Nuclear Timeline

Starting in 1946, Fluor designed and/or constructed numerous facilities in support of AEC, later the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), nuclear weapons complex.

In 1960, the Atomic Energy Commission retained Fluor as prime contractor for the architect-engineering of the Experimental Organic Cooled Reactor (EOCR). The company took responsibility for a greater portion of nuclear design than had any previous architect and engineering contractor. Fluor designed and/or wrote the purchase specifications for all EOCR equipment, except fuel elements and control rods.

Fluor engineers Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant's 556 MW Westinghouse reactor.

As the plant's original architect-engineer and construction manager, Fluor began engineering on the 556 MW Westinghouse two-loop pressurized water reactor in 1967.

Fluor performed the construction of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant on an open-shop basis for Carolina Power & Light. The plant is located 20 miles southwest of Raleigh, North Carolina. The project began in 1973. Following a delay due to economic conditions, the one unit 900 MW plant was completed in 1986.

Fluor provided engineering and design services, licensing assistance, construction management, cost and schedule control, document control, quality assurance, quality control, and start-up assistance for the 556 MW unit. After the start of commercial operation in 1974, Fluor continued to provide engineering and estimating services for alternative designs in plant modification and optimization.

Fluor engineered other major plant projects at Kewaunee including a new security system, plant computer replacement, Bulletin 79-01 component replacements, Bulletin 79-14 piping review, Three Mile Island-required modifications, and Appendix R fire protection and modifications. Fluor also provided onsite personnel during refueling outages and pre-operational testing.

Fluor provided primary contracting services to replace six steam generators at the Surry Power Station. This project was the first of its type performed in the nuclear industry. The plant consisted of two 822 MW units incorporating a closed-cycle pressurized water nuclear steam supply system. The replacement program was designed to restore the six steam generators to new condition.

In addition to the steam generator replacements, Fluor performed a multiphase construction and repair program. Major modifications were made to the condensers, the condensate polishing system, the makeup water system, the containment cooling system, the auxiliary building ventilation, and the containment spray system.

Fluor was the on-site contractor selected to provide backfit engineering, modification, and maintenance at Florida Power Corporation's Crystal River 3 plant. Fluor's services to the 860 MW pressurized water reactor facility included project management, field engineering, planning, scheduling, cost control, craft supervision, and provision of skilled craftsmen.

Fluor self-performed the construction and equipment installation at South Carolina Electric & Gas Company's Fairfield Pumped-Storage Hydroelectric Power Station. The 511-MW facility is operated in conjunction with the V.C. Summer Nuclear Power Plant. The facility's upper impoundment, known as the Monticello Reservoir, covers 6,800 acres and provides cooling water for the nuclear facility.

Fluor built the 1,150 MW Callaway Nuclear Power Plant using the Standardized Nuclear Unit Power Plant System concept. It required more than 40,000 drawings from design engineers and 50,000 drawings from vendors. The complexity and extent of the quality control and regulatory compliance procedures are reflected in the involvement of more than 50 federal, state, and local agencies.

Fluor executed the work under a project agreement with the local building trades, except for pipefitter craftwork, which was completed by Fluor. Fluor's staff onsite exceeded 2,700 craft and 1,200 on-site engineers, technicians, and staff.

Fluor was contracted by Detroit Edison Company to engineer and manage construction for the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Power Plant. Fluor was also responsible for the project cost and scheduling, warehousing operations, site quality control and inspection, project safety program administration, and administration of the project labor agreement. Furthermore, Fluor provided records verification, record retention, and other related services in accordance with Detroit Edison's Quality Program. Fluor developed and conducted a quality training program for the facility personnel.

In June 1984, the turnover of the Fermi facilities and systems to the client's operating department was completed. Subsequently, Fluor continued to provide engineering and construction services on a task order basis.

Fluor provided maintenance and modification services at the Carolina Power & Light (CP&L) H.B. Robinson Nuclear Plant to support ongoing operations and outages. A wide range of quality personnel also were provided. They were tested and certified in accordance with CP&L's quality program, complimenting previous Fluor certifications. Fluor also provided a full range of multidiscipline personnel in support of a steam generator replacement effort.

Fluor began a full-time presence at North Anna in 1986. Fluor was responsible for implementing all design change modifications at these units. Fluor also provided associated support services for modifications implementation as requested by the client, including supplemental non-destructive examination.

Fluor's scope included the conceptual and final design of a 193,000-square-foot facility consisting of a hardened Plutonium Processing Laboratory, an adjoining Support Laboratory and Change Room Building, a three-story Office Building and Waste Pretreatment Facility. In addition, a personnel entrance Portal/Guard Station was designed to resist the high power rifle requirement per U.L. standard. The purpose of this complex was to perform plutonium analytical and processing chemistry and metallurgy activities.

Throughout the Cold War, the Fernald site delivered high-grade uranium metal products for the nuclear weapons complex. In 1992, Fluor began managing the environmental restoration of the site, one of the largest environmental cleanup operations undertaken in U.S. history.

After the Cold War, the DOE initially proposed to reconfigure the Nuclear Weapons Complex to be smaller, less diverse, and less expensive than the existing complex, as described in the January 1991 DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex Reconfiguration Study. Due to significant changes, the nuclear Weapons Complex Reconfiguration Program (WCRP) was separated into: tritium supply and recycling; stockpile stewardship and management; and storage and disposition of weapons - usable fissible materials. Fluor provided A-E services to the DOE on the nuclear WCRP including conceptual design work, feasibility studies, cost estimates, Environmental Impact Study support, safety analyses, and other tasks.

Fluor provided engineering, construction, quality assurance, and procurement services for the replacement of the steam generators on Unit 2 of the Millstone Power Station.

Replacement of the steam generators consisted of cutting each of two CE steam generators in half, removing the lower assembly through the existing equipment hatch, replacing steam drum internals, bringing in two new B&W replacement lower assemblies, and welding the lower assemblies back to the steam drums. Work included the modification of the polar crane as well as miscellaneous interference relocations and facilities support. Extensive use was made of mock-up training and photogrammetry.

Fluor designed, constructed, and operated the Canister Storage Building (CSB). CSB provides interim storage for spent nuclear fuel removed from the K Basins adjacent to the Columbia River. The CSB received containers [Multi-Canister Overpacks (MCOs)] of dried spent fuel from the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility. The MCOs are stored in below-grade tubes, and provide safe storage and surveillance of the fuel for 40 years or more. Fluor completed seal welding the MCOs 3 months ahead of schedule, without a single safety incident, a significant conduct of operations discrepancy, or any defective welds.

From 1996 - 2008, Fluor was the DOE's prime contractor ($9.5 billion contract) for remediating a significant portion of Hanford. Fluor was recognized for innovative approaches to technical challenges, safety, and community commitment.

The DOE and Fluor developed a balanced waste management strategy that saved $1.5 billion in disposal and transportation costs by constructing a 3-million cubic yard On-Site Disposal Facility (OSDF) to hold 77% of the site’s contaminated soil and demolition debris rather than transporting the waste to offsite disposal facilities. Fluor was instrumental in securing necessary regulatory waivers to allow construction of the facility in a sensitive environment above a sole-source groundwater aquifer. Fluor designed, constructed and operated the 8-cell, lined and capped facility in compliance with stringent hazardous waste and radiological waste requirements. The OSDF resulted in dramatic cost savings and project acceleration at Fernald.

When Fernald completed its uranium production mission, many uranium- and thorium-contaminated production facilities, still contained quantities of raw, intermediate, and finished uranium products. Nuclear material from the plants had to be removed in preparation for demolition. Within 6 years, Fluor completed the Safe Shutdown Project at Fernald. Completion of the project was the first within the DOE complex for a major facility undergoing remediation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Fluor also developed the first DOE interim action Record of Decision to decouple dismantlement decisions from final waste disposal decisions, resulting in the acceleration of building demolition, the elimination of contamination sources, and significant savings in maintenance and disposal costs.

Fluor designed, constructed and operated the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF), a $104 million first-of-a-kind structure and the newest DOE nuclear process facility in the nation. The drying operation conducted in the facility was also the first of its kind in the world to be performed on large quantities of solid metal, irradiated fuel. The CVDF is a 12,000-square foot, two-story steel frame structure with attached, pre-stressed concrete panels on a concrete operating deck. The building consists of five bay areas, two with process equipment to remove water from containerized spent fuel, two spare process areas, and one with water conditioning and load-out equipment.

On this 14-year project, Fluor managed one of the largest nuclear clean-up efforts in U.S. history, completing the project 12 years early and nearly $8 billion below initial estimates. Fluor declared physical completion of Fernald on October 29, 2006, two months ahead of the even accelerated target schedule.

As part of the LATA Sharp Remediation Services team, Fluor supported the demolition and disposition of the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge nuclear reservation K-33 facility.

Fluor was a subcontractor to LATA Sharp Remediation Services on a task order to perform environmental management on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory site.

Under a five-year contract, Fluor provides support for site services, facility maintenance, strategic and station projects, engineering services, and outage services at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, which produces approximately 2,300 MW of power. In 2013, Fluor was honored to be named PG&E’s Generation Supplier of the Year for this work.

In 2014, Fluor's joint venture with Cavendish Nuclear was selected as the preferred bidder in the competition to take ownership of Magnox Ltd and Research Sites Restoration Limited, the Site License Companies that manage and operate 12 nuclear sites in the UK. Magnox Ltd is responsible for decommissioning 10 Magnox reactor sites, located in England, Scotland and Wales, which were the first generation of civil nuclear power plants in the UK built during the 1950s and 60s. RSRL is responsible for decommissioning two pioneering nuclear research centers at Harwell and Winfrith.

The K Area Complex at Savannah River provides for the handling and interim storage of the United States’ excess plutonium and other special nuclear materials. It also fulfills the U.S. commitment to international nonproliferation efforts in a safe and environmentally sound manner.

Always looking for ways to complete work safely and more efficiently, employees of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor-led company, to develop a drum-management solution that minimizes exposure to nuclear material.

The Savannah River Site has calculated more than $10 million in savings as a result of a new method for measuring the radioactivity of transuranic waste. The process improvement won Savannah River the DOE Sustainability Award in the category of Exemplary Practice.

The DOE selected Fluor Idaho, LLC, to support the department's cleanup mission at the Idaho Site under the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) Core Contract. Fluor Idaho will focus on addressing the key elements of the ICP Core – dispositioning transuranic waste (TRU), spent nuclear fuel storage and high-level radioactive waste processing. This work will support multiple national and state regulatory agreements, including the 1995 Idaho Settlement Agreement, and to seamlessly consolidate the ICP and Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project contracts. The consolidation eliminates redundancies, integrates activities and ensures the government gets the highest return on its investment.

The DOE granted the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) a use permit to choose a suitable nuclear power plant site within the boundary of the Idaho National Laboratory site. UAMPS plans to build and operate the lead NuScale power plant.

The 110 year agreement period includes 10 years of licensing, site preparation and plant construction followed by 99 years of plant operation and retirement.

Fluor was selected by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) for the procurement and construction of refurbishment work at OPG's Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario, Canada. Fluor's scope will include the replacement of emergency power generators for Units 1 and 2. The refurbishment will support an additional 30 years of low-cost, clean power for Ontario.

Canadian National Energy Alliance (CNEA), a Fluor consortium, was selected as preferred bidder to manage and operate Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). The contract focuses on three main priorities: addressing Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL)’s radioactive waste and decommissioning responsibilities, delivering nuclear science and technology that supports the Government of Canada and industry and revitalizing the Chalk River Laboratories located in Ontario, Canada.

In August 2020, Fluor announced that that NuScale Power, in which Fluor is the majority investor, received final design certification by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The certification achievement is expected to advance the commercialization of NuScale’s small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technology.

Fluor signed a contract with RoPower Nuclear for Phase 2 front-end engineering and design (FEED) work at its small modular reactor (SMR) facility in Doicesti, Romania. Fluor completed Phase 1 FEED work in 2023.

The Phase 2 FEED work will customize a six-reactor SMR power plant with NuScale technology, capable of producing up to 462 megawatts to European codes and standards. Generating carbon-free power, the plant will mark a significant milestone in Romania’s advancement of clean energy initiatives.