news |url= https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/floating-nuclear-plant-sturgis-dismantled |title=Floating Nuclear Plant Sturgis Dismantled |website=The Maritime Executive |date= 16 March 2019 |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|United States|Energy|Nuclear technology}}}}
* [[Floating nuclear power station]]

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7t_AtWQazM MH-1A STURGIS Construction Report] (film)
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frtKSiZhP68 MH-1A STURGIS Dockside Testing Report] (film)

==Notes==
{{reflist|33em}}

==References==
* {{cite book | last = Suid | first = Lawrence | title = The Army's nuclear power program : the evolution of a support agency | publisher = Greenwood Press | location = New York | year = 1990 | isbn = 0-313-27226-3 | pages=99–107}}
* {{cite book|last=Asimov|first=Isaac |title=Worlds Within Worlds: The Story of Nuclear Energy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZGW6wE5JDYC&pg=PA139|year=1980|publisher=The Minerva Group, Inc.|isbn=978-0-89875-001-0|page=139}}

{{Nuclear power in the United States}}
{{Nuclear technology}}

[[Category:Former nuclear power stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Floating nuclear power stations]]