Enterprise D&D $750 million @ Newport News

[Marlin]

Navy and shipyard sign $745 million Enterprise contract


June 29, 2013|By Michael Welles Shapiro

What does it cost to defuel and take apart one of the Navy's most famed ships?

About $750 million, it turns out.

The Navy and Huntington Ingalls Industries came to terms on a contract for the inactivation of the USS Enterprise. The cost-plus-incentive fee contract allows for the ultimate price tag to be adjusted based on a formula under which the Navy and the shipbuilder would both share some of the burden of cost overruns.

The work will be done at Newport News Shipbuilder, the sole builder of U.S. aircraft carriers, which built the Big E and has handled its spent nuclear fuel rods in the past.

The 51-year-old Enterprise is the country's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and as a result the contract is the first inactivation of such a ship.

"Although Newport News Shipbuilding has defueled and refueled many ships, including Enterprise, this is the first inactivation of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier," said Chris Miner, the shipyard's vice president, of in-service aircraft carrier programs.



http://articles.dailypress.com/2013-06-29/news/dp-nws-shipyard-enterprise-contract-20130629_1_aircraft-carrier-naval-sea-systems-command-enterprise?goback=%2Egde_2530360_member_255827437

[DLGN25]

I wonder if it is asbestos or nuclear issues, or maybe other things to be distrubed?  I would hate to think of what is in her ventilation ducts...

[Marlin]

I wonder if it is asbestos or nuclear issues, or maybe other things to be distrubed?  I would hate to think of what is in her ventilation ducts...

Probably tons of lead and PCB paint, she was built 15 years prior to RCRA & TSCA laws.

[atomicarcheologist]

I wonder if it is asbestos or nuclear issues, or maybe other things to be distrubed?  I would hate to think of what is in her ventilation ducts...

Probably all of the above.  I have heard of ducts and/or non-nuclear lines being removed as radiologically contaminated from this vessel. 

[Protectologist]

A major asbestos "rip out" was completed during the Puget Sound availability 1978-1983. I know those aren't the dates of the full availability but that was the time period when the rip out was completed. It was begun while 65 was still at Alameda during "pre-arrival" work. I remember standing lower level access control point watch with the asbestos coming down from upper levels like a snow storm. Lead and asbestos removal should not be a major concern during decommissioning.

[Marlin]

Lead and asbestos removal should not be a major concern during decommissioning.

   Some exterior paints are up to 50% lead in particular red paint. If they did not strip paint to bare metal it may still be an issue and has been on older ships. The Navy was looking into hand held detectors about 15 years ago but the detection level was inadequate and sampling can be expensive over such a large surface area to verify it's free of lead. This probably will not be much of an issue until the ship is cut up for recycle.  Cold cutting metal in a lot of the DOE demolitions is common practice to avoid airborne lead but that will be impractical on ship demolition. I have encountered paint with lead, PCB, and asbestos on steam lines (DOE not Navy).

   Environmentalist have questioned the use of ships as artificial reefs because of lead paint.

[Brett LaVigne]

We removed all of the Asbestos lagging in the reactors back in 90 - 92'ish and I remember doing the initial surveys of the ships ventilation when we took possession, it was a legitimate contaminated area. That ship also had some fuel issues long long ago in one of the #4 plants. They will likely have radiological challenges along with the lead/asbestos. It would be a fun and interesting project I think. And compared to my current little 67 Megawatt plant decommissioning project, a bargain at only half the price! I wish this ship would end up a museum instead of razorblades, it is such an icon. I feel that it was a privilege to have started my career on that ship.

[retired nuke]

We removed all of the Asbestos lagging in the reactors back in 90 - 92'ish and I remember doing the initial surveys of the ships ventilation when we took possession, it was a legitimate contaminated area. That ship also had some fuel issues long long ago in one of the #4 plants. They will likely have radiological challenges along with the lead/asbestos. It would be a fun and interesting project I think. And compared to my current little 67 Megawatt plant decommissioning project, a bargain at only half the price! I wish this ship would end up a museum instead of razorblades, it is such an icon. I feel that it was a privilege to have started my career on that ship.

I like the museum idea - several battleships are museums now - where the heck is the NS Savannah?? I visited it once, but forget...
Gotta raise a lotta money... but hey, all those nuke alumni of the Big E should be flush with money to get this idea rolling - facebook / twitter etc should get a good start - maybe a powerful hawk senator or two with a battleship museum in their state (yeah... MA is out  ) could be brought into the plan...
 

[GLW]

I like the museum idea - several battleships are museums now - where the heck is the NS Savannah?? I visited it once, but forget...
Gotta raise a lotta money... but hey, all those nuke alumni of the Big E should be flush with money to get this idea rolling - facebook / twitter etc should get a good start - maybe a powerful hawk senator or two with a battleship museum in their state (yeah... MA is out  ) could be brought into the plan...
 

we hit on the NS Savannah hereabouts 21/2 years ago,...

http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,23330.0.html

[retired nuke]

we hit on the NS Savannah hereabouts 21/2 years ago,...

http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,23330.0.html

I think I may have visited it in '90 or so, while travleing around on my HD. From what I can find, it was in SC with the Yorktown. I seem to recall visiting a lot of odd places that summer (also visitied Darlington nuke under construction on the same trip..., and Mammoth cave near Louisville)
 

[GLW]

.........It would be a fun and interesting project I think.........

Nothing in Newport News is fun, although getting into the shipyard and then getting back home again can be interesting,.....

You're better off where you are, I have yet to see a banana slug "get medieval" on anybody's person as it were,......