1. What is Decommissioning?
Decommissioning is the term used to describe the process of safely taking apart (or deconstructing) the Reactor Facility and reducing residual remaining radioactivity to a level that permits termination of the operator license by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and potential use of that property for any purpose.
2. Is NASA Plum Brook Station being decommissioned?
No. Only the closed Reactor Facility is being decommissioned. Plum Brook Station (PBS) remains an important part of NASA Glenn Research Center , headquartered in Cleveland . There are five active test facilities at PBS: the Space Power Facility, Spacecraft Propulsion Research Facility, Hypersonic Tunnel Facility, and the Cryogenic Test Complex.
3. Who is doing the work?
NASA has full responsibility for all aspects of decommissioning and ensuring it is done in a safe manner that protects human health and the environment. NASA utilizes contractors and subcontractors with specific expertise to accomplish certain tasks as needed. The NRC has oversight responsibility for the project.
4. What is being done during decommissioning?
During decommissioning, the following actions have taken, or are taking, place:
(a) All loose equipment and nearly all fixed equipment in the Plum Brook Reactor Facility (PBRF) has been removed for off-site disposal at a licensed facility.
(b) Buildings in the Reactor Facility are being completely decontaminated – including all concrete and piping – such that they meet the cleanup criteria of reuse for any purpose. Some others are being demolished and the material removed, packaged and disposed of as low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) at a licensed disposal facility – or surveyed as radiologically clean and then “free released” (made available for recycling).
(c) NASA is conducting a complete survey – referred to as a Final Status Survey (FSS) – of the area and all remaining structures. The FSS is a comprehensive field sampling and surveying process providing evidence that NASA has met the cleanup level that the NRC says will protect human health and the environment. This is the level which must be achieved before the NRC will terminate NASA's Radioactive Materials License. The NRC is also conducting an independent survey to verify that NASA has met its cleanup goal (See Question #7).
(d) Once NASA's Reactor Facility license is terminated by the NRC, the remaining buildings and all structures within the 27-acre area of the facility will be demolished to three feet below grade. The below-grade areas will be filled in, and the site returned to a natural state. NASA received permission from the NRC to demolish some buildings and structures before license termination. Five structures were demolished in 2009 and five more were demolished this year.
5. What other work is being conducted?
Decontamination work has been completed in all PBRF buildings and structures, except for some areas of the Reactor Building where work continues. Throughout the Reactor Facility, workers used a variety of equipment to remove lightly contaminated concrete, then surveyed the underlying concrete to make sure it met project cleanup levels known as Derived Concentration Guidelines (DCGLs). Since 2001, NASA has been able to able to “free-release” (make available for recycling) more than 400,000 pounds of concrete and 2.5 million pounds of metal, thus saving on disposal costs. Millions of pounds of clean concrete and soil from the demolition of buildings and soil excavation are also being used as clean fill on site. Clauss Construction, of Lakeville, CA. has been working since October 2008 on the Decontamination and Waste Disposal (a.k.a. the Follow-on) Contract. Under this contract, work is being conducted on all remaining major project tasks. These include completing decontamination work, packaging and shipping LLRW, cleaning up Pentolite Ditch (now complete) and conducting all remaining FSS field work on buildings, structures and soil. NASA plans to complete all work on the Reactor Facility site by 2011 and to have its license terminated by 2011.
Between July 2009 and July 2010 , NASA excavated and assayed (surveyed for radiation contact) more than 175 million pounds of soil, much of it from Pentolite Ditch. More than 95% of this soil was found to be clean enough to remain on site to be used as clean fill – better than the 90% that NASA had initially anticipated. The remaining soil is currently being sent to processing and disposal facilities in Tennessee and Utah.
6. What is being done with the radioactive waste from the cleanup?
All the radioactive waste at Plum Brook Station (PBS) is low-level, and nearly all is dry and solid. Since decommissioning began in 2002, NASA has sent more than 10 million pounds of packaged LLRW and mixed waste to licensed disposal facilities in Utah and South Carolina. Most of these shipments involved lightly contaminated loose and fixed equipment, sent to the Energy Solutions facility in Utah. During decommissioning NASA also excavated and shipped more than 15 million pounds of lightly contaminated soil to Energy Solutions and to the IMPACT Services processing facility in Tennessee. NASA provides advance notification to local emergency responders before LLRW shipments.
7. What is NASA's cleanup goal for the Decommissioning Project?
By the time NASA expects to have its Reactor license terminated by the NRC (by 2011), NASA will meet the NRC's cleanup level of 25 millirem for unrestricted use. Unrestricted use - also known as the Resident Farmer Scenario, means that someone could safely live on the site, eat all crops grown on the site and drink groundwater from the site. The land will remain under NASA control. Plum Brook Station has a number of active test facilities, which require NASA to maintain a large buffer area. NASA's plan is to keep control of the land after decommissioning has been completed and maintain it as part of the needed buffer zone.
8. How much of the project is complete?
More than 99% of the radioactive inventory that existed at the start of decommissioning has been removed. Overall, decommissioning is about 90% complete.
9. What is the cost of Decommissioning? Is it on budget? On schedule?
NASA's original plan was to complete decommissioning by December of 2007, at an estimated cost of $160 million. Decommissioning began in March 2002 and, to date NASA has removed over 99% of the radioactive inventory that existed at the start of the project. Because of the need for safety-related changes to support the segmentation and removal of the reactor tank – and to reconsider the approach to decontaminating several miles of embedded piping – NASA changed the schedule in 2005, to complete the project by the end of 201l. The changes NASA made in schedule and budget have resulted in a much safer project, enabling NASA to meet its goal of protecting the safety of its workers, the public and the environment. To date, NASA has expended about $185 million and estimates that the final project cost will be about $220 million.
10. What is radiation?
Radiation is the excess energy an atom emits to achieve stability. There are three types of radiation (or ionizing radiation) emitted by radioactive elements, referred to as isotopes: alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. All three types are typically found in small amounts in radioactive waste. Gamma radiation has a lot of energy, enabling it to travel long distances through most materials except concrete or lead. Beta radiation contains less energy. It only travels up to 12 to 15 feet and can be shielded by an inch of glass, wood, plastic or metal. Finally, alpha radiation travels only a few inches and a sheet of paper or skin will block it.
Radiation occurs naturally in the environment; this is referred to as background radiation. Upon completion of decommissioning, radiation levels at the Reactor Facility site will have been reduced to background levels. Background radiation refers to the levels that occur naturally from sources such as the sun (cosmic rays), radon from the ground, and elements in soil, water and food. The only radiation remaining on site is at extremely low levels. To date, more than 99% of the radioactive inventory that existed at the Reactor Facility before decommissioning began has been safely removed and disposed. Safety of the public, the workers and the environment continues to be NASA's number one priority for the Decommissioning Project. NASA has a comprehensive monitoring program to ensure that air, surface water, sediment and groundwater are safe.
11. I worked at the Plum Brook Reactor Facility. Was I exposed to radiation?
Each person who worked at the Reactor Facility – whether as a NASA employee or contractor – was monitored as part of an overall radiological worker health and safety plan. These monitoring records are kept on file by NASA. These include personnel, who worked at the facility in the 1960 and 1970, as well as current and former
Decommissioning Project staff, employees and contractors. In addition, every decommissioning employee who worked in areas where radiation was known to be present has undergone what is termed an annual “whole body count” to assess their exposure and ensure they remain within the limits established. To date, all personnel have been well below the legal limits for safe worker exposure. In fact, decommissioning workers have received less than one third of the safe radiation level anticipated during the project. Only people who worked at the Reactor Facility may request and receive their records, in order to protect their privacy. If you have any questions about your records, please contact Keith Peecook, Decommissioning Program Manager, at (419) 621-3277 or Keith.M.Peecook@nasa.gov.
12. There were reports about Plum Brook being contaminated. Is this true?
There is no contamination in the surface water of Plum Book. As part of ongoing Decommissioning work, NASA has conducted characterization of on-site and off-site locations to check for any possible radiation. In August 2005, NASA detected trace amounts of radioactive material (cesium and cobalt) in some areas of Pentolite Ditch and Plum Brook, the stream into which permitted discharges of water flowed from the reactor during operations. Between August 2005 and January 2008, NASA took more than 3,100 samples from an area extending along Plum Brook to East Sandusky Bay , including the mouth of Plum Brook, ponds near Plum Brook and a floodplain wetland . While there were a few levels found above background, none of the samples represented any health concern to residents, workers or children in the area.
In 2008, NASA closely examined land uses along Plum Brook. This was done to see how people could come into contact with cesium. NASA developed a series of what are termed “exposure scenarios.” Each looked at possible exposure pathways, such as direct exposure, inhalation, sediment ingestion and vegetable consumption (from a nearby garden specific to the off-site area). On the Fact Sheets page of this Website are three fact sheets detailing the progress and results of the testing and analysis of off-site sediment. They were published in January 2006, April 2006 and most recently, in October 2008.
Click here to access the Fact Sheets
Throughout decommissioning, NASA has taken a prudent approach to keep any exposure to radiation as low as is reasonably achievable, a standard known as ALARA. This standard may result in NASA conducting some spot cleanup (likely requiring only shovels and buckets) in a few easily accessible off-site areas. The NRC has approved NASA's cleanup approach, which will ensure that both on and off site of the NASA Plum Brook Station Reactor Facility there will be no additional dose of 25 millirem above background at the end of the decommissioning.
13. Is this radiation the result of the Decommissioning Project?
No. During decommissioning there has never been any release of radiation, or any air, water, sediment or groundwater samples that registered above background radiation levels. NASA implemented a number of engineering controls and other safety precautions to prevent any release of radiation to the air, water or groundwater during decommissioning. We have over 10 years of ongoing monitoring data that shows there have been no changes to the environment as a result of decommissioning.
14. Have there been any accidents during Decommissioning?
As in any major construction job, avoiding accidents and worker safety is always key. To date, we have had only two lost time accidents since decommissioning started – more than 1.7 million project work hours – and these were not radiation-related incidents. [The injuries were a minor back strain and ankle sprain] In fact, NASA has kept levels of radiation exposure to workers at less than one-third of the anticipated level of “dose” for the project.
15. What safety precautions are in place to protect workers, the public and the environment in the event of severe weather?
NASA has a number of procedures in place to ensure the safety of the public, workers and the environment. The Decommissioning Project has an emergency generator system to provide power when needed. Finally, Plum Brook Station Security maintains a communications center, which receives and passes on severe weather alerts and storm coverage, and the Decommissioning Project also has weather radio access.
16. How many employees are currently working on the Decommissioning Project? How many are residents of Erie County?
There are about 55 employees currently working for contractors on the Decommissioning Project. Employee levels have varied according to the work done on the project. About one-fourth to one-third of decommissioning workers have been Erie County residents.
17. Has NASA utilized local businesses and contractors?
Since decommissioning began in 2002, NASA has utilized a number of local businesses including Affiliated Environmental Services; Associated Suppliers; Feick Contractors, Inc; Firelands Corporate Health Center; Flex Tech; Foster Chevrolet; Fresch Electric; Hammer-Huber Shoes and Clothes; John Hancock & Associates; Lowes; O.E. Meyer Co.; Quality Farm and Fleet; Sears Roebuck; and Universal Equipment and Supply. In addition, other Ohio businesses have been utilized, including All Erection & Crane (Cleveland); Crane Pro Services ( Toledo ); Dust Free Enviro ( Findlay ) and Inland Water of Ohio (Cleveland) among many others. NASA also extensively utilized the services of Haag Environmental (of Sandusky ) during off-site sampling operations and expects to utilize other local businesses as the project moves toward completion.
18. Does the community have a say in the project?
Yes. NASA has been working closely with the community and will continue to do so throughout the life of the Decommissioning Project. An important part of informing and involving the community is the Community Workgroup, formed in 1999. The Workgroup serves as a vehicle for two-way communication between NASA and the larger community throughout. Workgroup members are men and women who live and work in Erie and Huron Counties and are active in a variety of community activities and professions, including educators, environmental community members and area public health and safety officials. Workgroup meetings are open to the public. NASA provides updated information on decommissioning and responds to community questions and concerns at each meeting. To date, 38 Workgroup meetings have been held at a dozen locations in Erie County . Each is advertised in area newspapers and via Public Service Announcements on local radio stations.
Click here to access the Community Workgroup Meeting
NASA also held an annual Community Information Session (CIS) each October from 1999 through 2009. The final CIS was held at Sandusky High School on October 21, 2009 providing information on both decommissioning and other NASA Plum Brook Station activities. Project displays from the most recent CIS are currently on exhibit at the Kalahari Water Park , located on U.S. 250 near NASA Plum Brook Station. In addition, NASA established a Community Information Bank ( CIB ) at the BGSU Firelands Library. Visitors can review the Decommissioning and Community Relations Plans, project newsletters and fact sheets, Public Service Announcements, articles on decommissioning, minutes of Community Workgroup meetings and other materials. The CIB includes sheets on which visitors can make comments.
19. What will happen to NASA Plum Brook Station?
Plum Brook Station (PBS) remains an active NASA testing facility. Each of the five Plum Brook test facilities is available to all of the NASA centers and also to customers in government and the private sector, both domestic and international. NASA is also studying the possibility of siting a Wind Farm at PBS and is currently in the midst of conducting several environmental and feasibility studies. NASA has identified 2,000 acres for producing renewable energy and – pending the results of the studies – plans to offer a land lease to an outside wind farm developer, who would own, operate and maintain the Wind Farm - in return for NASA's use of the generated electricity. Any excess power could be offered to consumers through local utilities' electrical grid. The studies will continue through 2011. If the plans are approved, the Wind Farm could be generating power by 2013.
20. Isn't there another “cleanup” project taking place at Plum Brook Station?
Yes, but this project is not related to the Decommissioning Project. During World War II, the land on which Plum Brook Station is situated was home to an Ordnance Facility that produced TNT for the war effort. Another division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is conducting a cleanup of non-radiological contamination on the site, under the Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) Program. This includes any non-radiological contamination that might exist in the reactor area, such as the Pentolite production lines and the Pentolite waste lagoon. The Ordnance Works cleanup occasionally involves the shipment of soils and other material to local landfills. While this cleanup project is not related to NASA or the Decommissioning Project, USACE keeps NASA informed of the cleanup and has instituted a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB). Some members of the RAB have also been members of the Decommissioning Community Workgroup. Information on the Plum Brook Ordnance Works (PBOW) project may be obtained by calling this toll-free number: 1-800-822-8413 (ask for Lisa Humphreys).
21. What if I have other questions?
Call NASA's 24-hour, toll-free Decommissioning Information Line at 1-800-260-3838 and leave us a message by pressing Option 4 on the menu. We check the line daily. You may also call Sally Harrington, Public Affairs Specialist at the NASA Glenn Research Center , at (216) 433-2037 or E-mail her at Sally.V.Harrington@nasa.gov . In addition, people are invited to visit the Mailbox on this Website to leave messages and to take part in our brief interactive survey.
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