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Pulling plug on nation's oldest nuclear reactor
August 28, 1997
Web posted at: 11:16 p.m. EDT (0316 GMT)In this story:
From Correspondent Ed Garsten
CHARLEVOIX, Michigan (CNN) -- For 35 years, the nation's oldest, smallest and longest-running nuclear reactor has churned out electricity for the citizens of this northern Michigan community.
But the management of Consumers Energy says it costs too much to run, and on Friday it will pull the plug on the plant, three years before its license expires.
The 600-acre property on Big Rock Point where the plant sits overlooking Lake Michigan will be turned into a nature preserve.
"It is going to be one of the success stories we will be proud of," says Charles McGinnis of Consumers Energy.
But some of the folks who live in the nearby upscale resort town of Charlevoix are wary of such promises.
"We have hardly anything more valuable than the greatest collection of fresh water right here in the Great Lakes," says one resident, "and I don't want anything to happen."
"They could destroy everything in the area if they don't clean it up properly," another said.
Fuel rods must cool off for years
The utility says it will do the job right, but it does face some difficulties.
One is how to dispose of the spent fuel rods which have been sitting in water for years. It also has on hand a number of partially used fuel rods.
"The new fuel that is now here in storage would go back to the vendor and be used in other nuclear plants," McGinnis said. "The spent fuel at the plant will stay here at the plant for several years while it cools off."
One environmental expert contends there should be no environmental danger or radiation risk after the plant sites are cleaned up. But dealing with the discarded fuel rods is still a concern.
"Quantity-wise it's small and the area you need is small," says Krishnaswamy Rengan of Eastern Michigan University, "but it has to be monitored for a long, long time. So it will be an isolated area for 100 years or more.
Another issue is that there is no permanent disposal site for nuclear waste, a problem that promises to grow in the years to come.
Nuclear power in decline
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the licenses for 90 of the nation's 109 nuclear power plants will expire by the year 2025 and so far none of the operators has filed for renewal.
In fact, over the next 33 years the rate of nuclear plant closings will accelerate. Barring the unexpected, 20 plants will shut down between 2025 and 2035.
The extra costs involved in nuclear power point to its demise in the United States, the U.S. Department of Energy says.
"Under current circumstances," says Jay Hakes of the DOE, "the availability of cheaper sources of power makes it very difficult for nuclear power in this country."
Which means that in the years to come, nuclear power may ultimately lose out to the very energy sources it was designed to replace.
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