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From 1968 until permanent shutdown in 1996, Connecticut Yankee operated a 619 megawatt pressurized water reactor at the Haddam Neck site. The nuclear power plant underwent a successful decommissioning from 1998-2007 with all plant structures removed to three feet below grade and the site restored to stringent clean-up standards.

The Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company Board of Directors voted to permanently close the CY plant in December 1996. The decision was based on an economic study that concluded that due to changing market conditions, electric customers would save money if the plant were closed.

CY chose immediate dismantlement (the DECON method) because it was the most practical and environmentally responsible option for the plant. Other considerations included the use of current plant employees who were trained and knowledgeable about the facility, prevention of long-term maintenance costs, and the availability of low-level waste disposal facilities. Significant decommissioning activities began at CY in May 1998, and were completed in November 2007 with NRC approval of the termination of the operating license on the plant area.

More than 40 U.S. research reactors have been safely and securely decommissioned as well as 10 U.S. commercial nuclear plants that have been or are being decommissioned.

What is Decommissioning?

 


Every nuclear plant must eventually be retired and safely decommissioned. When the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues a nuclear plant operating license, the licensee is required to commit to decommissioning the plant after it shuts down.

Decommissioning is a methodical deconstruction process that takes several years to complete. It involves removing and disposing of all radioactive materials at licensed facilities, as well as reducing radioactivity and hazardous materials that may remain on the site after radioactive materials are removed.

The purpose of decommissioning is to reduce the amount of plant related radioactivity on the site to a level that makes it possible to release the site for future use. The major benefit of decommissioning at CY is the restoration of the site for other purposes. See the Future Use page for more about site reuse.


 


Plants currently decommissioning:

  • Big Rock, Michigan
  • Trojan, Oregon
  • San Onofre 1, California


Plants that have completed decommissioning:

  • Connecticut Yankee, Connecticut
  • Yankee Rowe, Massachusetts
  • Maine Yankee, Maine
  • Shippingport, Pennsylvania
  • Pathfinder, South Dakota
  • Shoreham, New York
  • Fort St. Vrain, Colorado


Plants that have permanently shut down and delayed decommissioning because there are other nuclear units still operating on the same site or the organization is in the process of evaluating their decommissioning options:

  • Dresden 1, Illinois
  • Fermi 1, Michigan
  • Humboldt Bay, California
  • Indian Point 1, New York
  • LaCrosse, Wisconsin
  • Peach Bottom 1, Pennsylvania
  • Rancho Seco, California
  • Three Mile Island 2, Pennsylvania
  • Millstone 1, Connecticut

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