Speaker
Description
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Decommissioning Program continues to make progress to decommission and remediate the commercial complex nuclear facilities and legacy sites and fulfilling the “Sustainability Promise” to decommission and make the former nuclear sites available for unrestricted reuse. Since promulgating the 1997 License Termination Rules to regulate the decommissioning of nation’s commercial nuclear facilities, nearly 80 complex sites, including 12 power reactors have completed decommissioning and licenses terminated for unrestricted use. Substantial progress is also being accomplished to complete the remediation of legacy sites. Since 2013, eleven (11) power reactors have permanently ceased operations and entered decommissioning status. Most of the newly shutdown plants were expected to enter a significant dormancy period or safe storage, however, many of the utility operators have chosen to move directly to active decommissioning. As of October 2022, the power reactor decommissioning program has increased significantly to 26 units with 18 being in various stages of active decommissioning. The current trends are to contract the decommissioning work to a decommissioning company or transfer the licenses to decommissioning companies willing to assume financial risks and technical responsibilities to decommission the sites. This presentation will provide an overview of the U.S. decommissioning program, the status of the reactor decommissioning program, legacy site remediation and improvements to the regulatory framework, and the reuse of formerly licensed sites that demonstrate the US commitment to the nuclear sustainability promise.
