Page 100 - Beyond Decommissioning

Redevelopment as an innovative approach to nuclear decommissioning 81

its entire operational life. It would be hard to decide a time during operation that was
more significant than another. For example, at Three Mile Island, PA, United States
there could be different periods of significance. One could be when the plant was con-
structed originally. Another could be the day of the accident, and a third one the sta-
bilization period following the accident. Using restoration at a NPP would require
picking a specific period of interpretation. This method could be used at a NPP if
an event or period can be identified that is of significance to the country’s industrial
heritage. Otherwise, the preservation of key features at the site as they are at the final
shutdown would be a suitable approach.
“Reconstruction
is defined as the act or process of depicting, by means of new construction, the form, features,
and detailing of a non-surviving site, landscape, building, structure, or object for the pur-
pose of replicating its appearance at a specific period of time and in its historic location. The
Reconstruction Standards establish a limited framework for recreating a vanished or non-
surviving building with new materials, primarily for interpretive purposes.”
Reconstruction uses documentary evidence to closely restore a site to its original, sig-
nificant time period. This approach requires substantial research and reports before
any work can be carried out. While a reconstruction closely replicates the original
structures, it is important that the reconstructed structures be visually distinct from
the original ones.
This approach can be preferable when there is clear evidence for what was there
originally, and the evidence can be used to reestablish the missing parts. Reconstruc-
tion is used at a site where change has substantially altered the structures and site and
impedes the historical understanding. The features reconstructed should be significant
to the historic appearance and reading.
At an NPP, this approach may be selected if a significant plant feature has been
removed during decommissioning, and later regarded as important. A study was con-
ducted at Trojan NPP, where cooling towers were demolished despite public opposi-
tion. While it would be costly, the cooling towers could be reconstructed if this were
considered important.
Proactive planning would prevent the later need for reconstruction. Rather than
reconstruction, retention of important features would be preferable.
The above-mentioned four redevelopment methods provide a conceptual frame-
work to take account of preservation principles at nuclear facilities and sites
approaching decommissioning, while new uses would still be possible.
Applying the concepts of site preservation and reuse requires significant changes to
decommissioning regulations. It would require the regulatory bodies to look at each
site in a specific way, networking with the public and owners. Using preservation and
redevelopment should be considered viable alternatives to unrestricted release of the
site with no consideration given to its future use.
The US Standards on Treatment of Historic Properties are a series of principles
about maintaining, repairing, and replacing historic structures, as well as installing
additions or making modifications. Guidelines (US Department of the Interior,
National Park Service, and Technical Preservation Services, 2017) attached to the
Standards offer design and execution recommendations to apply the Standards to a