DEP Citizens Advisory Council Holds Virtual Meeting On Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning July 21

On July 21, DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council is scheduled to hold a virtual meeting to hear a presentation on the decommissioning of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Dauphin County.

TMI Decommissioning

David Allard, Director of the Bureau of Radiation Protection, will provide an overview of Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant decommissioning.

There are two nuclear reactors on the Three Mile Island plant site-- Unit 2 is the reactor damaged in the 1979 accident and is owned by GPU Nuclear, but the license and responsibility for the decommissioning is proposed to be transferred to EnergySolutions.

Unit 1 is owned by Exelon and was shut down in 2019 because it was no longer profitable in today’s competitive energy markets.

The two units are on different tracks with respect to decommissioning.

Unit 2

In April, DEP sent a letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expressing serious concerns about the plan to rapidly decontaminate the damaged Unit 2 reactor by TMI-2 Solutions/ EnergySolutions and the transfer of responsibility and the facility’s permit from GPU Nuclear.  Read more here.

Unit 1

In April of 2019, Exelon filed a decommissioning plan with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission saying it would not begin dismantling Three Mile Island Unit 1 for 55 years to allow for radioactivity to decay.

Spent radioactive fuel onsite would be moved from wet storage to a new dry cask storage facility by the end of 2022.

At a House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee hearing on the issue in April of 2019, DEP presented a white paper on how DEP would be involved in the decommissioning of the Unit 1 reactor.  Read more here.

Eric Epstein of Three Mile Island Alert expressed concern about the delay in starting decommissioning and the storage of highly radioactive spent fuel in the site.  Read more here.

Public Comment

Individuals interested in providing public comments during the meeting must sign up prior to the start of the meeting by contacting Keith Salador, Executive Director by sending email to: ksalador@pa.gov or calling 717-787-8171.

Joining The Meeting

The meeting will start at 12:30 [new time].  Click Here to join by WebEx online [Please register ahead of time].  To join by audio conference: +1-415-655-0003  Access code: 132 790 0104.

For more information and available handouts, visit the DEP Citizens Advisory Council webpage.  Questions should be directed to Keith Salador, Executive Director, 717-787-8171 or ksalador@pa.gov. 

NewsClip:

AP: Regulators, Others Fear Plan To Dismantle Damaged Three Mile Island Reactor

Related Articles:

-- DEP Expresses Serious Concerns About Rapid Decontamination Of Damaged Unit 2 Reactor At Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant [April, 2020]

-- EnergySolutions Acquires Accident-Damaged TMI Unit 2 Reactor For Decontamination [October, 2019]

-- Nuclear Regulatory Commission Hosts July 16, 2019 Webinar, July 23 Hearing On Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Plan

-- Exelon Announces Three Mile Island Will Be Shut Down By Sept. 30, 2019 [May, 2019]

-- House Hearing: TMI Decommissioning Should Not Be Delayed; Highly Radioactivity Fuel Should Be Stored In Hardened, Secure Facilities [April, 2019]

[Posted: July 8, 2020]  PA Environment Digest