Reactor Dismantlement History - USA only
Power, Test, and Research Reactors Dismantled or In Progress
revised 8 June 2015

Plant/Facility
Reactor Internals
Reactor Vessel
BGRR (Brookhaven)

Mechanical; dry unbolting and cutting.

Graphite chamber. Dry mechanical segmentation. Began using robotics. Finished with a Brokk.

Mechanical; saws.
Nut and bolt removal.
(Lacking detailed information).

Removed whole.
Mechanical cutting (turning), Diamond Wire, and MDM used to cut vessel piping (done dry).
Abrasive Water Jet (underwater).
MDM (underwater).
Removed whole.
Crystal River 3
860MW PWR
See other sheet since decommissioning has not started. n/a.
CVTR (Parr)
19MWe PHWR
Mechanical; dry cutting and unbolting. Few internals.
Vessel was a thin wall "Moderator Tank". Segmented dry with mechanical cutting.

Mostly Thermal (underwater and dry).

Mechanical; turning (dry),
Milling (dry).
Abrasive Water Jet (dry).
Thermal (dry).
Elk River
24MWe BWR
Size reduced by underwater plasma torch and explosives. Disposed of in waste liners. Size reduced by underwater plasma torch and disposed of in waste liners.
Fermi 1
94MWe Sodium
Mechanical cutting of internals done dry. Believe removed whole (awaiting a source to quote).
Fort St. Vrain
(Pre-stressed Concrete RV [PCRV])
Long Handle Tools (underwater), Some MDM Diamond Wire (dry),
Underwater divers using hand tools, Oxilance (dry).

Hallam
75MWe Sodium

Possibly in the RV. Entombed.
Humboldt Bay-3
63MWe BWR
Remote Mechanical complete. Remote Mechanical dry segmentation almost complete.
Kewaunee
574MWe PWR
See other sheet since decommissioning has not started. n/a.
La Crosse
(LACBWR)
50MWe BWR
Internals shipped inside RV. Removed whole 2007 (small RV).
Abrasive Water Jet (underwater) and Mechanical (underwater) Removed whole.
Mechanical (underwater). Still in place.
NS Savannah
(nuclear ship)
We assume the internals will remain in the vessel. We believe it will be removed whole (NRC web page has 2031).
Omega West
Mechanical (dry). Remote disassembly and limited cutting using Plasma Arc and mechanical shears for size reduction. Vessel was removed using remote tools (Track Hoe w/hammer & shear, BROKK w/hammer & shear as bioshield was demolished).
Pathfinder
59MWe BWR
Possibly in the RV. Disposed of intact.
Plum Brook 1 (NASA)
60MWt PWR
Mechanical; nut and bolt remote removal, milling (dry; high dose). Thermal; limited use outside of RV (dry). Mechanical; milling, turning, and drilling (dry). Semi-remote.
Thermal; lower sections of RV (dry). Hands-on.
Plum Brook MUR (NASA)
Swimming pool
Swimming pool Rx. Mechanical; nut and bolt removal (dry; low dose).
N/A (swimming pool type Rx).
Piqua
45MWt oil cooled
Possibly in the RV. Entombed.
Rancho Seco
913MWe PWR
Mechanical; sawing (underwater) with rotary and reciprocating blades. Diamond wire cut for RV Head.
Abrasive Water Jet (dry) for size reduction. The owner self performed the cutting.
San Onofre 1 (SONGS-1) Abrasive Water Jet (underwater).
MDM (underwater).
Removed whole and stored on-site.
San Onofre 2/3 (SONGS-2 & 3) The RVH of U2 was shipped off site Dec 2013. RVI segmentation planned 2015-2019. As of 9/23/14, "it is likely" (SCE) that the RV's will be segmented.
Saxton
23MWt
Believe grouted intact in Reactor Vessel (RV). Removed whole to Barnwell.
Shippingport
60MWe breeder
Thermal (underwater). Grouted inside Reactor Vessel (RV) Removed whole.
Thermal (underwater). Mechanical; turning (dry).
Thermal; (dry).
Sturgis (barge)
MH-1A
Possibly remaining in the RV. Expect disposed of whole per USACE.
Santa Susana - Sodium Reactor Experiment (SRE)
6.5MWe
Size reduced by explosives and underwater plasma torch. Disposed of in waste liners. Size reduced by underwater plasma torch and disposed of in waste liners.
Thermal (underwater).
Possibly Abrasive Water Jet had limited "test" use.
Some internals still in place.

Still in place with no cutting. D&D to be completed with Unit-1 (2034)

Intact in Reactor Vessel (RV). Removed whole.
Waltz Will Removed per DP. Removed per DP.
Thermal (underwater). Removed whole.
Mechanical (underwater) is complete (Oct 2014) both units. Thermal Cutting in process on the first RV (U2).

Not on this list? If the reactor D&D has not been started it is on our "scheduled" for decommissioning list. Click here to see the list of reactors "scheduled" for decommissioning.

The purpose of this information is to provide the reader with an overview of reactor disassembly activities. These facilities have completed or are in process of the reactor decommissioning process. The priority for this list are PWR's and BWR's in the United States; "swimming pool" type reactors generally will not be listed here. Other reactors or newsworthy projects may also be listed. Currently only USA facilities are listed. We will add facilities outside of the USA if we are provided with information.

Please advise us of any errors or questionable information and we will immediately remove it or list our source to verify it is correct. We document our sources and references used and strive for 100% accuracy, however dates and other details can change over time. Please contact us before using any of our information displayed on any of our web pages.

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