A nuclear plant’s reactor building left Vermont as 28,000 cubic yards of radioactive concrete bound for a Texas disposal site, and the hole gets filled with 28,000 cubic yards of clean crushed rock fr

Key Points:

• NorthStar Group Services purchased the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in 2019 and committed to a rapid decommissioning process, aiming to complete site restoration by 2030, significantly ahead of the original SAFSTOR plan that would have delayed cleanup until the 2070s.
• The demolition is nearly complete, with the five-story reactor building and major structures dismantled; concrete debris and radioactive materials were transported to a licensed disposal facility in Texas, while the site is being filled with clean local stone.
• The reactor vessel, a massive 440-ton component, was segmented underwater using remote-operated tools to minimize radiation exposure, marking the first full segmentation of an American boiling water reactor.
• Spent nuclear fuel remains stored onsite in 58 casks, as the U.S. federal government has not established a national repository, meaning the fuel will stay at Vermont Yankee indefinitely.
• Final physical demolition work, including the removal of the water discharge structure, is expected to conclude by 2027, with regulatory review and site release projected by 2030; future land use is undecided but may include battery storage or other industrial developments.