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The greatest commercial properties in fiction: Springfield Nuclear Power Plant

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Springfield Nuclear Power Plant

The Simpsons animated comedy series has been running since 1989 and, while it no longer seems to be compulsory for university students to own a shirt emblazoned with 'Eat my shorts!', it has retained its iconic status.

The story of the everyday lives of the inhabitants of Springfield, a small US town, The Simpsons exists in that TV twilight world where both children and adults think the show is made just for them. The twin cooling towers of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant feature early on in the opening credits and the plant itself provides the impetus for a number of storylines.

Overview of the plant

The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant dominates the town, both physically, due to its size, and as an employer. It is owned by Springfield's notoriously miserly and immoral resident, the frail and ancient Mr Burns. Due to his unwillingness to spend money, the plant is a particularly unsafe environment and has approached meltdown on several occasions.

Its safety officer, Homer Simpson, is clearly incompetent and, although he has saved the plant by chance on a number of occasions, his neglect is often the direct cause of some of its more precarious episodes.

Throughout various storylines, we become acquainted with a few of its many sectors. We know, for instance, that Homer works in sector 7-G in a control room which features a complicated-looking console; this is designed to prevent problems remotely and it seems to be on the ground floor or lower.

Sectors with the designations 6-F and 7-B are also mentioned and are probably manned by more skilled technicians or sales teams, because they are paid more money than the workers in Homer's section, such as his two friends Carl and Lenny. 

Why buy?

While much of the plant is seen to be clinical and functional, as you would expect, there are two areas that show that Mr Burns is happy to spend money on himself and his executives. Sector 22-F is reserved for accountancy staff and consists of a single building which houses, among other things, an open bar, maid service and a bowling alley.

Mr Burns' own office is at the top of the building and is very elegantly decorated, with wood panels and expensive-looking furniture with an antique appearance. The enormous desk is home to the triggers for several trap doors around the room that are activated when Mr Burns is annoyed with somebody; they send the hapless employee to one of several pits, such as one containing electric eels. 

For sustenance and entertainment

Additionally, the plant houses a plain cafeteria, a recreation room, which always seems to be stocked with Homer's favourite doughnuts, and a large auditorium, in which company awards and gala nights take place. There is even a solarium, or conservatory, at the back of the main building.

Problems

At times, in site of being the main provider of electricity in Springfield, the townspeople have risen up to complain about the contamination and corruption connected with the plant; this is usually fuelled by Lisa or Marge Simpson, who have strong social consciences.

On one such occasion, it was shown that the waterways around the station have been contaminated to the extent that they are inhabited by mutant animals, including 'Blinky' the three-eyed fish.

Some episodes suggest that future plans for Springfield's only power station include improvements to the facilities that would make it a safer and more pleasant place to work. With the Scrooge-like Montgomery Burns in charge, I wouldn't hold my breath!

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