Shippingport station decommissioning project - a summary report

The mission of this project was to decommission the government-owned portion of the Shippingport atomic power plant and thereby (1) demonstrate safe and cost-effective dismantlement of a large full-scale commercial nuclear plant, (2) optimize the number of subcontractors to expand technology base and experience, and (3) provide a technology transfer program (adequate records) for future decommissioning projects and industry standards. The technical baseline for the project's decommissioning plant required that (1) all government-owned structures be removed to 3 ft below grade, (2) all radwaste be removed from the site and buried at Hanford, and (3) the reactor pressure vessel/neutron shield tank (RPV/NST) be removed as a single unit, and (4) the site be released to the owner, Duquesne Light Company (DLC), for unrestricted use. The objectives of the project were accomplished with completion of the mission within the established technical baseline under cost and ahead of schedule. Some conclusions drawn are that with proper planning and prompt funding, the technology, equipment, and skills exist, as regularly demonstrated in nuclear power plant outages, to decontaminate and decommission any size power plant without the expenditure of huge sums of money or overly extended application of labor or effort. Benefits were derived at Shippingport Station Decommissioning Project