State Senator Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest) hosted a forum on Saturday, April 9th to discuss the decommissioning of the shuttered Zion Nuclear Reactor site. Residents from local communities attended to receive the latest information and to ask questions. Mr. Patrick Daly, the General Manager of Zion Solutions, the company responsible for the decommissioning effort, led the discussion.

"This forum was an important opportunity for the public to hear expert testimony from Mr. Daly as well as to ask thoughtful, relevant questions relating to the site," Garrett said. "Many of those in attendance live very close to the Zion facility. Having their questions answered, especially in light of events in Japan, was a chance for all of us to become better informed about the plant and the plans going forward."

The Zion Nuclear Plant is located next to Lake Michigan in Zion, Illinois, about 40 miles north of Chicago. The plant supplied power to northern Illinois from 1973 until its closure in February 1997. At that time, the owner of Zion, ComEd, decided the plant was no longer competitive with other facilities and would be shut down completely. Zion Solutions was then chosen to formally decommission the plant, which involves removing the plant from active service and safely lowering remaining radioactivity, allowing the property to be used for other purposes. The entire decommissioning process is heavily regulated by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

"I too had many of the same questions as many of the citizens who came out and voiced their concerns," Garrett said. "I will be pushing to have independent third party testing of water and soil samples surrounding the plant to ensure our communities continued safety as this process continues, as well as continued updates to the public about the activities surrounding the Zion facility."

The forum was held at the Lake Forest Health and Fitness Center in Lake County.