13 Sept (NucNet): Westinghouse Electric Company has been awarded a contract by Enresa (Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos), the Spanish agency responsible for radioactive waste management and nuclear plant decommissioning, to segment the reactor vessel head (RVH) and reactor vessel (RV) at the single-unit José Cabrera nuclear power plant (also known as Zorita).
The contract represents the first time a Westinghouse designed pressurised water reactor vessel will be segmented in Spain and the second time in Europe.
The contract covers the dismantling and segmentation of the RVH and RV, including the up-front engineering studies. It also includes the design of the RVH/RV detachment, manipulation and lifting to the spent fuel pool where mechanical cutting of the components will take place.
Westinghouse said the project began in June 2013 and is expected to take approximately two years to complete.
José Cabrera-1 was shut down permanently in April 2006.
