Westinghouse Electric Co. has announced that it has dismantled the first of two reactor vessels at a power plant in Slovakia, and is also involved in decommissioning projects worldwide.
According to a release, Westinghouse and Vuje are contracted by Jadrova a vyradovacia spolocnost (JAVYS) to dismantle the two reactors, reactor coolant loops and components, and also decontaminate structures and systems. The project includes managing 9,500 tons of waste. It is being financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The Bohunice V1 Nuclear Power Plant is located near the village of Jaslovske Bohunice in the Trnava District in western Slovakia. The plant includes two V-230 type VVER 440 units. The first reactor was shut down on Dec. 31, 2006, and the second one stopped operation on Dec. 31, 2008. The annular water tanks for bio-shield protection for the reactor pressure vessels have also been dismantled.
“As the leader in specialized nuclear decommissioning, and with the largest number of successfully executed reactor decommissioning scopes over the last decade, we’re pleased to deliver the value of certainty to our customer in this technically demanding project at Bohunice,” Sam Shakir, president of Westinghouse Environmental Services, said.
Westinghouse is dismantling 15 other reactors in five countries, while also setting up decommissioning, decontamination and waste management projects around the world.
According to the Westinghouse website, the company has been working with electricity since it was founded 130 years ago by George Westinghouse. The company is responsible for the first commercial pressurized water reactor in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, in 1957, and now there are 430 nuclear reactors using technology provided by Westinghouse. The release also said that Westinghouse technology is used in half of the world's nuclear plants.