Maine Yankee Decommissioning Overview

Maine Yankee was a single-unit 900 megawatt Pressurized Water Reactor that safely generated about 119 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from 1972 through 1996.  Located in Wiscasset, Maine the plant was Maine’s largest generator of electricity.  Maine Yankee permanently shut-down in August 1997 when it was no longer economically viable to operate.

Maine Yankee was one of the first large commercial power reactors to complete decommissioning.  Maine Yankee completed the decommissioning safely and within budget.  The site was cleaned radiologically to a level significantly more stringent than required by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations.  A hallmark of Maine Yankee’s decommissioning was stakeholders working together toward a site restoration second to none.  The Maine Yankee project broke new ground in many areas while garnering international recognition for innovation and excellence.

Key Accomplishments of Decommissioning

Among the accomplishments of  Maine Yankee’s decommissioning:  

·        Zero lost time injuries in over three years;

·        Completing decommissioning for less than half the NRC’s radiological dose limit;

·        Radiological cleanup of the site to a level significantly lower than the 10 millirem target;

·        First ever use of explosives to safely demolish a containment building;

·        Approximately 400 million pounds of waste safely removed from the site by rail, truck and barge;

·        Largest single campaign to move spent nuclear fuel from wet to dry storage;

·        Creation of an upland marsh area;

·        Donation of 200 acres of plant property for conservation and environmental education;

·        Transfer of 400 acres of plant property now undergoing economic development.

 To learn more about Maine Yankee’s decommissioning including stakeholder involvement click on Document Room to view the Electric Power Research Institute report (EPRI) on decommissioning and the report of the Maine Yankee Community Advisory Panel on Decommissioning (CAP).