Diablo Canyon’s dismantling: Inside the shutdown of California’s last nuclear plant - San Francisco Chronicle

Diablo Canyon’s dismantling: Inside the shutdown of California’s last nuclear plant - San Francisco Chronicle: A nuclear power plant doesn't just shut down.

It gets taken apart piece by piece, until almost nothing remains. The process requires billions of dollars, hundreds of workers and more than a decade to complete.

It's a fate Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is now planning for California's last nuclear plant, Diablo Canyon, set to close in 2025. Every step must be carefully scripted.

Fuel rods full of uranium pellets are pulled from the reactor, cooled in pools of water laced with boric acid, then transferred to giant concrete casks.