projects Category: NUCLEAR DECOMMISSIONING

The Zion Nuclear Power Plant, located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Zion, Illinois, serving the city of Chicago for many years, operated from 1973 to 1997 and was permanently shut down in 1998 by the plant’s operator. Manafort Brothers, Inc. completed this successful decommissioning in 2020 working for Energy Solutions as part of one of the largest commercial nuclear plant dismantling completed in the United States.

Manafort’s scope included demolition of all structures, removal of hazardous materials, asbestos abatement, radioactive commodities removal, utility relocations, disconnections and removals, soil remediation, backfill and site grading.

The list of the major decommissioned structures included: Containment Buildings Unit 1 & Unit 2 pre-open air demolition and removals | Containment Buildings Unit 1 & 2 structural demolition |  Spent Fuel Building pre-open air demolition and removals | Spent Fuel Building Demolition | Auxiliary Building pre-open air demolition and removals | Auxiliary Building Demolition | Forebay Demolition | Waste Water Treatment Building Demolition | Waste operations for the entire site | Various Maintenance, Office, Equipment, Warehouse and Yard Structures Demolition | Removal of all underground utilities | Removal of rail spurs.

Manafort drew upon its extensive demolition and construction experience as well as its own previously developed methodologies to decontaminate and demolish these structures safely and successfully. Manafort performed all the work with its specialty equipment fleet within the decommissioning scope through diligent planning and execution in close coordination with Energy Solutions. Manafort safely and successfully performed all work on time within the three-year schedule and on budget through meticulous planning and execution in close coordination with Energy Solutions.

 

The Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Wiscasset, Maine, was the first Nuclear Power Generating Facility in the United States to be decommissioned and demolished. Manafort completed this successful decommissioning and demolition in 2006, working directly for the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company. The Plant was a 920 MW Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) with attendant equipment and facilities. The Plant was commissioned in the mid-1970’s and operated until it shut down in the mid-1990’s due to the discovery of cracks in the plant’s steam generator tubes. Manafort’s scope of work included decommissioning, commodity removal, and demolition of the following structures:

Circulation Water House • Turbine Pedestal • Turbine Building • Containment Structure
Containment Structure Polar Crane • Steam & Valve House • Spray Building
Service Building • Control Room • Transformer • Demineralized Water Storage Tank
Reactor Water Storage Tank • Generator • Met Tower  • Information Center • Various Warehouses

Being the first removal of it’s kind, Manafort was challenged to creatively develop safe and successful methodologies to decommission and demolish these structures. Manafort drew upon its extensive demolition and construction experience along with a team of industry experts to do so. Examples of our creative solutions to the project challenges included:

• The use of explosives to percussively weaken the heavily reinforce concrete Turbine Pedestal to allow demolition with the use of large Excavators and Hydraulic Hammers.
• The use of explosives to implode the Turbine Building to allow safer demolition at grade.
• The use of large cranes and pick plans to dismantle transmission towers.
• The use of explosives to safely lower the Containment Structure Polar Crane to allow safer demolition at grade.
• The highly creative use of selective structure weakening and explosives to demolish the Containment Structure.

 

Manafort safely and successfully self performed all work on time and within budget through meticulous planning and execution in close coordination with the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company.

The Connecticut Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Haddam Neck, Connecticut, was one of the first Nuclear Power Generating Facilities in the United States to be decommissioned and demolished. Manafort completed this successful decommissioning in 2007, working directly for the Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company. The Plant was a 619 MW Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) with attendant equipment and facilities.

The Plant was commissioned in 1968 and operated until it shut down in 1996 for economic reasons. Manafort’s scope of work included commodity removal, contaminated groundwater management, approximately 30,000 CY of contaminated soil removal and packaging, and the decontamination and demolition of the following structures to License Termination:

Diesel Generator Building Administration Building • Turbine Pedestal & Building Control Building for Septic • Power & Telephone Duct Banks Boiler Building • Waste Disposal Building Primary Auxiliary Building • Chemical Storage Warehouse Demineralized Water Storage Tank • Reactor Water Storage Tank Station Transformer • Intake Structure Discharge Structure • Reactor Containment Building Containment Building Polar Crane • Spent Fuel Building Information Center Building Private Branch Exchange (PBX) Room Septic System • Auxiliary Boiler Stack Structure 345 KV Towers Switchgear Building Service Building • Circulating & Service Water Piping Landfill Cleanup • Various Warehouses, Office & Yard Buildings.

Being one of the first decommissionings of it’s kind, Manafort was challenged to creatively develop safe and successful methodologies to decontaminate and demolish these structures. Manafort drew upon its extensive demolition and construction experience along with a team of industry experts to do so. Manafort safely and successfully self performed all work within the three year allotted schedule and within budget through meticulous planning and execution in close coordination with the Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company.