SHOREHAM DECOMMISSIONING AND LICENSE TERMINATION - A SUCCESS STORY

摘要

In April 1995, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an Order terminating the Shoreham Nuclear Power Station's license and authorizing the unrestricted release of the Shoreham facility. The receipt of the License Termination Order was the culmination of a seven-year long licensing effort supported by extensive studies, detailed cost and schedule evaluations and the successful implementation of the NRC-approved Decommissioning Plan. Shoreham was the first large, NRC-licensed, commercial nuclear power plant to achieve the final goal of license termination. The pioneering nature of the project made the Shoreham experience unique and challenging in many ways. The lack of previous experience with the new decommissioning rule, gaps and ambiguities in the regulations and the absence of well-established procedures and guidelines inevitably led to regulatory uncertainties and delays. In spite of the delays imposed by the licensing process, the decommissioning of the Shoreham plant proceeded with remarkable speed and efficiency. Innovative approaches were employed to tackle difficult regulatory and technical issues. Shoreham decommissioning was completed ahead of schedule and within budget. Close communication with the NRC Staff throughout the project was an essential element in the success of the Shoreham decommissioning project. This enabled prompt identification of potential regulatory issues and their early resolution. The NRC regulations do not treat spent fuel disposal as a decommissioning activity, nor is the cost of fuel removal and disposal included in the decommissioning cost estimate. Fuel disposal is considered to be an operational activity. It is, however, necessary to remove the fuel from the spent fuel storage pool before the pool and the associated systems can be decontaminated and the facility released for unrestricted use. Therefore, the disposal of the slightly irradiated Shoreham fuel was critical to the success of the Shoreham decommissioning project. After developing many different disposal options (reuse, reprocessing and storage) and overcoming legal challenges reaching all the way to the United States Supreme Court, transfer of the Shoreham fuel assemblies to the Limerick nuclear power station for reuse was completed in June 1994, three months ahead of schedule. The insight gained from the Shoreham experience is paving the way for better decommissioning regulations and guidelines from the NRC, particularly as they apply to prematurely shut down plants. The NRC is attempting to examine the problems, determine the causes and come up with solutions in the form of changes to decommissioning regulations. The regulatory changes, clarifications and guidance resulting from this effort are sure to help future decommissioning projects by establishing a more predictable regulatory regime. As the Shoreham decommissioning project came to a successful conclusion, it became evident that the benefits flowing from the project were not confined to the licensing and regulatory arena. It contributed significantly to the knowledge base in such areas as decontamination and dismantling methods, control of personnel radiation exposure, termination survey techniques, spent fuel transportation and public relations. Shoreham also convincingly demonstrated that the cost and schedule of a large, complex decommissioning project are predictable.