Cost of turning it off. [Dismantling nuclear reactors]

Journal Article · Wed Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1976 · Environment; (United States)

OSTI ID:7317974

Harwood, S; May, K; Resnikoff, M; Schlenger, B; Tames, P

The cost of nuclear power must include the as-yet-uncalculated cost of dismantling a commercial power plant. New calculations show that hazardous levels of radioactive nickel will continue for as much as a million years after a power plant ceases to operate. Attention has been concentrated on waste disposal, overlooking disposal of the activation products such as steel and concrete structures. So far only eight small plants have been shut down, but these show considerable variation in the buildup of activation products depending on the number of megawatt-years the reactor was exposed. Commercial reactors with greater amounts of stainless steel and core structure can be expected to develop larger proportions of activation products. Three methods are proposed for shutting down reactors, all of which require removing radioactive wastes: (1) mothballing, which would make the total facility inoperable and would require expensive security measures; (2) entombment, which would remove all external parts to a federal respository or place them inside the vessel, would require minimal security; and (3) dismantling, the only safe method, would be dangerous and expensive, but would shift all radioactive materials to permanent and appropriate burial sites. 6 references. (DCK)

• Research Organization: State Univ. of New York, Buffalo
• OSTI ID: 7317974
• Journal Information: Environment; (United States), Journal Name: Environment; (United States) Vol. 18:10; ISSN ENVTA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
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22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220500 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Environmental Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290600* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Nuclear Energy
ACTIVATION ENERGY
ALLOYS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BUILDING MATERIALS
COBALT 60
COBALT ISOTOPES
CONCRETES
DECOMMISSIONING
ECONOMICS
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
ENERGY
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HALF-LIFE
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
IRON 55
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
IRON ISOTOPES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NICKEL 59
NICKEL 63
NICKEL ISOTOPES
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
OMR TYPE REACTORS
ORGANIC COOLED REACTORS
ORGANIC MODERATED REACTORS
PNPF REACTOR
POWER PLANTS
POWER REACTORS
RADIATION HAZARDS
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING
REACTOR SAFETY
REACTORS
SAFEGUARDS
SAFETY
SECURITY
STEELS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
THERMAL REACTORS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES