Duane Arnold atomic reactor shutting down for good two months earlier than scheduled after damage from derecho

NRC file photo of Duane Arnold atomic reactor.As reported by CBS 2 Iowa.

Duane Arnold, a Fukushima Daiichi twin design (a General Electric Mark I Boiling Water Reactor), had long been scheduled for a "late" 2020 closure, as reported by The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, IA. More recently, the permanent closure for good date had been more precisely scheduled for late October 2020. But, as reported above, Duane Arnold has been closed even earlier -- August 24, 2020 -- due to damage from the severe derecho (hurricane force straight line winds) that recently struck the Cedar Rapids area.

See additional news coverage about the shutdown from the Gazette.

Once defueled, the reactor core can no longer have a meltdown, by definition. Plus, no more radioactive waste will be generated.

Of course, the high-level radioactive waste risks remain in the wet storage pool, as well as in the dry cask storage on-site. Plus there is all the "low" level radioactive waste, including from facility dismantlement, as well as radioactive contamination of the site, to deal with. (Radioactive waste and contamination, once generated, can't be "cleaned up" -- it merely gets moved from its current location, to a dump-site elsewhere, where it remains hazardous). Alas, that watch-dog work goes on. But still, Duane Arnold's closure is worth celebrating! Especially given the fact that Duane Arnold's electricity supply will be readily replaced by Iowa's ample wind power resources!

The incident leading to Duane Arnold's even earlier shutdown that previously announced -- hurricane force wind derecho damage -- underscores the point that, far from being a supposed solution to the climate crisis, atomic reactors are actually much too dangerous to operate in a world plagued by worsening extreme weather disasters.

As documented at Beyond Nuclear's "Reactors Are Closing" website section, Duane Arnold's closure marks the 10th reactor closure in the U.S. since 2013 -- a record number. This means there are now 94 commercial atomic reactors still operating in the U.S.