Nuclear reactors that are no longer used have all the potential to host acoustic laboratories in which to study the propagation of sounds.
Decommissioned nuclear reactors are excellent environments for creating acoustics laboratories in which to study sound propagation. An example of this are the two twin nuclear power plants WNP-3 and WNP-5 at the Satsop Business Park site (Washington State, USA), decommissioned since 1982. An acoustics laboratory was built inside them in 2010.
Controlled space. To measure the amount of sound emitted by an object, a material, etc., or how much sound it absorbs, a controlled space is needed, without interference from background noise.
Silence. From this point of view, nuclear power plants offer two advantages: very thick concrete walls (they resist even earthquakes of the highest degree) and the fact of being positioned in isolated places, where there is not much external noise to counteract. They also have stable temperature and humidity, which is important when studying sound propagation. The transformation of the Satsop Business Park facility into an acoustic laboratory also saved several million dollars on the construction of a new laboratory.
Barbara Merlo
