MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from Sept. 20, 2019.
The company that owns the Unit 2 reactor at Three Mile Island is looking to take the next step in dismantling the nuclear power plant, which has been shut down since 2019.
The Unit 2 reactor is the site of the partial meltdown that occurred in 1979, widely regarded as the most serious accident at a U.S. commercial nuclear power plant.
In a notice to the Federal Register submitted on Aug. 22, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said TMI-2 Solutions has applied to change its license to say it's decommissioning the plant using the DECON method, which involves the disposal of radioactive materials at a commercial site or decontaminating materials on-site.
The move is subject to approval by the NRC. The public is invited to comment on it.
The public can comment at regulations.gov until Sept. 21. Those who are interested in commenting can find full details by searching on the website for Document ID NRC-2022-0156-0001.
Written comments can be mailed to:
Office of Administration
Mail Stop: TWFN–7– A60M
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, D.C. 20555-0001
ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff
According to the NRC, a preliminary review finds there is no increased risk of accidents at the site by moving on to the next phase of clean up.
Three Mile Island's Unit 2 reactor has been shut down since the 1979 incident. TMI-2 Solutions bought the reactor in 2020, believing it could make money by cleaning up the plant on a lower budget than what is a fund dedicated to clean-up efforts.
That fund contained $902 million as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to TMI-2 Solutions. The total cost of decommissioning is estimated at over $1 billion.
TMI-2 Solutions said it plans to finish decommissioning the reactor in 2037. There is a possibility the company could maintain control over an area set aside for waste storage.
Three Mile Island's Unit 1 reactor is still owned by Exelon, which shuttered the plant on Sept. 20, 2019 due to its inability to compete with cheaper clean energy sources, like natural gas.