Susquehanna Steam Electric Station is a formerly operational nuclear power plant located in the Commonwealth of Susquehanna. It was shut down after Doomsday and is currently not operating.
History[]
Susquehanna Steam Electric Station 1983
The Susquehanna Steam Electric Station was a nuclear power plant with two reactors owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Power and Lights Company, based in Allentown, PA. Construction of the plant began on 2 February, 1973 with Reactor 1 coming online on 8 June, 1983 and Reactor 2 being set for commissioning in mid 1985. At the time of Doomsday, construction had cost 7.38 billion USD with the plant being incomplete.
The site employed 1100 workers, most of which who were engineering and support technicians.
The nuclear power plant originally was owned solely by Pennsylvania Power and Lights, but in 1977, Allegheny Electric Cooperative purchased 10% ownership in the facility. In 1982 an electrical fire burned out a switchboard, which operated the controls for cooling water in an emergency.
Doomsday[]
On Doomsday the first impact on the plant was a sudden and near complete loss of power inside the plant as the two Soviet warheads detonated over the continental United States, triggering an electromagnetic pulse which destroyed the delicate electrical components operating and monitoring the power plant systems.
The engineers and technicians scrambled to repair the backup diesel generators which were needed to operate backup water pumps that kept the fuel rods cooled.
As reports of strikes on Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and other cities filtered to regional news agencies, local officials and power plant workers became increasingly concerned of a nuclear or conventional strike on the power plant.
However, these fears were not realized as, with the strikes on the nearby population centers and the relatively few survivors, the region was not a target.
Post Doomsday[]
Immediately after Doomsday, within days, surviving local governments and supervisors from the power plant called an emergency meeting. All survivors, while dealing with refugees, the loss of state and federal support, fleeing civilians, and concerns over food and other supplies for the winter, recognized that a meltdown or catastrophic failure at the plant could irradiate the region for decades and render it uninhabitable.
The security team employed by the power company remained onsite to protect the nuclear material and site from the gangs that were beginning to form and against the possible threat of a Soviet invasion. Additional reinforcements from local police departments and surviving elements of the Pennsylvania State Police were sent for additional protection.
Infighting between Bloomsburg, Danville, and Berwick from the mid 1980’s to the early 1990’s impeded the security and stability of the power plant. Even with the fighting resources were still allocated to prevent a catastrophic meltdown as it was recognized that allowing this event would destroy the remaining survivors.
The power plant’s state played a role in the boroughs agreeing to end their disagreements and form a provisional state government in the mid 1990’s. The State Police and local militias took over the responsibility from the private security force, which was waning in size due to losses in combat and the age of the members, who had been serving for well over a decade by that point.
In 2004, during negotiations to formalize Provisional Pennsylvania into the Commonwealth of Susquehanna, it was agreed that the federal government would take authority to secure and protect the site. Additionally, it would absorb the costs to continue maintaining, repairing, and supporting operations to prevent the fuel rods from melting down and releasing radiation.
In 2005, secret discussions were held by the Department of Defense to investigate the production of nuclear weapons from the surviving fuel at the power plant. Plans were scrapped due to the lack of equipment to enrich the uranium, a nonexistent Air Force, and no known enemies that possessed such devices. However, plans were drafted for the eventual possibility in the case of war or national emergency.
Modern[]
The Commonwealth of Susquehanna controls the area and within the nation, it is under the jurisdiction of Luzerne County. The power plant is still shut down and being stabilized by the government with technical and material support provided by State College and Reading. However, the plant has not been formerly decommissioned.
In 2019, officials from Susquehanna invited engineers and representatives of the governments of the United Communities, Canada, Vermont, State College, and Reading on a survey of the power plant. After the mission was completed, a detailed report of the power plant was released on the major concerns of the long term safety of the damaged nuclear reactors.
The power plant infrastructure has seen significantly wear and degradation since Doomsday. The electromagnetic pulse destroyed the majority of electrics components on-site, while weather, limited repairs, and harsh Pennsylvanian winters have caused the concrete and steel buildings to slowly crumble.
Security of the nuclear material was a concern as the fuel rods have been stored in water tanks to absorb the radiation and are only monitored by security officers. Additional concerns by Canada and Vermont are the risk of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna deciding to weaponize the on-site uranium. While it lacks the capacity to manufacture fission weapons, it is capable of creating dirty weapons.
The report indicated it will take up to two hundred million Canadian dollars and a decade to repair the damage and restore the power plant to active service, excluding the material, costs, and time to restore the electric grid in the Commonwealth. It made the recommendation that Canadian and United Communities members, primarily Vermont and Niagara Falls, support Susquehanna in decommissioning the power plant, remove and dispose of the nuclear material, deconstruction of the power plant, and decontaminate the site.
Safety Hazards[]
There have been multiple safety concerns at the plant due to the degradation of facilities, poor security, and limited funding to restore or repair damage. Since 1995, there have been over a dozen reported leaks of radioactive water from the storage tanks, a minor explosion from steam release, and several buildings which have suffered structural failure and collapsed.
Fifty-six civilians, seventeen security members, and two dozen scientists have died from radiation sickness caused by accidents or criminal activity. An additional eleven security members and four scientists have died in gang attacks. It is also suspected that radiation leaks have contributed to over 20,000 deaths in Susquehanna proper and the low population in the rest of former Luzerne and Lackawanna counties.
A major incident occurred on August 19th, 2017 where a cooling tank saw a spike in steam pressure built up off the decaying fuel rods, causing an explosion. The blast killed five security guards on patrol and nine scientists as well as fourteen civilian contractors hired to repair the aging structures. The blast released a small amount of radiation into the atmosphere and scattered it around Luzerne and eastern Columbia County.
Over 4,000 people were affected by the leak and concerns of long term affects caused the federal government released emergency supplies of iodine tablets to the citizens in the region. The incident triggered citizens to petition their representatives and senators for a complete review of the site. After the overwhelming response and review by Army National Guard engineers, federal authorities decided to request a full review of the plant by the United Communities.
Location[]
The power plant was constructed in Salem Township, PA, seven miles north-east of Berwick, and approximately 20 miles south-west of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and is located less than half a mile from the Susquehanna River, which was used as the primary water source for cooling the plant.
It is currently located in Salem Township, Luzerne County, Commonwealth of Susquehanna. The power plant is 20 miles northeast of the capital, Bloomsburg, and 25 miles north of the largest city in Susquehanna, Hazleton.
Defense[]
Security of the power plant has been designated to a special security team, the Susquehanna Station Security Force. It is composed of fifty members which are tasked with protection of the power plant property and nuclear material on-site who only carry light arms. Six unarmed pickup trucks were supplied by the Susquehanna Defense Force for transportation and patrol missions.
Both the Commonwealth of Susquehanna Defense Force and Luzerne County Militia are responsible for defense and security of the site during wartime or serious natural disasters. Reading has also promised air support in dire situations.
International Monitoring[]
There are no international monitors consistently stationed at the plant. The United Communities sent a team in 2019 to complete a full review and both Reading and State College have sent technical advisors and engineers to support Susquehanna in maintaining the plant safely. The International Atomic Energy Agency, regionally headquartered from Long Island, has not reviewed the plant, however long term plans indicate League of Nations officials are interested in accessing the site.
Susquehanna has rejected offers for foreign on-site teams to control the radioactive material, citing security risks of hostile nations as well as national sovereignty. Given that the Commonwealth is not a participant in the League or International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA’s ability to request site access and monitoring is severely limited.