Nuclear Plant Journal, July-August 2016 NuclearPlantJournal.com
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monitoring stations located throughout
the site to ensure waste is contained and
the environment is protected.
Final Phase of the
Project
While the Zion project is nearly
complete and what largely remains is the
demolition of the buildings, it is important
to note that all radioactive material has
been safely decommissioned, reduced,
removed and stored. Additional security
measures are employed around access
to the ISFSI until final disposition in the
future.
During the demolition of buildings,
non-contaminated high grade copper
and steel will be salvaged and recycled
through a third party vendor that
specializes in these capabilities.
There is about two years left to
complete the Zion D&D project in its
entirety.
Lessons Learnt and
Partnerships
As with any major project, especially
one of this scale, there was great interest
from associated entities. EnergySolutions
operates with transparency and shares
best practices to further knowledge within
the industry. Regularly, EnergySolutions
hosted NRC and DOE officials ensuring
that all regulatory requirements were
met and for ongoing learning between
government and private sector operations.
Elected officials and members of
the media also visited frequently and
would share that information with the
local community, assuring residents
and influencers about the safety of their
community and the success of the project.
As a leader in nuclear energy
industry,
EnergySolutions
opened
the doors to other industry personnel
including officials from Fukushima to
better understand safety, efficiency and
operational success.
“We understand the magnitude of
the work we do and want all interested
parties to be comfortable and assured that
we do what we say we will,” said Robuck.
“Ultimately we want to be viewed as a
positive partner to communities and the
industry.”
Most recently EnergySolutions
signed a collaborative agreement with
The Japan Atomic Power Company
(JAPC) for the decommissioning of
commercial light water nuclear power
plants in Japan.
Robuck noted, “This is a tremendous
opportunityforourcompanytoprovideour
Decommissioning and Decontamination
experience and capabilities in Japan. Our
primary goal is to support the Japanese
nuclear industry in achieving safe and
efficient decommissioning projects.”
EnergySolutions will share its D&D
experience and capabilities with JAPC for
use at the Tsuruga Unit 1. Currently, JAPC
personnel are actively learning about
the Zion D&D project. Subsequently,
EnergySolutions employees will join
the JAPC Tsuruga Unit 1 project team
in Japan to support effective knowledge
transfer and implementation of the
EnergySolutions D&D experience.
Contact: Jennifer Hurst, The
Injenuity Group, telephone: (801) 560-
Large components being removed from the cooling tower.
