Maximizing the resources we use

From power poles and transformer oil to office waste and scrubber byproducts, Exelon is continually improving its materials management by identifying less hazardous and/or better-performing products and reducing waste.

We are looking for opportunities to reduce waste streams and increase recycling at our current operations. We are safely and securely managing spent nuclear fuel and low-level radioactive wastes. Exelon is also committed to continued work to properly address legacy issues, such as remediation of manufactured gas plants (MGP) that produced gas for lighting and cooking many decades ago.

We will continue to work with regulators and communities to achieve positive program results.

Greening Our Operations

Exelon Recycling

As part of our business and environmental strategy, Exelon 2020, we are committed to “Greening our Operations” in order to minimize the impact we have on the environment.

As shown in the chart below, Exelon recycled nearly 2,500 tons of office waste, more than 15,000 tons of scrap metal and 793,000 gallons of transformer oil in 2010.  Approximately 441,000 gallons of that transformer oil was able to be re-processed to remove all contaminants, returned to ASTM specifications, and reused in transformers, saving the cost associated with purchasing new oil. 

Coal Combustion Product Reuse

Exelon seeks to minimize the landfilling of coal ash and continues its commitment to beneficially reuse the byproducts of coal combustion at our fossil power plants —fly ash, bottom ash, basin ash and flue gas desulfurization products. 

• In 2010, Exelon Power reused 85%, or more than 101,065 tons, of its coal combustion and scrubber byproducts in beneficial applications. Exelon Power’s beneficial reuse continued to far outpace the national recycling rate of approximately 45% for these types of materials.
• These products are used to help stabilize other waste streams and reclaim retired anthracite coal mine sites, as well as in agricultural applications. These efforts help minimize disposal costs and preserve natural resources and valuable landfill space.

Exelon-operated coal units do not store coal ash or related combustion byproducts on-site. However, the Keystone and Conemaugh plants (both co-owned by Exelon Generation) use on-site landfills for ash disposal. These landfills receive and dispose of coal ash in a dry state and are maintained according to all local, state and federal regulatory guidelines.

In 2011, two of the three coal-fired units operated by Exelon Power will retired, with the third remaining coal-fired unit to be retired in 2012. After 2012, Exelon Power will no longer produce coal combustion materials.

Safe Storage for Spent Nuclear Fuel

Exelon Nuclear continues to store spent nuclear fuel (SNF) safely at its plants—both in water-filled pools and in dry-cask storage systems.
  A cask containing used fuel is loaded into a horizontal storage module.

 Using this combination of storage methods, Exelon Generation is capable of meeting all of its SNF storage requirements for many decades – through the end of the license renewal period and decommissioning, and until the U.S. Department of Energy completes its removal of SNF from the nation’s nuclear sites. Because Exelon Generation’s SNF storage pools generally do not have sufficient storage capacity for the life of the respective plant, Exelon Generation will continue to develop sufficient dry cask facilities to support its storage needs. Exelon Nuclear continues to store spent nuclear fuel (SNF) safely at its plants—both in water-filled pools and in dry-cask storage systems.

• Exelon has constructed and operates state-of-the-art dry-cask storage systems at nuclear plants in Illinois (Byron, LaSalle , Dresden and Quad Cities); Pennsylvania (Limerick and Peach Bottom); and New Jersey (Oyster Creek).
• An additional dry-cask storage facility is under construction at our Braidwood power plant in Illinois.

Managing Legacy Environmental Issues

For more detailed discussion of Exelon’s remediation activities, please see Exelon’s 2010 Form 10-K, Part I, Item 1 “Environmental Regulation” section.

PCB Elimination

Exelon remains on track to voluntarily eliminate equipment known to contain polychlorinated biphenyls with concentrations greater than 50 parts per million from its power plants and substations by year-end 2012. 

Manufactured Gas Plants

ComEd and PECO continue to remediate and close former manufactured-gas plant sites that were utilized — primarily by predecessor companies in Illinois and Pennsylvania between 1850 and the 1950s — to manufacture gas for lighting and other purposes. ComEd and PECO anticipate that the majority of remediation at remaining sites will continue through at least 2015 and 2021, respectively.

Compliance Performance

Exelon has set a goal of zero land related Notices of Violation (NOV) and Permit Non-compliances for company operations. NOVs are issued by regulatory agencies when a company is believed to have violated a permit condition or regulatory requirement. Exelon self-reports violations of regulations and regulatory agency-specified environmental permit conditions when they are identified.

Land Notices of Violation

In 2010 the company received one NOV from a regulatory agency:

• PECO received one NOV in 2010 that was issued by the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) for a low-level PCB exceedance of the PWD manhole water discharge permit which discharges to land.  PECO has taken corrective actions in response to this NOV which include the implementation of polymer filter bags during pumpouts to filter potential PCBs from manhole water. 

Land Permit Non-compliances

In 2010, Exelon did not self-identify any Permit Non-compliances associated with land related activities.