In the U.S., 29 reactors are in various stages of decommissioning, according to NRC. Of these, 11 are considered completely decommissioned, said Michael F. Weber, NRC deputy executive director, at the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee hearing. When a nuclear power plant’s operations cease, fuel is removed from the reactor, Weber said. Next, a plant’s owner has two years to submit to NRC a decommissioning plan and schedule for rendering the site safe for restricted and unrestricted use. However, during decommissioning—and even at most of the 11 reactors considered decommissioned—spent fuel remains on-site, Weber said. Spent fuel has been removed from the sites of only nine of the 29 reactors going through decommissioning. Those nine are the oldest and smallest of decommissioned facilities, NRC data indicate. In part, what’s holding up the decommissioning process is the lack of a storage place for large quantities of spent fuel and other radioactive waste because the U.S. has failed to construct a permanent high-level radioactive waste repository.
by Jeff Johnson | June 02, 2014
—Paying For Power Plant Shutdowns “Nuclear Energy: Funds to pay for decommissioning of reactors may run short, GAO warns” A formula used by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) lowballs how much money companies should set aside to close down their old nuclear power plants, warns a Government Accountability Office report.
by Jeff Johnson | May 14, 2012
Plants will continue operating, and decommissioning will take a new model, he says. “There undoubtedly will be the creation of a huge decommissioning industry,” Andersen says. “The money on the table is so great it will invite a level of decommissioning entrepreneurship that is hard for me to imagine.” He predicts decommissioning will be done by specialized companies focusing on several shuttered power plants at once and using new technologies and economies of scale. The future, Andersen says, can be seen near Chicago at a decommission project just getting under way at Exelon’s Zion 1 and 2 reactors.
by Jeff Johnson | April 01, 2013
—NRC Floats New Nuke Retirement Rules “” The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is working on new rules that aim to speed up the decommissioning of nuclear power reactors and reduce costs. In an upcoming proposal, NRC hopes to reduce the need for exemptions and amendments often sought by licensees during decommissioning. No nuclear power plants permanently shut down between 1998 and 2013, but since then, five plants have shut down and are transitioning to decommissioning. Currently nuclear power plant operators may file for exemptions from certain emergency planning or security requirements during decommissioning. “NRC’s goals in amending these regulations would be to provide an efficient decommissioning process, reduce the need for exemptions from existing regulations, and support the principles of good regulation, including openness, clarity, and reliability,” the agency says.
by Jessica Morrison | November 30, 2015
., I am concerned about the potential hazards of nuclear waste as reported in “Decades for Decommissioning” in C&EN (June 2, page 22). Jeff Johnson did an excellent job of highlighting the real concerns about nuclear waste being stored on-site at nuclear plants, as well as the quagmire over regulation that exists between the local, state, and federal governments.
August 04, 2014
These closures mark the first permanent commercial reactor shutdowns in the U.S. in 15 years and will bring the number of U.S. reactors undergoing decommissioning to 34, according to NRC. /articles/91/i35/Another-Nuclear-Plant-Close.html 20130829 Energy: Cheap natural gas sped demise of Vermont Yankee plant News of The Week 91 35 /magazine/91/09135.html Another Nuclear Plant To Close nuclear power, decommissioning, Vermont Yankee notw govpol Jeff Johnson energy The Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station will shut down in 2014. NRC This is a picture of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant that will shut down in 2014. energy nuclear power nuclear power plant reactor Entergy Vermont Yankee decommissioning Another Nuclear Plant To Close Chemical & Engineering News Another Nuclear Plant To Close Another Nuclear Plant To Close
by Jeff Johnson | August 29, 2013
—Power Company Closes Nuclear Plant “” Citing economics, the Virginia-based power company Dominion said last week it would permanently close and eventually decommission its Kewaunee nuclear power plant in Carlton, Wis. The shutdown, set for next year, will mark the first U.S. nuclear power plant to be permanently shuttered since 1998, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
by Jeff Johnson | October 29, 2012
Committee members say it also covers new topics, including nanomaterials, green chemistry, lab security, and lab decommissioning. NRC committee cochair Barbara L. Foster, safety coordinator at West Virginia University, highlights the revised volume's expanded information on chemical management, which covers purchasing, handling, storage, transport, and waste, as well as the various regulations that apply to those tasks.
by Jyllian Kemsley | March 30, 2011
Staff at the new, larger facility will process samples collected by OPCW investigators, store and maintain equipment, train inspectors and chemists from OPCW member states, and research ways to improve verification and decommissioning processes. The €33.5 million ($39.3 million) budget for the building on a 6,400 m2 plot comes from voluntary contributions outside the OPCW’s core funding, including a $10,000 donation from the American Chemical Society (ACS publishes C&EN). Work is due to finish by the end of 2022, after which the OPCW will decommission the existing laboratory and equipment store. /policy/chemical-weapons/OPCW-starts-construction-new-ChemTech/99/i36 20211001 The new laboratory will expand facilities needed for implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention Concentrates 99 36 /magazine/99/09936.html OPCW starts construction of new ChemTech Centre chemical weapons, OPCW, ChemTech con govpol Laura Howes policy chemical-weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons held a ceremony to mark the start of construction of upgraded laboratory, training, and equipment facilities.
by Laura Howes | October 01, 2021