Nuclear Plant Journal, September-October 2013 NuclearPlantJournal.com
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Utility,
Industry &
Corporation
Utility
Nuclear Fleet
The three commercial nuclear power
plants operated by the Constellation
Energy Nuclear Group (CENG) in New
York and Maryland will be operationally
integrated into the
Exelon Generation
nuclear fleet over the next nine months,
CENG, co-owners announced.
The consolidation of the two
commercial U.S. nuclear fleets includes
transferring the operating licenses of the
plants to Exelon Generation, Exelon and
Électricité de France (EDF) said in a joint
announcement.
Under the terms of the agreement,
the CENG plant operating licenses
will be transferred to Exelon; Exelon
will integrate the CENG fleet under its
management model; Exelon will lend
$400 million to CENG to support a
special dividend to EDF; and EDF will
retain an option to sell its CENG stake to
Exelon at fair market value between 2016
and 2022.
Contact:
Krista
Lopykinski,
telephone: (630) 657-3602.
Industry
Research Facility
The University of Manchester’s
Dalton Nuclear Institute
opened its
Cumbrian, U.K., research facility on
Friday, September 6, 2013.
The Dalton Cumbrian Facility (DCF)
is a new research base established with
an initial £20 million joint investment
by the University and the Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
Now a core component of the
new National Nuclear User Facility,
announced as part of the Government’s
Nuclear Industrial Strategy, the DCF is
designed to complement and significantly
expand the nuclear research and education
capability of the UK’s nuclear R&D
sector. The overall aims of the Facility
are the delivery of world-leading nuclear
research and the transfer of knowledge to
industry.
The DCF is adding to the
growing research, education and skills
infrastructure in West Cumbria, key
elements in the Britain’s Energy Coast
programme that is designed to build on
West Cumbria’s world-leading capability
in the nuclear industry to deliver diverse
and sustained economic wellbeing for the
area.
Research at DCF will focus primarily
on the areas of radiation science and
nuclear engineering decommissioning.
The facility is fully equipped following
delivery and commissioning of a particle
accelerator, the largest and most complex
research equipment to be housed at DCF.
The DCF incorporates detailed
computer modelling capability and
large-scale experimental laboratories,
including extensive irradiation facilities
and associated analytical and inspection
equipment, to provide a comprehensive
research environment.
Through the DCF, the University has
pioneered unique academic access to the
National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL)’s
extensive R&D and engineering facilities
at the Central Laboratory, situated on
the Sellafield site, and at Workington.
This access, available to wider UK
academia, is vital to support full
lifecycle development and deployment of
innovative technologies.
Contact:
Michael
Addelman,
telephone: 0161 275 0790, email:
Yucca Mountain
The U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission
has asked participants in the
adjudicatory proceeding to offer views
to the Commission by Sept. 30, 2013,
on how to restart the Yucca Mountain
licensing process.
The request, contained in an Order,
will help the Commission ensure the
most efficient and productive use of the
approximately $11 million, the agency
has left to resume the licensing process,
which was suspended in September 2011.
The Commission has directed its staff
to gather pertinent budgeting information
during the 30- day comment period. The
Commission will review the comments
submitted by the parties as well as the
information it receives from the NRC
staff and decide the path forward in the
licensing process.
The Commission action responds to
an order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia onAug. 13, 2013,
granting a writ of mandamus directing the
agency to “promptly continue the legally
mandated licensing process.” The Court’s
order becomes effective on Sept. 3, 2013.
Contact: Eliot Brenner, telephone:
(301) 415-8200.
Corporation
Component
Decontamination
AREVA has successfully decon-
taminated the major components of the
Chooz A nuclear power plant located in
Northern France. The first project of its
kind performed by AREVA in France, the
decontamination of the primary loop ele-
ments - four steam generators, the pres-
surizer and the primary loop lines - is a
major step forward in the ongoing de-
commissioning of the plant.
The decontamination was carried out
successfully thanks to the combination
of two AREVA techniques, the CORD
UV
®
and the AMDA
®
. This operation
is based on the progressive introduction
of chemical substances into the primary
circuit which circulates in there over
several days, until the end of the
process. Through this process, AREVA
significantly reduced the degree of the
components’ radioactivity so that they
could be classified as “very low level
waste.” Following their decontamination,
these components were transported to a
National Radioactive Waste Management
Agency (Andra) facility, in order to be
stored there.
Compared to alternative solutions,
AREVA’s decontamination technology
produces a very low volume of radioactive
waste, which is also managed by Andra.
Once the process is completed, the used
chemicals are decomposed to carbon
dioxide and water, leaving behind no
additional waste.
Contact: Julien Duperray, telephone:
New VP
Day & Zimmermann
, a provider
of industrial, defense and workforce
solutions for government and commercial
customers,
announced
that
the
