Pennsylvania’s top environmental official on Monday expressed deep reservations about plans for the expedited decommissioning of reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
The reactor famously operated for only a few months before partially melting down in March 1979. It never resumed service.
Nuclear services firm EnergySolutions plans to buy the reactor from GPU Nuclear Corp., a subsidiary of Ohio power company FirstEnergy Corp. Pending Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval of the transfer of the reactor license, EnergySolutions subsidiary TMI-2 Solutions would assume ownership of the facility and all responsibility for decommissioning.
“The TMI Unit 2 nuclear accident resulted in damage to the majority of the reactor core, released millions of curies of radioactive noble gases into the environs, and grossly contaminated the interiors of the containment and auxiliary buildings,” Patrick McDonnell, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, wrote in a letter dated April 6 to NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki. “Because of this, we understand there are very high radiation areas within TMI Unit 2 that present a grave risk to personnel that enter.”
McDonnell said his agency’s previous understanding was that Unit 2 would be decommissioned only after the Exelon-owned reactor Unit 1, which closed in September 2019 and is expected to remain in “safe storage” for decades before final cleanup.
That no longer appears to be the case, raising a number of questions, according to McDonnell. For one, he noted that decommissioning Unit 2 has been estimated to cost $1.2 billion, but the trust fund that will pay for the work currently holds $800 million.
McDonnell asked the NRC to answer a list of questions regarding environmental and safety impacts from decommissioning the reactor, the cost and financial responsibility for the work, and management of radioactive waste.
“We will carefully consider the concerns raised in the Pennsylvania DEP letter and provide a response in a timely manner,” NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said by email Tuesday.
