That may be academic, though, because the elderly reactor was due for decommissioning anyway.Four workers were injured in the explosion and another person is reported dead.
On a recent tour of the stadium, now known as the Reliant Astrodome, save for the distant sounds of construction workers decommissioning elevators and the echoing footsteps of the tour guide, Mr. Miller, the building was a cavern of quiet.
Almost 7,000 workers are involved in decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi, which suffered a triple meltdown after it was struck by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
In Italy, burly, swarthy bergamaschi builders romp fearlessly across the snow as they work on the Torino Hut, whereas over the hill, French workers are diligently, carefully decommissioning the asbestos-infested old Refuge du Gouter.
One of the first steps in developing a safety assessment for decommissioning activities is the identification of hazards that can affect workers, members of the public and the environment during decommissioning activities, and then to identify engineered and administrative control measures to prevent, eliminate or mitigate the hazards and their consequences.
The cost plan for decommissioning and the method for assessing the amount of exposure to protect workers must be stated in the decommissioning plan.
Even now, at the start of a decommissioning operation that is expected to last 40 years, the plant faces a shortage of workers qualified to manage the dangerous work that lies ahead.
While workers at the plant struggle to contain thousands of tonnes of radioactive water and begin a decommissioning operation expected to last decades, the government earlier this month lifted evacuation orders in three locations just outside the 12-mile no-go zone.
Decommissioning Kewaunee will require equipment that is available now, and also human skills, including the intimate knowledge gained by workers who have been at the site for years.
Maine Yankee is a single-unit plant, about two-thirds the size of Indian Point 2 or 3 in New York, which suggests the cost of decommissioning a plant the size of Indian Point could well exceed $1 billion, Another factor in deciding how thoroughly to clean up the site is radiation exposure to workers performing the decommissioning.
