The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to complete the Three Mile Island Unit 2 license transfer by fall of this year, according to Bruce Watson, Chief of the NRC Reactor Decommissioning Branch.
If approved, GPU Nuclear, the FirstEnergy subsidiary that currently owns the reactor, will be allowed to transfer its license to a TMI-2 Solutions, a subsidiary of Utah-based EnergySolutions, for decommissioning. The facility partially melted down in 1979 and has been inactive since. Despite causing no detectable health effects among workers, the accident is considered the most serious in commercial nuclear power plant operating history, according to the NRC.
In August, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) withdrew objections made to the license transfer in April after striking an agreement with the two companies involved in the merger. Under the deal, TMI-2 Solutions will be required to submit quarterly project milestone reports to the DEP and disclose how much low-level waste is created during the decommissioning process.
The agreement followed objections to decommissioning by the state’s top environmental official, who cited concerns over funding and the disposal of radioactive waste at the site.
In a letter submitted to the NRC in April, Patrick McDonnell, the DEP secretary, questioned how TMI-2 plans to finance the decommissioning of “the most radiologically contaminated facility in our nation outside of the Department of Energy’s weapons complex.” McDonnell said that while the company and the NRC currently have $800 million in a financial assurance fund to decommission Unit 2, estimates made by GPU indicate the final cost will be closer to $1.2 billion.
McDonnell also asked how the company plans to dispose of the TMI Unit 2 reactor vessel involved in the 1979 meltdown, which he said has a portion of the damaged nuclear fuel from the accident still fused inside.
Watson said the commission must also address concerns from the Pennsylvania-based nuclear watchdog group Three Mile Island Alert, which has expressed similar concerns over the longevity of the decommissioning fund and the integrity of the companies involved in the license transfer. The group cited a 1983 fine imposed on GPU for submitting false material statements to the NRC in connection with an employee falsifying results on a license requalification exam.
The citizens group also outlined concerns in its petition to intervene over the massive cost the nuclear reactor has imposed on taxpayers.
“The core melt accident that began on March 28, 1979 occurred when the plant had no decommissioning funds — by design. To date, rate payers and taxpayers have paid over $700 million to build the plant, contributed most of the resources to the Thornburgh bailout plan for defueling, and contributed $8.9 billion to decommission a plant that operated for 90 days,” the group wrote in the petition.
Three Mile Island Alert has requested a hearing. Watson said he anticipates a decision will be made soon.
Barrage of applications
With 13 nuclear plants across the country already actively decommissioning, Watson said it’s possible the commission will see around nine license termination plans submitted over the next year.
