Page 172 - Beyond Decommissioning

Experience and lessons learned 153

employed in the dismantling (Fig. 6.8). Physical decommissioning was completed in
March 1996, and the final radiation survey was completed in October 1996.The dura-
tion of physical decommissioning work was 43 months, which in comparison with
subsequent NPP decommissioning projects lasting 10 years or more can be considered
a major achievement. FSV was the first commercial US NPP to be decommissioned.
The nuclear reactor and associated systems were demolished and turbine, conden-
sate systems and associated buildings were reused as part of a gas-fired power plant
with the addition of a “topping turbine” (a separately fossil-fired boiler system to gen-
erate high-temperature steam and turbine). The first gas combustion turbine was
installed in April 1996, just 1 month following the completion of physical decommis-
sioning; the final radiation survey was still underway at the time. Incidentally, this is a
good example of planning and implementing conversion in parallel to decommission-
ing. In 2001, two more turbines were added to the plant. The current combined-cycle
operation is based on the following principle: the waste heat from the gas turbine is
utilized to produce secondary steam, which runs the original plant’s steam turbine to
produce extra power. As quoted by (HPS, 2003) the electric capacity of FSV increased
to 710 MW (HPS, 2003).
The Army Corp of Engineers is planning the dismantling of Fort Greely’s SM-1A,
the only NPP ever installed in Alaska. The SM-1A plant provided steam and electric-
ity to the Army base between 1962 and 1972. It was one of eight projects to test the use
of small NPPs at remote locations. SM-1A was eventually shut down because it was
costlier to operate than a conventional diesel power plant. After shut down in 1972, the
Army placed it into safe enclosure. The spent fuel and waste were shipped away and
the radioactive components of the reactor were encased in cement.

Fig. 6.8 Decommissioning job at Fort St. Vrain NPP.
Courtesy of NRC.