The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant closed the resident inspector’s office this month after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) decided that activities at the non-operating plant no longer require constant inspection.
Since the plant entered the decommissioning stage Dec. 29, 2014, the normal activities and duties conducted by a resident inspector, a position to which the NRC has assigned two people at the plant since 1978, are no longer considered to be necessary on a daily basis, said Neil Sheehan, public affairs officer at the NRC.
There are still activities, such as maintenance, occurring at the plant on a daily basis, Sheehan said. However, there is no longer a risk of a reactor accident at this stage, he said.
When a plant is in full operational mode, it would need an inspector on hand in case of a reactor accident, Sheehan said. He said that the main concern at the plant now is the spent fuel, which is stored at the bottom of a 40-foot pool on metal racks.
The plant has the resources to fix a rupture or other event in the pool in a “timely manner,” Sheehan said. Such an accident would also be a very slow, unfolding event as opposed to a reactor accident, which would require immediate attention, he said.
“It’s not going to affect the plant,” said Marty Cohn, communications specialist for plant owner Entergy. “As far as we’re concerned, it’s a normal part of the process of decommissioning. It’s not unique.”
If there is a major event at the plant in the future, the NRC will send an inspector to oversee it, Sheehan said. Employees at the plant are now moving spent fuel into Safe Storage (SAFSTOR), according to a July 23 blog post by Sheehan. The fuel is essentially mothballed until the facility is dismantled.
