[I know, I know...it's not exactly abseiling in through the chimney, but honestly, getting a permission visit is hard enough; It's sheer dumb luck that got us here in the first place...!]
A BRIEF(ish) HISTORY:
AKW Zwentendorf (or 'Atomkraftwerk Zwentendorf') was the first commercial nuclear power plant built in Austria. Construction began in 1972, as a 'boiling-water reactor'. It was built as a joint venture between various electric power companies, with a total of 3 nuclear plants originally envisioned.
Expecting a positive outcome, the Federal Chancellor (Bruno Kreisky) decided to authorise a national referendum for commencing the operation of the power plant. In true comedic "LOL, LET'S DO A PUBLIC VOTE, BECAUSE I KNOW THEY'RE GONNA LOVE IT, SRSLY!" fashion, the plan backfired. As a result, the start-up of the plant, as well as the construction of the other 2 plants was prevented by the referendum on 5 November 1978 (by a narrow majority of 50.47%).
The initial cost of the plant was around 15 billion öS / 1.02 billion €, making it THE most expensive DerpFail™ in Austrian history.
It's not all doom and gloom, however; After 34 years, power had FINALLY been generated at the plant in 2009 (albeit solar-powered). In addition to this, the Dürnrohr power station was built nearby as a replacement thermal power station. Incredibly, the plant has been carefully preserved for over 3 decades, and in theory could still produce and transmit electricity if needed.
These days, the plant flourishes as a facility for training and education. The company 'EVN group' acquired the site in 2005 and established a training centre there, so that workers from other nuclear plants could practice maintenance/repairs and run simulations, with genuine equipment under realistic conditions. Additionally, the site opened up to the public with free tours of the facility.
WHICH IS WHERE I COME IN:
I friggin love power stations.
I think they are works of art, and I've always wanted to see what one looks like (outside of the usual 'Chernobyl disaster' theme). With this in mind, I promptly tried to bag a spot on one of these elusive tours. Being an idiot, this was only a few weeks in advance, so we had no chance of getting on one (they book up MONTHS ahead of time, with limited tickets being released). Resigned to this fate, I was content with following their Facebook posts and liking all their pictures like a rightstalker enthusiast.
Weeks later, I found myself in Vienna having a grand ol' time, when I got a FB notification. Upon opening, I saw something that looked suspiciously similar to "tours now available" in German. Excitedly, I clicked through to the German version of the plant's official site. After a good hour of navigating German booking forms & emails from my crappy phone, I managed to get us onto a special '40 year Anniversary' tour, to coincide with when it all went tits-up for them.
Sometimes, being a sadcase with Google Translate really pays off. I'm just saying.
On the morning of the visit, however, we quickly discovered that Zwentendorf is in the arse end of nowhere, and transport to this place is almost impossible without a car [nobody goes there, except workers on the morning commute]. We didn't have a car [of course we didn't, I refer to my previous 'idiot' comment] so after a quick "WE'LL FUCKIN WALK IF WE HAVE TO!" pep-talk, a plan was formulated: We would S-Bahn our way to the nearest town, and then get a taxi from there. As you may have guessed, there were no taxis, so at this point we did just 'fuckin walk'. It was about 4 miles, which wasn't too bad, except it was a freezing cold (and slightly drizzly) October morning, AND we were running late.
1 hour of panicked power-walking later, we arrived! Our elation turned to disappointment as we realised that the entire tour would be in German, which I can't really complain about, as it's not really advertised as an 'international' tourist attraction. Also, I booked the entire thing in German using Google Translate, so...yeah. Luckily at this point, a lovely bilingual couple took pity on us and let us tag along with them, whilst translating. Turns out, they were Aussie 'Cave Clan' members and apparently had us down as kindred 'wrong-uns' as soon as we walked in (go figure) <3
THE REST IS HISTORY...HERE'S SOME PICS:
I have a [VERY] basic working knowledge of how all this works, but fortunately my mate is a bigger nerd than I am, so even without the translation, I got the gist of what was going on:
Passing Dürnrohr Power Station (left) on the way to Zwentendorf. The Exhaust Air Stack (right) is 109m high.
The Decontamination Station (left) includes a Radiation Detector (right) which beeps, in the event of high levels of radiation.
The Reactor Hall is 39m high in relation to its elevation within the plant [there are no separate rooms, only different levels of elevation])
Fuel Assemblies (left) containing Uranium are placed inside the Nuclear Reactor Core using the orange Fuel Assembly Changing Platform (middle). The Reactor Pressure Vessel Cover (right) weighs 60 tonnes, and covers the core [which is usually underwater when in use]
The Nuclear Reactor Core sits inside this Fuel Assembly Changing Basin. Nuclear fission occurs when the Uranium inside starts to break down, which releases huge amounts of heat (in the form of steam). When an assembly is used up, it is stored in the adjacent Fuel Assembly Cooling Basin (not pictured) for a number of years.
The steam collected from the Nuclear Reactor ends up in the Engine Room. Here, High Pressure Turbines convert the high-pressured steam, then direct it towards the Low Pressure Turbine Elements (below)
It's these turbines that power the generators (which create the electricity). As this is a dangerous process, many safeguards are in place to regulate the reactions in the Reactor Core.
Entrance (left) and Exit (right) into the Safety Vessel (middle). This is where the main steam lines leave the Nuclear Reactor. In case of an accident, an emergency shutdown system traps all leaking radioactive water inside.
In the Control Rod Drive Room, 113 Control Rod Drives mechanically control the reactor by being inserted directly into the Reactor Core from the bottom [removing them increases input, whilst inserting them reduces input]
The Control Room in all its analogue glory. This was the heart (and brain) of the entire plant. The decor was never modernised, and to this day, some of the lights remain blinking (all error messages, of course...)
And that kids, is how you make Nuclear energy!
Honestly, the whole site is incredible...we could EASILY have spent an entire day exploring every single inch of this place; The pictures don't do it justice. Had I known beforehand that we actually had a chance of visiting this place, I would've brought my SLR with me. As such, phone pics will have to do, and I have resisted the temptation to post hundreds of photos, so hopefully it gives you a taste of what you can expect here. I didn't intend for my first ever post to be a permission-visit, but I honestly don't care. The whole experience was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and on a happier [illicit] note, we DID end up exploring Flaktowers later on that night with our new friends, so there's that, at least.
HAPPY READING!
A BRIEF(ish) HISTORY:
AKW Zwentendorf (or 'Atomkraftwerk Zwentendorf') was the first commercial nuclear power plant built in Austria. Construction began in 1972, as a 'boiling-water reactor'. It was built as a joint venture between various electric power companies, with a total of 3 nuclear plants originally envisioned.
All good so far...except that the plant was never entered into service. Although construction was completed in 1975, there was a growing counter-movement against nuclear power. Many protests followed over the next few years, leaving everything in a weird 'limbo-like' state. In spite of this uncertainty, the plant was kept active during these years, not by producing electricity, but with daily maintenance (in order to preserve the equipment in the meantime).Expecting a positive outcome, the Federal Chancellor (Bruno Kreisky) decided to authorise a national referendum for commencing the operation of the power plant. In true comedic "LOL, LET'S DO A PUBLIC VOTE, BECAUSE I KNOW THEY'RE GONNA LOVE IT, SRSLY!" fashion, the plan backfired. As a result, the start-up of the plant, as well as the construction of the other 2 plants was prevented by the referendum on 5 November 1978 (by a narrow majority of 50.47%).
Following this, further laws were enacted prohibiting the construction & operation of fission reactors for electrical power in Austria. Over the next 7 years, the plant was partially deconstructed and the company was quietly liquidated, selling the equipment, and redistributing the workers to other power plants.The initial cost of the plant was around 15 billion öS / 1.02 billion €, making it THE most expensive DerpFail™ in Austrian history.
It's not all doom and gloom, however; After 34 years, power had FINALLY been generated at the plant in 2009 (albeit solar-powered). In addition to this, the Dürnrohr power station was built nearby as a replacement thermal power station. Incredibly, the plant has been carefully preserved for over 3 decades, and in theory could still produce and transmit electricity if needed.
These days, the plant flourishes as a facility for training and education. The company 'EVN group' acquired the site in 2005 and established a training centre there, so that workers from other nuclear plants could practice maintenance/repairs and run simulations, with genuine equipment under realistic conditions. Additionally, the site opened up to the public with free tours of the facility.
WHICH IS WHERE I COME IN:
I friggin love power stations.
I think they are works of art, and I've always wanted to see what one looks like (outside of the usual 'Chernobyl disaster' theme). With this in mind, I promptly tried to bag a spot on one of these elusive tours. Being an idiot, this was only a few weeks in advance, so we had no chance of getting on one (they book up MONTHS ahead of time, with limited tickets being released). Resigned to this fate, I was content with following their Facebook posts and liking all their pictures like a right
Weeks later, I found myself in Vienna having a grand ol' time, when I got a FB notification. Upon opening, I saw something that looked suspiciously similar to "tours now available" in German. Excitedly, I clicked through to the German version of the plant's official site. After a good hour of navigating German booking forms & emails from my crappy phone, I managed to get us onto a special '40 year Anniversary' tour, to coincide with when it all went tits-up for them.
Sometimes, being a sadcase with Google Translate really pays off. I'm just saying.
On the morning of the visit, however, we quickly discovered that Zwentendorf is in the arse end of nowhere, and transport to this place is almost impossible without a car [nobody goes there, except workers on the morning commute]. We didn't have a car [of course we didn't, I refer to my previous 'idiot' comment] so after a quick "WE'LL FUCKIN WALK IF WE HAVE TO!" pep-talk, a plan was formulated: We would S-Bahn our way to the nearest town, and then get a taxi from there. As you may have guessed, there were no taxis, so at this point we did just 'fuckin walk'. It was about 4 miles, which wasn't too bad, except it was a freezing cold (and slightly drizzly) October morning, AND we were running late.
1 hour of panicked power-walking later, we arrived! Our elation turned to disappointment as we realised that the entire tour would be in German, which I can't really complain about, as it's not really advertised as an 'international' tourist attraction. Also, I booked the entire thing in German using Google Translate, so...yeah. Luckily at this point, a lovely bilingual couple took pity on us and let us tag along with them, whilst translating. Turns out, they were Aussie 'Cave Clan' members and apparently had us down as kindred 'wrong-uns' as soon as we walked in (go figure) <3
THE REST IS HISTORY...HERE'S SOME PICS:
I have a [VERY] basic working knowledge of how all this works, but fortunately my mate is a bigger nerd than I am, so even without the translation, I got the gist of what was going on:
Passing Dürnrohr Power Station (left) on the way to Zwentendorf. The Exhaust Air Stack (right) is 109m high.
The Decontamination Station (left) includes a Radiation Detector (right) which beeps, in the event of high levels of radiation.
The Reactor Hall is 39m high in relation to its elevation within the plant [there are no separate rooms, only different levels of elevation])
Fuel Assemblies (left) containing Uranium are placed inside the Nuclear Reactor Core using the orange Fuel Assembly Changing Platform (middle). The Reactor Pressure Vessel Cover (right) weighs 60 tonnes, and covers the core [which is usually underwater when in use]
The Nuclear Reactor Core sits inside this Fuel Assembly Changing Basin. Nuclear fission occurs when the Uranium inside starts to break down, which releases huge amounts of heat (in the form of steam). When an assembly is used up, it is stored in the adjacent Fuel Assembly Cooling Basin (not pictured) for a number of years.
It's these turbines that power the generators (which create the electricity). As this is a dangerous process, many safeguards are in place to regulate the reactions in the Reactor Core.
Entrance (left) and Exit (right) into the Safety Vessel (middle). This is where the main steam lines leave the Nuclear Reactor. In case of an accident, an emergency shutdown system traps all leaking radioactive water inside.
In the Control Rod Drive Room, 113 Control Rod Drives mechanically control the reactor by being inserted directly into the Reactor Core from the bottom [removing them increases input, whilst inserting them reduces input]
The Control Room in all its analogue glory. This was the heart (and brain) of the entire plant. The decor was never modernised, and to this day, some of the lights remain blinking (all error messages, of course...)
Honestly, the whole site is incredible...we could EASILY have spent an entire day exploring every single inch of this place; The pictures don't do it justice. Had I known beforehand that we actually had a chance of visiting this place, I would've brought my SLR with me. As such, phone pics will have to do, and I have resisted the temptation to post hundreds of photos, so hopefully it gives you a taste of what you can expect here. I didn't intend for my first ever post to be a permission-visit, but I honestly don't care. The whole experience was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and on a happier [
HAPPY READING!
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