Overnight holidays at a nuclear plant

The Philippines' National Power Corporation is offering tours and overnight beachside holidays at its Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, built in the 1980s but never fired up. It's been "uranium-free" since 1997 and is now marketed as an ecotourism site. From National Geographic:

The trip back in time takes about three hours by car from the Philippine capital, Manila. The entry fee—150 Philippine pesos (about U.S. $3.50)—includes use of a nearby private beach.

The first part of the tour involves a presentation on the plant's safety features, including its apparent ability to withstand an earthquake as strong as the one that shook Japan's Fukushima plant on March 11, 2011.

The rest of the tour includes a guided walk through the guts of the unused plant. "Tourists can see the reactor, steam generators, control rooms, turbine-generators, etc.," National Power's Marcelo said.

"Nuclear-Resort Pictures: Come for the Reactor, Stay for the Beach"

• [Magnus Redin]

  Sad :-(

  They make most of their electricity with coal, oil and natural gas and their gas use is growing.

• [ryko716]

  Nuclear Tourism. It’s more fun in the Philippines.  

• [raines]

  Do you have nightmares about tripping the REM counter while sleeping there?

• [flickerKuu]

  The question is- can this easily be converted from dirty dangerous Uranium, to safe, clean Thorium?  Thorium reactors are the future. It’s sad that Nuclear weapon development forced us down the path to a dirty way of making go go juice. Look up Thorium reactors, you will scratch your head as to why we aren’t using them now.

• [IronEdithKidd]

  I looked at the exterior shot before I read any of the post and nearly asked out loud “Jesus Christ, that fucking thing isn’t running, is it?”  To my great relief, it never did.  Still, I wouldn’t endorse slumbering under a 20-30 year old roof with re-rod poking out the top situated next to the ocean.   

  Exposed re-rod + rain + sea spray = concrete cancer.  Fast.

  • [awjt]

    ummm, those are lightning rods.

    • [IronEdithKidd]

      I’m not talking about the dome.  Ah jeeze, now I see spalling or crappy patches on the right side of the building.  And holy crap is that ballast roofing?  That shit is built to leak.  Hey, and now that you mention all the hardware on the roof, did it all get mounted with stainless hardware?

      • [awjt]

        Yes.  My cousins and I built the damn place, and it’s perfect.  May  bedbugs overbreed in the crevices of your bed and body while you sleep.

• [dmatos]

  A perfect nuclear holiday for a perfect nuclear family.  I’m off to book some tickets.

• [Poio Kjunesc]

  JG Ballard. No more comments.

• [AA]

  Would make a good alternative tourism site if out of nowhere, the group of visitors was led to believe that everything was a lie, that the reactor is indeed working and that “as of this instant, we are into lockdown and indeed getting attacked by hideous (x-workers who have now turned into) zombies”…Oh and for those using the beach….Que Jaws soundtrack with the spiked ridge fin of Godzilla…..Oh yeah…we had a good time…