Overview of decommissioning activities in the US

The U.S. has been involved the successful decontamination, decommissioning and reutilization of nuclear facilities for over 20 years. A number of commercial power plants in the United States have either completed their decommissioning, or will be in the next few years. In addition, the U.S. DOE has taken an aggressive approach to site remediation focusing on site closures so as to better utilize its financial resources. The U.S. initiative to deregulate the electrical generation industry to promote competition and presumably to reduce electricity prices to the consumer, is again in flux. Some utilities, facing the real or perceived threat of competition in its markets decided to shut down the 'costly' nuclear plants to alleviate the drain on their financial reserves. The older nuclear units experienced serious mechanical problems, entailing expensive repairs and replacements. Such difficulties have caused owner-operator utilities to decide to decommission these facilities rather than incur the expense of upgrading or repairing the plants to meet current regulatory and design criteria. Plants that were marginally cost-competitive, or not at all competitive, were shut down and decommissioned. Other utilities have bought some of the older nuclear plants in the Northeast (a high power demand region) to operate them and to extend their licenses for continued life. This paper will discuss the decommissioning lessons learned, management approaches, site characterization and challenges faced in disposition of radioactive waste and large components, contracting practice, and the status of several of these shut down reactor-decommissioning programs. The industry has proven that nuclear power plants can be cost effectively and safely decommissioned. (author)