The Nation - News from April 13, 1986

Consumers face a multibillion-dollar “aftershock” of costs to dismantle nuclear power plants unless utilities develop savings programs to help finance retirement of more than 350 facilities, a report by Cynthia Pollock of the Worldwatch Institute said. Estimates of decommissioning costs range from $50 million to $3 billion for each reactor, and much of the bill is expected to come due between the years 2000 and 2020, the report said. Unless policies are changed, Pollock said, most of the bills will be paid by a new generation who used little of the power from the plants. During decommissioning, plant owners will choose a process to decontaminate radioactive facilities and protect the public from exposure.