So you think your nuclear reactor is safe? Well, here's how to remove and segment your nuclear reactor Internals and Vessel in 743 easy steps

1. Zion Nuclear Power Station Decommissioning Project
Removing & Segmenting the Reactor Vessel Internals and Segmenting the
Reactor Vessel.
(A condensed pictorial historical record)
(or “How to Remove your Nuclear Reactor Vessel in 743 Easy Steps” - A DIY Project)

2. Presentation Notes and Disclaimers
This presentation is NOT the work of any current Siempelkamp L.P., ZionSolutions or Energy Solutions employee and should in no way
be associated with the image or reputation of any of these corporations. This is the effort of a single former employer of Siempelkamp
who is proud of the work our teams accomplished and wanted to create a visual record of this work.
The removal and segmentation of the various components of the Reactor Vessel Internals (RVI) and the segmentation of the Reactor
Vessel (RVS) itself, was contracted out to Siempelkamp L.P. by ZionSolutions.
Siempelkamp L.P. is an engineering and specialized equipment manufacturer based in Germany.
This presentation provides a limited visual historical record of many of the activities of the Siempelkamp RV Segmentation Crew and
some of the ZionSolutions Decommissioning Crew at the Zion Nuclear Power Station during the decommissioning work that occurred
on-site from 2014 – 2015. A few of the images taken before 2014 are included to provide context for the RVI and RVS work.
Most of the images shown were taken by members of the Siempelkamp Segmentation Crew and do not represent the entire scope of
work that was performed during the removal and segmentation of the Reactor Vessel Internals (RVI) or the Reactor Vessel Segmentation
(RVS) phase of the decommissioning work. Other images were collected from Internet sources and may be copyrighted.
Please note that this presentation has been stripped down to fit into the 100MB limit (in this case, 37 pages) that Linked-In imposes for
uploaded Presentations, so there are gaps in the processes as my original Presentation filled 97 pages. The 97 page Presentation is
available for former Siempelkamp & Zion Solution crew members if they would like to contact me. After contact, you can mail a Flash
drive to me or I can burn a CD with the entire 288MB file for you.
Additional Notes for this File:
This presentation has been drastically reduced to meet a restrictive file size requirement for posting to a job. Board.
My full presentation is 97 PowerPoint pages and is too large when published as a .pdf to be emailed. This complete presentation is available on DVD by
contacting me as noted below.
A condensed, 37 page version of this presentation is available on my Linked-In profile page at:
http://www.slideshare.net/GaryKrautwurst/zion-station-rv-segmentation-presentation-37-pgs-linkedin-64428735
Videos of some of the Zion Decommissioning work can be viewed on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Jt8EMF5Lg&list=PL3ebJBgLtf2Ib9fZE9zvmEKMZ_UfREEPN
Contact Gary #2, Email Address: garyk8659@comcast.net

3. The Zion Nuclear Power Station’s first unit began operation in December of 1973 and both PWR units were retired from operation on
February 13, 1998. All nuclear fuel rods were removed from the reactor vessel and placed in the plant's on-site spent fuel pool by
March 9, 1998.
There were plans to keep the facility in long-term safe storage (SAFSTOR) until Unit 2's operating license expired on November 14,
2013. However, on August 23, 2010, it was announced that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) had approved the transfer of
Exelon's (ComEd's parent company) license to EnergySolutions of Salt Lake City. In 2011, ZionSolutions (a subsidiary of
EnergySolutions) began decommissioning operations. Therefore, the residual radiation levels in and around the reactor vessel were
allowed to decay for around 13 years which had a significant impact on reducing personnel radiation dosage rates during the
Reactor Vessel Internals (RVI) and RV Segmentation (RVS) work.
The original estimated date for decommissioning closure was December 31, 2026.
Archive Image of the Zion Nuclear Power Station
as viewed from a beach on Lake Michigan

4. Finally breaking through the inside layer of concrete and rebar.
Breaking through the concrete to another layer of rebar.
One of the earlier major tasks for ZionSolutions was to cut a large equipment removal opening
through the four foot thick Containment Building wall. The opening in Unit 1, with the sliding “Barn
Doors” that were installed to restrict the spread of airborne contamination, is visible in the image
above. (with the white doors partially opened) Also, you can see the several of the vertical green
enclosures around the containment building tendons have been partially removed to provide access
for the tendon removal. The tensioning had to be removed before an opening could safely be cut
through that area of the containment wall and this will eventually be done for the entire structure. Breaking through to the first layer of rebar in Unit 2.
Images of Zion Station During the Cutting of the Equipment Removal Opening in the Containment Buildings

5. After removing the Reactor Head, the reactor internals were removed
and placed in the reactor cavity. The reactor cavity had been flooded
with borated water to provide shielding for the segmentation of the
internals which was performed under water to reduce radiation
exposure to the workers performing the RVI segmentation.
The Reactor Vessel Internals were segmented into many smaller
pieces that were then placed into the appropriate type of radwaste
container for permanent disposal.
The Reactor Vessel Segmentation plan had been to cut the RV into 3
sections, the Nozzle Level, which would be done first, the Belt-Line
Level would be next and each of these levels would be further
segmented around their circumference into 8 smaller segments as
shown in some of the following images. The Hemispherical Bottom
Head (HBH) would then be the last piece to be further segmented into 3
smaller segments; at least, that was the original plan.
Upper and
Lower RV
Internals
The Zion Station Reactor Vessel Upper Internals
Nozzle
Level
Hemispherical
Bottom Head
(HBH)
Belt-Line
Level
RV Segmentation
Levels
Removal of the Reactor Head and the Beginning of the RVI Phase

6. The Volume Reduction Station (VRS) in the test pit facility at In-Place
Machining in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Volume Reduction Station (VRS) in the Mock-up area showing the 38i circular saw
used to down-size reactor internal components for shipping.
The Volume Reduction Station (VRS) is designed to segment the various components of the reactor vessel internals (Baffle Plates, Fuel Alignment Plate, Core
Shroud, Core Barrel, etc) into pieces small enough to fit into the appropriate category of Radwaste liner (3-60B, 24PT4, etc). The horizontal reciprocating saw,
used for making long cuts, is visible in the left image.
After the RVI components had been segmented and packed in the appropriate Radwaste containers, they were shipped out by truck and train for long term
burial at the Clive, Utah site and/or other sites. The spent fuel rods are stored at the Zion ISFSI in 61 containers along with 4 containers of Greater Than Class
C (GTCC) waste collected during the reactor internals segmentation process and other decommissioning processes.
The Zion Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI)
To date, I have been able to gather
only these few images of the
Reactor Vessel Internals (RVI)
segmentation activities from our
crew. If additional images are
provided to me in the future, I can
add them to this file.
This is the end of the RVI portion of
this presentation
A GTCC waste container with Baffle Plates and other GTCC
waste material cut to fit by the VRS.

7. The Plan is to sequentially cut all 8 “L” shaped cuts through the Reactor Vessel
Wall where the Pre-Cuts had been made through the thicker upper RV wall.
After attaching the Turnable Gripper to the desired reactor segment, the final
short horizontal cut is made between the two “L” cuts to free the segment.
During the cutting of all 8 “L” cuts & Final Cuts the Suction Duct is removing the
gases from the flame cutting and any airborne contamination to the HEPA filter.
The Turnable Gripper (TGR), which is attached to the Polar Crane, then lifts the
freed-up segment up through the opening in the Outer Shielding Plate (OSP)
and places the segment in a Shielded Box for disposal as radwaste.

8. Next, the concrete bridges that secured the top of the RV to the structure needed to be removed before the reactor coolant nozzle pipes could be cut.
A jig was designed and fabricated to hold the concrete bridge in place during the cutting with
the abrasive diamond wire saw until the concrete could be removed with a crane.
A concrete bridge can be seen at
the top of the above image.
Installing the wire saw to cut each
concrete bridge.
Wire saw marks from the concrete bridge removal. The concrete bridges were placed in a Super
Sack for disposal.

9. With the concrete bridges now removed, the borated concrete around the
outside of the RV was completely accessible to cut with the wire saw.
The Polar Crane was then rigged to each borated concrete section for removal
The borated concrete was cut on the centerline of each RV nozzle to
free up each section for removal.

10. Most of the circumference of each of the eight reactor coolant loop pipes is cut by the ABS from the bottom-up with the top “stitch” being cut with a hand-held
plasma cutter.
Installing the abrasive wire saw (ABS) to cut the bottom of the reactor coolant loop pipes
The next step in the process was to start cutting the reactor coolant loop pipes.

11. Here we have our team working at the peak of efficiency. The worker on
the bottom is welding a shield plate into the RV nozzle to reduce
radiation expose, while the worker in the middle is completing the loop
cut using a hand-held plasma cutter.
While in another area, the removal of the Seal Ledge continues. (you can
see the remaining seal ledge has not been removed above the worker
welding in the plugs.)
Once all the reactor coolant loop pipes were removed, clearance
checks were performed to assure the Flame Cutting System (FCS)
could travel unobstructed around the circumference of the RV with
adequate clearance from the nozzles.

12. The TSP Base Frame assembly was completed by installing the Vertical
Shielding Plates and Liners and then the assembled frame was flown
down with the Polar Crane and installed on top of the Reactor Vessel.
Next, the Outer Shielding Plate (OSP) was assembled on the Support
Platform. The OSP contains the Flame Cutting System mast assembly
that drives the flame cutter and the Ventilation Flaps that cover the
opening in the OSP from which the cut RV Segments will be removed.
The Outer Shielding Plate (OSP) assembly was then installed on top
of the TSP Base Frame on the Reactor Vessel and the electrical and
gas line connections were completed.
The Flame Cutting
System (FCS) mast
was installed vertically
on the OSP.
Installing the Turnable Shield Plate and the Flame Cutting System

13. “Git er’Dun”
OUTSTANDING
WORK!
Raising the LR up with the Chellino.
Swinging the LR up and in with the Chellino. Connecting the LR to the Polar Crane.
Doing the Coordinated Crane Dance with both cranes
Doing the Coordinated Crane Dance with both cranes
Bringing the Lifting Rod into Unit 1 with the Chellino & Polar Cranes

14. The
assembled
Strand Jacks
were moved
into position
with the Polar
Crane and the
Knuckle
Boom Crane.
Maneuvering the Strand Jacks into position on the SJS Bridge.
Precise communication between the Polar Crane and the Knuckle Boom
crane operators was crucial to safely installing the equipment.
All 4 jacks were installed. As the RV is lifted,
those strands sticking out of the top of the Jacks
were managed with a loosely tied rope to keep
the strands from splaying out.

15. The Flame Cutting System performing the test cuts as viewed from
a camera outside the RV.
The flame cutting slag plume being blown into the RV as viewed
from a camera inside the RV.
The Flame Cutting System performing the test cuts as viewed from flame cutting head camera.The Flame Cutting System performing the test
cuts as viewed from a camera outside the RV.

16. And here comes the first segment now.
It’s greeted by a standing room only crowd.
A view of the Flame Cutting Head through the Gripper opening
making the Final Cut to free a segment.

17. Meanwhile, the ventilation system has been purging the flame cutting
gases and any airborne contamination through the HEPA Filter. Then the OSP
rotates to a position over the next segment to be cut on the opposite side from
the first to attempt a balanced load. The TGR grabs the next segment and the
Final Cut is again made. Then the Vent Flaps on the OSP are opened and the
next segment is removed through the opening in the OSP. This process
continued for all 8 segments.
The view from inside the RV after the first RV segment
was removed by the Gripper.

18. The Polar Crane moving the HBH over to the “Beach” where it will be welded to the HBH Stand.

19. My full presentation is 97 PowerPoint pages and is too large when published as a .pdf to be emailed. This presentation is available on DVD by contacting me as
noted below.
A condensed, 37 page version of this presentation is available on my Linked-In profile page at:
http://www.slideshare.net/GaryKrautwurst/zion-station-rv-segmentation-presentation-37-pgs-linkedin-64428735
Videos of some of the Zion Decommissioning work can be viewed on YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Jt8EMF5Lg&list=PL3ebJBgLtf2Ib9fZE9zvmEKMZ_UfREEPN
Contact Gary #2, Email Address: garyk8659@comcast.net