[font=Verdana]Demolition has started on a nuclear reactor at the [/font][font=Verdana]Hanford[/font][font=Verdana] site that was shut down after the [/font][font=Verdana]Chernobyl[/font][font=Verdana] disaster.

Nine moth-balled reactors sit near the [/font][font=Verdana]Columbia River[/font][font=Verdana] at the site in south-central [/font][font=Verdana]Washington[/font][font=Verdana].

The last one built is called N Reactor. Not only did it produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, as the other reactors did, but it was the only one used as a power plant to generate electricity.

Three weeks ago crews started demolishing pipes that carried steam from N Reactor.

It's the first step in a process called cocooning, which seals off a reactor to make it safe while the radioactivity decays.

Chris Watson is managing the demolition project, which is ahead of schedule.

"You know, it's fantastic when you can see the progress of your work, with the ultimate goal of cleaning up and transitioning back to the public."

This is part of a bigger project to tear down all nine reactors at [/font][font=Verdana]Hanford[/font][font=Verdana].

After N Reactor, the three remaining ones are scheduled for cocooning within the next seven years[/font]