CDT Gilliland Experiencing Real-World Operations

Cadet Zachary Gilliland has been working as an intern for Duke Energy Progress at their Brunswick Nuclear Power Plant near Southport, North Carolina. Two General Electric boiling water reactors (BWRs) have been operating on the site since the late 1970’s. Zach is learning to inspect reactor maintenance plans for errors, generating predictive analyses for adjustments to the control rod configuration, and familiarizing himself with daily reactor operations while assigned to the reactor-engineering group within the Technical and Administration Center (TAC) of the plant. Additionally, he had the opportunity to tour a pressurize water reactor (PWR) at the Harris Nuclear Power Plant in Raleigh and observe the differences in the construction and operation of a PWR versus a BWR, which are by far the two most common reactor designs worldwide. Remarkably, Zach was also able to participate in a sea turtle release with the environmental department from BNP. The plant gets it cooling water directly from the Cape Fear River, which is very brackish, and has a large diversion system in place to protect fish, shrimp, crabs, and debris from entering the intake canal. However, unusual tides or storms push fish and other wildlife past barriers and into the canal system. Great care is taken to maintain the health of those creatures and return them back to their habitat unharmed. During Zach’s tenure, a sea turtle named “Southport” was released back to the ocean at Topsail Beach, amidst a crowd of several hundred cheering onlookers.