NRC Staff to Meet with Public to Discuss Future Dresden Unit 1 Decommissioning Activities

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	NRC NEWS U. S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, REGION III 801 Warrenville Road, Lisle IL 60532
	CONTACT:	Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663/e-mail: rjs2@nrc.gov
		Angela Greenman (630) 829-9662/e-mail: opa3@nrc.gov

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NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT: RIII-98-42

July 7, 1998

NRC STAFF TO MEET WITH PUBLIC TO DISCUSS FUTURE DRESDEN UNIT 1 DECOMMISSIONING ACTIVITIES

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will hold a public meeting on July 23 to discuss the plans for future decommissioning of Unit 1 of the Dresden Nuclear Power Station. The three-unit station is located near Morris, Illinois.

Before it was permanently shut down in 1978, the Unit 1 reactor had operated for 18 years. It is in long-term safe storage with the reactor fuel stored in fuel storage pools at the plant site. Commonwealth Edison Co., owner of the plant, currently plans to dismantle the unit when operating Units 2 and 3 are ready for decommissioning, scheduled for 2011.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the Grundy County Administration Center, 1320 Union Street, Morris, Illinois.

The program will include presentations by the NRC on the regulatory decommissioning process and by Commonwealth Edison on the status of decommissioning activities. A question and answer period will follow.

Commonwealth Edison is conducting limited decontamination and dismantlement of equipment and systems that are no longer required to maintain the unit while it is in the safe storage condition. Non-radiological work conducted at Unit 1 included the removal of asbestos from the facility.

Under NRC decommissioning regulations, utilities are permitted to immediately dismantle the plant or to place it in safe storage for a period of time before full dismantlement of the facility, provided certain regulations are met.

Two years before it is ready to terminate Unit 1's license, Commonwealth Edison is required to submit a final plan to the NRC. This plan, among other things, must describe any remaining radioactivity on the site, the final radiation survey details and the site's planned end-use. NRC will hold a public meeting near the plant to discuss the utility's plans and receive public comments. There will also be an opportunity for a public hearing regarding the utility's license termination plans.

NRC, which has been conducting inspections at Unit 1, will continue to do so during the decommissioning process. The agency will also independently evaluate the radiological condition of the plant site before the license is terminated.

In 1993, NRC approved the utility's decommissioning plan for Dresden Unit 1. Last month, Commonwealth Edison submitted an updated Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report. This report, which provides the unit's radiological condition and schedule of planned activities, is available for public inspection at the Morris Area Public Library District, 605 Liberty Street, in Morris, Illinois.