The Nuclear Ship Savannah: First Atomic Merchant Ship, One of the World's Safest ShipsUnited States. Department of Commerce
Science
The Nuclear Ship Savannah: First Atomic Merchant Ship, One of the World's Safest Ships
United States. Department of Commerce
Nuclear merchant ships -- United States; Savannah (Nuclear ship)
The N.S. SAVANNAH is constructed to meet or surpass every standard set
by all of these responsible agencies and will have a substantial
built-in safety margin in excess of the most stringent requirements of
applicable standards, which are among the highest in the world. Where
there were no existing standards every precaution in keeping with sound
judgment and engineering experience has been applied in the construction
and safety considerations of the ship.
_The N.S. Savannah Is a Safe Ship_
The reputation of American industry and the integrity of the Government
of the United States stand behind this statement.
Following is a detailed listing of the factors that make the N.S.
SAVANNAH so safe:
SAFETY FACTORS
As the world’s first commercial, nonstationary type of nuclear power
plant, the SAVANNAH’s design and construction have resulted in a vessel
with an unprecedented degree of safety. Basically, the safety
considerations concern two separate but closely inter-related factors:
(1) The hull and interior structure surpass the highest standards of
safety, both in the conventional marine sense and in the light of the
additional factors created by the installation of a nuclear propulsion
plant; and
(2) The nuclear propulsion system creates no more hazard to the crew and
passengers, and other ships in a busy port, than any modern conventional
steam propulsion system—actually, in the light of safety factors,
included because of its prototype nature, the N.S. SAVANNAH is as safe
as, and in some respects safer than, a steam-powered vessel that burns
coal or oil.
The basic difference in safety between a nuclear-powered ship and a
conventionally powered ship involves radioactivity which results from
the fission process. Provision has been made to control this
radioactivity on the SAVANNAH under all foreseeable conditions. This
control is accomplished through the following design and operational
features:
HULL AND INTERIOR STRUCTURE
In general, the following safety requirements were used by the
SAVANNAH’s architects, George G. Sharp, Inc., in the design of the ship:
(1) The ship is as safe as, or safer than, any other vessel of its class
with regard to the usual “hazards of the sea”; and
(2) In no credible accident can there be any hazardous release of
radioactivity to the surroundings.
The SAVANNAH is designed to a two-compartment standard of subdivision
(i.e., the ship will remain afloat with two main compartments totally
flooded) at a draft of 29 feet, 6 inches. The ship complies with all the
applicable laws of the United States and requirements of the regulatory
bodies and rules in force as to standards of safety.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account