EnergySolutions Completes First Large Commercial Reactor Segmentation in the United States

SALT LAKE CITY, UT--(Marketwired - Jul 10, 2015) - EnergySolutions announced today the successful completion of the first large commercial reactor vessel segmentation in the United States.

ZionSolutions, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of EnergySolutions, completed the segmentation of the Unit 2 Reactor Vessel in late June. The cutting process started on May 26, 2015, with the first of 17 segments of the Reactor Vessel cut with an oxy-propone torch connected to a robotic fixture external to the vessel. The final cut was completed on June 26, 2015.

"A first-of-its-kind application for the U.S. nuclear industry requiring specialized rigging and lifting equipment were utilized safely without incident," said John Sauger, Executive Vice President for ZionSolutions. "Extensive design, analysis, mockup testing and planning resulted in a fast cutting sequence with no release of radiation to the environment," added Sauger.

"We are very pleased to have completed three major milestones of the Zion Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Project in 2015, including the spent fuel transfer, B&C waste removal and vessel segmentation," said David Lockwood, CEO and President of EnergySolutions. "These major milestones are a complement to our world-class workforce." 

"This is a significant milestone in the decommissioning of Zion Station," said Carol Peterson, Exelon's Senior Vice President of Strategy and Planning and lead liaison for the Zion decommissioning project. "The innovative process is another example of how EnergySolutions continually looks for ways to apply technology to improve safety and efficiency and to protect the environment."

Differing from other reactor disposal projects completed in the past, the Zion vessel is shipped in traditional railcars that require no additional actions such as heavy load analysis and custom railcar availability and scheduling.