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Nation's oldest nuke plant powers down



This should be of interest:

CHARLEVOIX, Mich., Aug. 29 (UPI) _ A utility official says workers 
are enjoying a ``festive atmosphere'' at the nation's oldest 
commercial nuclear power plant. 

The Big Rock plant on the northern Michigan shore of Lake Michigan is
shutting down today after 35 years in service, although the
decommissioning process will take five years to complete. 

The plant is owned by Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest utility.
The utility says economics forced it to close Big Rock three years
before its federal license expires. 

Consumers Energy spokesman Charles MacInnis says Big Rock workers are
festive because of their success, ``outstanding record'' and the
weeks- long buildup to depowering, which should be complete by
mid-morning. 

While it was state-of-the-art when it opened in 1962, the 67-megawatt
plant is now the nation's smallest commercial nuclear power facility.
It generated enough power for about 40,000 people. 

Decommissioning will increase employment from the current 220 to about
300. But after five years almost all jobs will be gone. 

Low-level radioactive waste from the plant is being shipped to a
facility in South Carolina. The high-level waste _ spent fuel rods
will be stored on site inside concrete casks until the federal
government opens a national disposal facility. 

------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
mailto:sandyfl@ix.netcom.com
mailto:sperle@icnpharm.com

ICN Dosimetry Website:
http://www.dosimetry.com

Personal Homepage:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1205 
http://www.netcom.com/~sandyfl/home.html

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -