How Much Does It Cost To Tear Down A Nuclear Reactor?

Much more than the government thinks. The New York Times got a peak at a Government Accountability Office study slated for release today. It said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of how much it would cost to decommission a site and bury radioactive parts was off by as much as $350 million at one place. GAO looked at a dozen reactors in all. It found estimates at five to be off significantly. The NRC requires plant owners to have enough cash on hand for decommissioning the plant, but GAO said the agency doesn't have clear procedures to track that money. The report suggested the NRC was requiring plants to have less money than they would need.