Zion Nuclear Power Station Units 1 and 2 are located in Zion, Illinois approximately 40 miles north of Chicago, Illinois. The two units were shutdown in January 1998, but decommissioning did not begin until September 2010 and is expected to take about 10 years to complete. Decommissioning began after the license for the plant was transferred to Zion Solutions, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Solutions, Inc. Zion Solutions is responsible for management of the shutdown plant, dismantling and decommissioning the plant, moving its radioactive material to the Energy Solution’s disposal facility located near Salt Lake City, Utah, and constructing and loading the ISFSI at Zion. Title to the plant site, the SNF at the site, and any Greater-Than-Class-C (GTCC) waste generated during decommissioning is held by and will remain with Exelon Corp.
There are 2,226 SNF assemblies (1,019 metric tons) from both units at Zion — all of which are currently stored in the wet fuel pool. However, Exelon is currently seeking a general license ISFSI that will be used in the future to store all the SNF. ISFSI construction activities are expected to begin in early 2012. Transfer of the SNF from the wet pool to the dry casks is expected to begin in March 2013 and be completed by 2014. Exelon will use the NAC International MAGNASTOR cask system — 61 casks each capable of holding 37 SNF assemblies. An additional 4 casks are planned for storage of GTCC waste.
Additional information regarding Zion can be found at the following websites:
http://www.exeloncorp.com/PowerPlants/zion/Pages/profile.aspx