Springfield Nuclear Power Plant
In the television animated cartoon series The Simpsons, the city of Springfield's electricity is generated from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. The plant has a monopoly on the city's energy supply, but is sometimes mismanaged and endangers much of the town with its presence.
Based on the plant's appearance and certain episode plots, it likely houses only a single "unit" or reactor (although, judging from the number of containment buildings and cooling towers, there is a chance it may have two). In one episode an emergency occurs and Homer resorts to the manual, which begins "Congratulations on your purchase of a Fissionator 1952 Slow-Fission Reactor".
The plant is poorly maintained, largely due to owner Montgomery Burns' miserliness. Its safety record is appalling, with various episodes showing luminous rats in the bowels of the building, pipes and drums leaking radioactive waste, the disposal of waste in a children's playground, plutonium used as a paperweight, cracked cooling towers, dangerously high Geiger counter readings around the perimeter of the plant, and so on. In the opening credits a bar of some radioactive substance is trapped in Homer's overalls and later disposed of in the street.
The design and folly of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant is based on the real life Trojan Nuclear Power Plant near Matt Groening's home town of Portland, Oregon. Trojan Nuclear Power Plant opened in 1970 and was infamous for its poor construction and maintenance, resulting in steam generators leaking starting in 1974. The leaking steam generators ultimately caused the plant to close in 1992 (although other plants replaced theirs).
Employees/Associates
- Charles Montgomery Burns, Very rich real owner and CEO of the power plant.
- Waylon Smithers, is Montgomery Burns's Executive Assistant and adoring henchman. While he appears to de facto run much of the plant's day-to-day administration, his main job is tending to Mr. Burns, and often trying to talk him out of his more outrageous schemes.
- Homer Simpson, currently works in Sector 7G as the Safety Officer and has been with the company in some capacity since the birth of his first child. He mostly works in a control room sitting in front of a console, but has little idea how to operate it (in one episode he was replaced by a chicken pecking at the buttons). Often he just reclines in his chair, snoozing or eating doughnuts. He frequently takes "leaves of absence" from (or flat-out quits) his job whenever something interesting comes up. This typically goes either unnoticed or without consequence by his superiors. Despite the fact that the safety of the plant - and Springfield - has been imperiled more than once on Homer's watch, he still keeps his job. Homer is the lowest-ranking person in the power plant org chart, subordinate to an Inanimate Carbon Rod, and additionally holds a record for longest time spent in an entry-level position.
- Carl Carlson, along with Lenny, is not just Homer's coworker but one of his best friends since childhood, and he likes to call himself "an urban Lenny." He is black and handsome, a Buddhist with a master's degree in Nuclear Physics, fond of bowling and having a drink at Moe's. He is likely a liberal in terms of his politics, having described local talk show host Birch Barlow as "a right-wing crackpot". But these are the only definitive details given. He has stated in passing that he has a family and that he's Homer's supervisor, but he mostly keeps things to himself due to his uncontrollably abrasive tongue.
- Lenford "Lenny" Leonard, the nasal-voiced friend and co-worker of Homer. A Chicago native, he is unmarried, a Buddhist, often described as plain looking, although sometimes also seen as very attractive (and featured in a photo-spread in the New Yorker), and though possessing a master's degree he's undeniably dumb. His living arrangements have included a house that is literally falling apart around him and a beautifully furnished apartment that shares a glass wall with a jai alai court. His relationship with Carl is complicated. Lifelong friends, Lenny clearly adores Carl. Carl is the dominant partner and generally regards Lenny coolly. They are nonetheless constant companions, although some evidence suggests Lenny may have had an affair with Marge.
- Charlie, the bespectacled dangerous emissions supervisor. Often quiet and working in the background, he is a known militiaman and can frequently be found at Moe's Tavern after hours. Once landed a pencil in Homer Simpson's butt crack, thus stopping Homer's Train of Thought (Dental Plan! Lisa needs braces!) and used his sister's prosthetic leg as a softball bat so he could join the power plant's team.
- Frank "Grimey" Grimes, hired as executive vice-president and immediately replaced, he was assigned to Sector 7G. As a self-made man who suffered through the worst of life's obstacles, he was naturally outraged at Homer's countless faults, both professional and personal, and his enormous success in spite of them (becoming an astronaut, winning a Grammy, etc.). Attempts by both sides to "deal with" their differences only exacerbated the situation, resulting in Grimes's freakish and untimely death by electrocution. He fathered a son (Frank Grimes, Jr.) with a prostitute, who tried to kill Homer in revenge for his father.
- Mindy Simmons, an attractive young woman, was the first of a few female employees hired under equal opportunity statute (guest-voiced by Michelle Pfeiffer). She has a degree in Engineering, and owns a motorcycle. On a trip to promote nuclear power in Capital City, she and Homer nearly had an affair. Sometime after Homer's decision not to pursue a relationship, Mindy was dismissed from the plant due to alcohol abuse.
- Jack Marley, a long time employee who was retired against his will.
- Unnamed supervisor, Sherri and Terri's father (no surname ever given, though Homer referred to him as Eugene Fisk), formerly Homer's supervisor.
- Unnamed supervisor, Homer claims he is one of the guys he never sees at work.
- Carol, member of payroll.
- Mike, married member of shipping. Burns thought he and Carol were going to hook up.
- Ms. Finch, a woman employee who is one of the people Homer sees at the plant while trying to find a potential suitor for Selma in the episode Principal Charming. Not a man.
- Tibor, Homer's co-worker who eventually becomes his supervisor, and also whom Homer thanked for having "saved my (his) butt." He was used as a scapegoat for other employees' mistakes since he was also known as "the guy who doesn't speak any English", and is an unseen character.
- Unnamed, worker whose hand was enlarged a hundred times after exposure to radioactive waste.
- Zutroy, the dangerous emissions supervisor hired when Charlie was temporarily disposed of. He is "American as apple pie", according to Burns.
- Canary M. Burns, canary, the one-time legal owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant for reasons of prosecutory evasion by de facto owner Montgomery Burns. Now living in the Canary Islands.
- Unknown, Doberman, the heroic dog made executive vice-president in lieu of previous choice, Frank Grimes in lieu of previous choice, Waylon Smithers.
- Queenie, chicken, a temporary replacement for Homer, deceased and consumed by Homer.
- Stuart, duck, an employee charged with intra-plant waste transport.
- Blinky, three-eyed fish, inadvertent resultant of the power plant's radioactive output and some-time mascot. Actually, one of many so "evolved" creatures found in Springfield's waters.
- Inanimate Carbon Rod, named the plant's "Worker of the Week" after all others but prior to Homer. It becomes famous for saving the spaceship Homer was on with Buzz Aldrin in Deep Space Homer, although Homer suggested its use to close a faulty opening. For its heroism, the rod was named Time Magazine's Man of the Year. According to the SNPP flowchart, the rod out-ranks Homer.
- Brick, another office fill-in during one of Homer's absences.
- Bernie, plant employee assigned with Homer and another unnamed employee to watch a bee contained in a jar in the basement during a plant inspection.
- Unknown, dog, trained to abort the core destruct sequence whenever Homer pushes the button while napping.
- Kathy, more or less a female Mr. Burns, works in personnel. Her relationship to Burns is unknown.
- The power plant is also the work place of many robots which have emotions and feelings. Homer had to fire forty-seven robots when he became owner of the plant and had to watch them all cry.
- It is implied that an entire Brazilian Soccer Team is working for the plant, because "that plane landed on [Mr. Burns'] property!". This is a reference to the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes in the 70s, which was also the basis for the book/movie Alive.
Homer Simpson is well known for his incompetence and stupidity in working at the plant, but various episodes suggest most of the other employees are just as bad: screaming and panicking at everything from meltdown alerts to fire drills; holding cockfights and chess matches instead of working; beating one another with chairs, drinking heavily, or simply crying at their desks; engaging in "Nap Time"; and even removing emergency procedure posters to make into get-well-soon cards (one of Lenny and Carl's worst violations).
To win a bet between the Shelbyville Power Plant, Mr. Burns hired professional baseball players to play for SNPP's company softball team. The parentheses indicate the misfortune that the player had.
- Roger Clemens, security guard, softball team player (hypnotized into thinking he is a chicken)
- Wade Boggs, janitor, softball team player (knocked out by Barney Gumble in a bar argument)
- Ken Griffey Jr., lunchroom cashier, softball team player (gigantism caused by overdose of nerve tonic)
- Steve Sax, softball team player (six consecutive life sentences for various unsolved murders in New York City)
- Don Mattingly, softball team player (booted off team for not understanding what Mr. Burns wanted him to remove that he referred to as sideburns)
- Darryl Strawberry, softball team player (the only professional player not to have a misfortune, although he was taken out [because he and the opposing pitcher were both left-handed] during the only game he played at SNPP)
- Ozzie Smith, softball team player (vanished off the face of the Earth while visiting the "Springfield Mystery Spot")
- Mike Scioscia, softball team player (radiation poisoning)
- Jose Canseco, softball team player (occupied by rescuing items and people from a burning house)
Related Characters
- A variety of nuclear regulators, safety inspectors, and immigration agents periodically make visits to the plant.
- Aristotle "Ari" Amadopolis, the owner of the Shelbyville Nuclear Powerplant. His relationship with Montgomery resides within the area of competitive mutual respect. He has collaborated with Montgomery Burns on safety measures in the past and been known to meet him in a modest wager. He is based on late Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
- Smilin' Joe Fission, an animated personification of atomic energy used in Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's public relations films and serves as its mascot. He wears a cowboy hat and talks in a Texan accent.
- Hans, Fritz, & Horst, the faces of the German consortium that briefly owned the power plant during Montgomery's temporary retirement.
- Mrs. Burns, Montgomery's 122 year old mother from the deep South. She had an unforgivable affair with President Taft, but her capacities are now so limited she can only dial a telephone and yell.
- Larry Burns, Montgomery's illegitimate son. Born in 1940, he has been an all-around failure both with and without the resources his father's station provides. Voiced by and modeled after Rodney Dangerfield, right down to the trademark tie tug.
- Lily Bancroft, daughter of Montgomery's Yale classmate Mimsy and mother of his illegitimate son, Larry Burns. She was sent off to be a nun in the South Seas.
- Waylon Smithers Sr., the first administrative assistant to Montgomery and the father of Waylon. He died while preventing a meltdown to save both his son and the town.
- Frank Grimes Jr., the illegitimate son of Frank Grimes due to the latter's apparent fondness for prostitutes. He attempted to exact revenge upon Homer Simpson for his father's early death.
Interesting facts
- A cawing crow is heard in nearly every establishing shot of the power plant.
- The SNPP maintains a map of the United States indicating the status of all of the various nuclear facilities. Homer's job includes replacing most of the burnt out lightbulbs on the map.
- The wall that Homer faces in his work station changes between episodes. In some episodes the wall is a window showing reactor piping; in others it is a map of nuclear sites around the country, or a solid wall.
The future
The episodes Future-Drama and Lisa's Wedding reveal that the plant will eventually upgrade the number of cooling towers (and possibly reactors) from two to at least five, perhaps as a response to the future growth of Springfield.
In Lisa's Wedding, set a decade in the future, we also discover that Lenny and Carl have been promoted to the executive board while Milhouse Van Houten has become a supervisor. The plant is operated mainly by robots but Homer still retains his familiar position at Sector 7G.
It is unknown if these futures are definite, or are merely possibilities as Professor Frink's machine in Future-Drama may suggest.