Reactor vessel removed from Wiscasset N-plant

WISCASSET – With the recent removal of the reactor pressure vessel from the containment dome at Maine Yankee, the dismantling of the nuclear power plant is about two-thirds complete.

On Sept. 12, the reactor vessel was lifted onto a skid. It now is awaiting shipment, by barge, to the Barnwell Waste Management Facility in Barnwell, S.C., a 1,200-mile ocean trip that will take about two weeks.

Maine Yankee spokesman Eric Howes says the reactor vessel cannot be shipped until water levels in the Savannah River have risen enough for the barge to travel upriver. Drought conditions in the South have lowered levels to the point where it is now impossible.

“They’ve received some rain this summer, but it is still not enough,” said Howes, who would not speculate on how long the vessel might have to stay in Maine.

Don Hudson, president of the Chewonki Foundation, an environmental education organization located just over a mile from the plant, said he is impressed with the way the work has gone. But he worries about what will happen when the plant is dismantled completely.

Highly radioactive spent fuel will remain at an above-ground dry cask storage facility at the site until the U.S. Department of Energy takes it away to an approved government site.

“Just think about how easy it would be for people to forget about Maine Yankee,” said Hudson, 52, who also serves on the Maine Yankee Community Advisory Panel. “You can rest assured that I am not going to forget about it. I am probably going to be working on this for the rest of my life.”

Hudson, who toured the facility earlier this month, said the removal of the reactor vessel is a milestone and will allow for the complete removal of the rest of the buildings.

“The progress that they have made has been monumental. I was blown away by what I saw. I would say that things have been going very well,” Hudson said.

“But, what I am worried about is the long term. This fuel could be here beyond 2028 and I’m not satisfied that this country has the political will to find a resting place for such nasty materials.”

Ray Shadis, executive director for Friends of the Coast, an environmental watchdog organization, says his organization remains unconvinced that the site will be left clean.

“I wouldn’t take my kids out there to pick blueberries,” said Shadis, who also serves on the Community Advisory Panel.

Inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission say that Maine Yankee in the last two months has successfully completed two of its most challenging decommissioning tasks: moving some of the spent fuel to the new $70 million storage facility and removing the reactor vessel from the dome.

“You can take a breath now. They handled it well,” said Randy Ragland, a radiation specialist and NRC safety inspector. “They have demonstrated that when they get a big project they can muster the resources.”

Howes says the $500 million decommissioning project is about 67 percent complete.