Risks, rewards accompany speedier cleanup of closed nukes

This April 29, 2019 photo shows the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) area at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in Vernon, Vt. In January, privately held NorthStar Group Services completed the purchase of Vermont Yankee from New Orleans-based Entergy after federal and state regulators approved the sale of the reactor, closed since 2014. It marked the first permanent transfer of an operating license to a nuclear cleanup specialist for accelerated decommissioning. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Federal regulators are reviewing plans to sell retiring nuclear reactors to a nuclear waste management company for accelerated decommissioning.

Holtec International says it could finish cleanup and demolition of the plants in eight years, rather than 60-year plans offered by their current owners.

Entergy Corp.’s Pilgrim nuclear plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts, is scheduled to close next week. The other facilities in Michigan, New Jersey and New York have either closed or are expected to in the next few years.

State officials, environmental groups and nuclear watchdogs say they support faster decommissioning but have raised concerns whether Holtec has the financial resources and experience to pull off the jobs.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must approve the proposed sales. Those decisions are expected in the coming weeks and months.

Bob Salsberg, The Associated Press