Callaway Plant FAQs
1.	Q.	What is the cloud coming out of the Callaway Plant tower?
	A.	What you see coming out of the cooling tower is clean water vapor, not steam. The water vapor that is produced is not part of the radioactive process.
2.	Q.	When did Callaway Plant first start operating?
	A.	Callaway Plant became operational in December 1984. The NRC granted a 40-year operating license, which is the customary license for nuclear plants. However, nearly 50 plants have received a 20-year extension to operate. Callaway Plant plans to file for a 20-year extension in 2011. If approved, the plant could operate until 2044.
3.	Q.	How much electricity does the plant produce?
	A.	Callaway Plant produces enough electricity to power 780,000 average households each year. Electricity from nuclear power accounts for 11 percent of all electricity sources in Missouri—compared to 75 percent in Vermont and about 50 percent in New Jersey, South Carolina, Illinois and Connecticut. Overall, nuclear energy provides about 20 percent of the electricity in the U.S.
4.	Q.	What happens to the used fuel from the plant?
	A.	Every nuclear plant in the U.S. currently stores its own used fuel. The Callaway Plant safely stores its used fuel on site in a spent fuel pool about the size of a tennis court. The U.S. Government is exploring a national repository for used fuel underneath Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
5.	Q.	How many nuclear plants do Ameren companies operate?
	A.	Callaway Plant is the only nuclear plant among the companies’ 15 generating plants. Callaway Plant is the second largest power producer on the AmerenUE system producing 19 percent of the company’s electricity. AmerenUE offers electric rates more than 30 percent below the national average and serves 1.2 million electric customers in Missouri.
6.	Q.	How many people work at the plant and where do they live?
	A.	The plant employs nearly 1,000 people, including contractors, with an annual payroll of approximately $100 million. When the plant is refueling, hundreds of additional contractors are on site adding nearly $20 million to the payroll. Most of AmerenUE’s full-time employees working at the Callaway Plant live in Callaway, Cole and Boone counties. However, more than 100 employees reside in 24 other Missouri counties.