Companies specializing in nuclear demolition and radioactive waste storage are buying up aging U. S. reactors and promising to decommission them in dramatically less time…
Companies specializing in nuclear demolition and radioactive waste storage are buying up aging U. S. reactors and promising to decommission them in dramatically less time than their utility owners had planned — eight years instead of 60 in some cases.
Viewed by experts as an emerging trend in the nuclear power industry, the sales of these retired or soon-to-be-retired reactors present a paradox for residents, state officials and nuclear watchdogs.
Once a reactor is shut down, the radioactive mess left behind must be cleaned up, spent nuclear fuel packed for long-term storage and the plant itself dismantled. Few argue that decommissioning a facility within a matter of years is less preferable than the decades-long approach called „safe storage,“ in which shuttered plants are left dormant while radioactive elements slowly decay.
Yet the speedier approach raises questions about whether the timetables are consistent with environmentally safe cleanups, and whether the buyers have the experience and money to manage multiple projects.
„When it was 60 years, we were up in arms that it was 60 years,“ said Janet Tauro, chair of New Jersey Clean Water Action, referring to initial plans for decommissioning Oyster Creek in Forked River. The nation’s oldest commercial reactor closed last year, shortly after owner Exelon Generation announced the sale to Holtec International.
„And then we hear it’s going to be expedited to eight years,“ Tauro continued. „It’s great to get it over with but are there corners that are going be cut?“
Holtec, a privately held, global corporation that manufactures giant containers for storing spent radioactive fuel after it’s removed from reactor cores, also has deals in place to buy several plants owned by Entergy Corp., including: Pilgrim in historic Plymouth, Massachusetts, closing May 31; Palisades in Covert, Michigan, slated for closure in 2022; and two reactors expected to close within two years at Indian Point in Buchanan, New York, according to public statements and documents filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
„Our commitment to the nuclear industry includes taking ownership of shutdown nuclear plants so that we can safely and efficiently decommission the plants so that the land can be returned to productive use,“ Holtec spokeswoman Joy Russell said in an email.
The company did not make officials available for interview, but strongly defended its 30-year nuclear industry track record.
The proposed sales await NRC approval, with decisions expected in the coming weeks and months, agency spokesman Neil Sheehan said.
