Unforeseen Events Alter Stewardship Strategies at the Decommissioned BONUS Reactor in Puerto Rico - 19572
- US DOE, Office of Legacy Management, Morgantown, West Virginia (United States)
- Navarro Research and Engineering Incorporated, Harrison, Ohio (United States)
- Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, San Juan, Puerto Rico (United States)
The decommissioned Boiling Nuclear Superheater (BONUS) reactor northwest of Rincon, Puerto Rico, was developed as a prototype nuclear power plant to investigate the feasibility of the integral boiling superheating concept. Through a combined effort of the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority (PRWRA), the reactor first achieved a controlled nuclear chain reaction in 1964 and remained operational until June 1968. It was the eighth nuclear reactor constructed in the world and one of only two boiling-water superheater reactors ever developed in the United States. Following its decommissioning in 1970, AEC, the predecessor to the US Department of Energy (DOE), and PRWRA, the predecessor to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), worked together post-closure to address the remaining residual contamination and safely open the facility to the public for science educational outreach. Presently, the DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) has long-term stewardship responsibilities for the reactor entombment, which includes periodic site inspections of the entombment system and oversight of the Radiological Protection Program (RPP) implemented by PREPA. PREPA has responsibility for conducting radiological measurements in accordance with the approved RPP for the facility, recordkeeping and reporting, and facility control and maintenance. The entombment system has a design life of 140 years; DOE has an obligation to ensure long-term protectiveness at the site for the next 90 years until the contact dose of the entombment system reaches background conditions. As part of the long-term protectiveness strategy, in September 2000, the BONUS reactor facility was renamed the Dr. Modesto Iriarte Technology Museum, and then in 2007, the facility was listed under the National Register of Historical Places. The museum contains numerous displays that recount the history of the BONUS site, as well as the development of electric power and nuclear energy, and receives approximately 100 visitor requests each year. The best long-term strategies need to be flexible and are subject to change. As such, the long-term maintenance responsibilities at the BONUS reactor facility were formerly documented in the 2010 Letter of Agreement between LM and PREPA to reaffirm the joint commitment of long-term protectiveness. This commitment did not waiver despite two devastating hurricanes in 2017, Irma and Maria, and the recent bankruptcy filing by the territory of Puerto Rico. To address the financial uncertainties facing PREPA, secure LM's commitment to long-term stewardship liabilities in the future, and offer a level of care similar to that at other LM sites, LM has offered several strategic opportunities to ensure the long-term sustainability of the site. Both LM and PREPA share a common and long-term stewardship commitment at the BONUS reactor facility, which includes ensuring protectiveness of the entombed radiological waste material. Protection of human health and the environment is at the forefront of the DOE mission, and the beneficial reuse of legacy sites continues to be a goal of the agency. The collaborative ability of both organizations to transform a Cold War-era facility such as a former nuclear reactor to an educational center embodies a unique ability to present local history while educating future generations on LM's mission to protect human health and the environment across the 92 sites it manages. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 23005427
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-21-WM-19572; TRN: US21V1354045761
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2019: 45. Annual Waste Management Conference, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 3-7 Mar 2019; Other Information: Country of input: France; available online at: https://www.xcdsystem.com/wmsym/2019/index.html
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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