Eugene register-guard., January 13, 1963, Image 15

"VlW .-r-. ---K
Eugene lKet-Suata
Section B
I Sports, TV, Films p
tANE COUNTY'S HOME NEWSPAPER. ,
; EUGENE, OREGON, SUNDAY, JANUARY 13, 1963
The Savannah Cuts the Waves in Its Show-and-TeU. Tour of U.S. Ports
Savannah
No A
Bomb
COMMODORE DE GROOTE
"it . . Cannot Blow Up"
"The Savannah is as safe as any vessel afloat.
Grey-haired Commodore Gaston R. De Groote, master of
the nuclear-powered ship Savannah, sat in his cabin last
week. He was talking about his latest charge then tied up
at a Portland dock. . ..
Safety is a word that conies up often in discussion of a
ship powered by the same force that has devastated entire
cities. v Third Mate James Nolan described a fear common
among those who know little of the ship; "People have the
feeling that this might go up like an atom bomb."
But De Groote said flatly, "It definitely cannot blow up.
... We have controlled fission as well-controlled as the
cylinders in your car."
Stored away deep within the Savannah's innards, behind
tons of lead, steel, water, and plastic insulation, lies what
; makes the Savannah different from any other modern passenger-freighter
the nuclear reactor, or "atomic furnace."
Eight and a half tons of uraniurh oxide, formed into 682,
200 pellets, each the size of a half-inch stack of dimes, is
the fuel for this furnace. When the reactor is set into opera
tion allowing neutrons to bombard the surrounding uranium '
atoms and thus create heat water is passed through the i
furnace and super-heated. , .
This water in turn heats other water, turning it to steam.
The stcani turns two giant turbines which transfer their pow
er to the ship's propeller.
In other words, the ship is run much the same way as a ,
conventional vessel, except that an atomic furnace instead
of an oil one, is used to make the steam.
On a single loading of its 8V4 tons of fuel the Savannah
will be able to sail for 3 Mi years, or some 350,000 nautical
miles. A conventional ship would need about 90,000 tons of
" fuel oil for the same trip. ;
. The entire process is carried on in "a sealed compartment,
away from the eyes of the 110-man crew and the passengers.
A five-man crew of "health physics" scientists carry on 24-hours-a-day
tests to make certain that no atomic radiation or
contamination seeps out of the sealed area.
The Atomic Energy Commission which built the Savan
nah along with the federal Maritime Commission--says the
' reactor is so well shielded and insulated that the ship could
withstand a broadside ramming from 99 per cent of the ships
By DON BISHOFF
Ot the Retliter-Guird
Safer."
afloat today without danger of penetration of the reactor ,
area. This same shielding protects passengers and crew, the
AEC says. -
There are some exterior signs of the ship's atomic power.
For one thing, there's no smokestack atop the stream
lined superstructure no fire in the furnace below to make
smoke. For another, the thrce-interlocking-circles symbol of
the atom is used throughout the ship on the officers' uni
form sleeves, on eating utensils, in the passenger dining
room light fixtures. '
But ordinary seamen still swab the decks and polish the
brass. So far there's been no atomic substitute devised for
these duties. - - - -
What are the advantages of a nuclear-powered ship? -'
"At the present time, none are visible anywhere," said ,
Commodore De Groote. "At the present time it is more
costly, it isn't producing anything . . . it's not exactly built
for speed at all (20 knots cruising speed).
"But we have to conserve our fossil fuels (oil, coal) be
cause of the large consumption. In the future If we expect to,
have nuclear-powered vessels,, we must start someplace, and
this'is it. From this one we'll learn a lot . . . I'm sure as we
gain in experience we'll be able to compete with fossil-fuel
ships." . i ;
. Sometime, the AEC envisions, atomic ships will be able
to operate on longer runs at higher sustained speeds. And
the AEC says nuclear ships Will be able to carry larger car
goes because reactors and their fuel require less space than
conventional power plants.
Cargo is now being carried in the ship's 9,200-ton-capacity
holds (the ship brought 400 tons of canned pineapple to
Portland from Hawaii), and a few passengers are being trans
ported in the posh passenger facilities, which can hold up to
60 passengers. '
But the ship is primarily a combination floating test lab
oratory and traveling exhibition, designed to test and demon
strate the advantages of nuclear power not produce reve
nue. It's currently on a "show-and-tell" tour of U.S. ports,
and is expected to make a world tour later.
As its namesake, which in 1819 was the first steam
powered ship to make an ocean crossing, the NS (for Nuclear
Ship) Savannah is a pioneer. If it's a good pioneer, more of '
its kind may follow.
(Regliter-Guard photoi by Mlrko Pitner)
P7 ' TT?V
it
V
Y
WW:
. T V .1
!' I 1 El
D
rJ
.i.; WvMt-a -
1
-
"'it
r
4
Even on Nuclear-Powered Ship, Decks
Must Be Swabbed, Windows Washed
. In
jt-1- fs n . . . '
Illl
2 m
IV i
- ,
n p. .
l&tl w
Engineer Mans Massioe Nuclear Reactor Control Board Under Supervisor's Eye .
f .EE;-
Enclosed Veranda, Part of Posh Passenger Facilities, Opens Onto Swimming Pool
X , , I. '
0
Nurse Mary Furlow, One of Two Women
Aboard, In Savannah's Operating Room
7
Richard Deakin, Health Physics Monitor, Checks Radiation in Ship's Lab V;
"1
?' - M