Westinghouse to dismantle Zorita vessel

Westinghouse has been contracted by Spanish nuclear waste management company Enresa to dismantle the reactor pressure vessel of the José Cabrera (Zorita) nuclear power plant which it sold to Spain over 50 years ago.

Westinghouse has been contracted by Spanish nuclear waste management company Enresa to dismantle the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) of the José Cabrera (Zorita) nuclear power plant which it sold to Spain over 50 years ago.

The José Cabrera (Zorita) plant operated for 38 years (Image: Enresa)

The contract covers the dismantling and segmentation of the RPV and vessel head, including up-front engineering studies, and covers the design of process to detach, manipulate and lift the components to the used fuel pool, where they will be cut up.

Vendor Westinghouse has a long history of links with the José Cabrera plant, also known as Zorita. The 142 MWe single-loop pressurised water reactor (PWR) was Spain's first nuclear power plant. It closed in 2006 after 38 years of operation, and in 2010 Westinghouse won a contract from Enresa to dismantle the reactor vessel internals.

Work has already started on the project to dismantle the RPV and vessel head, Westinghouse says. The project, with Monlain and VSL joining Westinghouse as main subcontractors, is expected to take two years to complete.

This is the second contract for PWR vessel dismantling services secured by Westinghouse. The company was contracted to perform a similar service for France's Chooz A reactor in 2009.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News