Ship - Submarine Recycling Program The Ship / Submarine Recycling Program ( SRP ) is the process the United States Navy uses to dispose of decommissioned nuclear vessels . SRP takes place only at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard ( PSNS ) in Bremerton , Washington , but the preparations can begin elsewhere . Program overview . Before SRP can begin , the ship or submarine must have her nuclear fuel removed . Defueling usually coincides with decommissioning . Prior to that event , the vessel is referred to as " USS " Name " , " but afterward the " USS " is dropped and it is referred to as " ex - " Name " . " Defueling of submarines is carried out at five ship repair facilities on the West Coast , and the hulls are then towed to PSNS . Reusable equipment is removed at the same time as the fuel . Spent nuclear fuel is shipped by rail to the Naval Reactor Facility in the Idaho National Laboratory ( INL ) , located 42 miles ( 67 km ) northwest of Idaho Falls , Idaho , where it is stored in special canisters . At PSNS the SRP proper begins . A submarine is cut into three or four pieces : the aft section , the reactor compartment , the missile compartment if one exists , and the forward section . Missile compartments are dismantled according to the provisions of the Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty . Reactor compartments are sealed at both ends and shipped by barge and multiple - wheel high - capacity trailers to the Department of Energy ' s Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state , where they are currently in open dry storage and slated to be eventually buried . The burial trenches have been evaluated to be secure for at least 600 years before the first pinhole penetration of some lead containment areas of the reactor compartment packages occurs , and several thousand years before leakage becomes possible . In 1972 , the London Dumping Convention restricted ocean disposal of radioactive waste . In 1993 , ocean disposal of radioactive waste was completely banned . The US Navy began a study on scrapping nuclear submarines , two years later shallow land burial of reactor compartments was selected as the most suitable option . In 1990 , USS Scamp ( SSN 588 ) became the first US nuclear - powered submarine to have been successfully scrapped . Prior to USS " Scamp " , in 1959 , the US Navy removed a nuclear reactor from the submarine USS " Seawolf " ( SSN 575 ) and replaced it with a new type . The removed reactor was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean , 200 km east of Delaware , at a depth of 2 , 700 m . Until 1991 , the forward and aft sections of the submarines were rejoined and placed in floating storage . Various proposals for disposal of those hulls were considered , including sinking them at sea , but none were economically practical . All required removal of the numerous polychlorinated biphenyl products ( PCBs ) on board , which are considered hazardous material s by the Environmental Protection Agency and United States Coast Guard . Since then , and to help reduce costs , the remaining submarine sections are recycled , returning reusable materials to production . In the process of submarine recycling , all hazardous and toxic wastes are identified and removed , reusable equipment is removed and put into inventory . Scrap metals and all other materials are sold to private companies or reused . The overall process is not profitable , but does provide some cost relief . Disposal of submarines by the SRP costs the US $ 25 – 50 million per submarine . By the end of 2005 , 195 nuclear submarines had been ordered or built in the US ( including the NR - 1 Deep Submergence Craft and " Virginia " , but none of the later " Virginia " s ) . The last of the regular " Sturgeon " attack boats , " L . Mendel Rivers " was decommissioned in 2001 , and " Parche " , a highly modified " Sturgeon " , was decommissioned in 2004 . The last of the initial " 41 for Freedom " Fleet Ballistic Missile ( FBM ) submarines , " Kamehameha " , was decommissioned in 2002 . Decommissioning of the " Los Angeles " boats began in 1995 with " Baton Rouge " . Additionally , a handful of nuclear - powered cruisers have entered the program , and their dismantling is ongoing . The first aircraft carrier due for decommissioning that would enter the SRP is planned to be " Enterprise " , intended for withdrawal in 2013 . Hulls waiting or already processed by the recycling program include : Cruisers . † A dagger after a completion date indicates that portions of the hull were preserved as memorials . See the individual articles for details . Attack submarines . " Some of these submarines ( the " George Washington " class ) were fleet ballistic missile boats for the vast majority of their careers . However , they were briefly converted to SSNs before decommissioning and arrival at PSNS , and so are listed under that designation here . " † A dagger after a completion date indicates that portions of the hull were preserved as memorials . See the individual articles for details . ‡ Date given for ex - " Parche " is official date used to secure FY2004 funding ; work did not begin until 19 October . Ballistic missile submarines . " Some of these submarines ( the " Lafayette " class ) were fleet ballistic missile boats for the vast majority of their careers . However , they were converted to SSNs for use as moored training platforms and are not currently scheduled for recycling . " Because the program is underway , this list is almost certainly incomplete . Note for ships marked with refit : " Sam Rayburn " ( SSBN - 635 ) was converted into a training platform — Moored Training Ship ( MTS - 635 ) . " Sam Rayburn " arrived for conversion on 1 February 1986 , and on 29 July 1989 the first Moored Training Ship achieved initial criticality . Modifications included special mooring arrangements including a mechanism to absorb power generated by the main propulsion shaft . " Daniel Webster " ( SSBN - 626 ) was converted to the second Moored Training Ship ( MTS - 2 / MTS - 626 ) in 1993 . The Moored Training Ship Site is located at Naval Weapons Station Charleston in Goose Creek , South Carolina . " Sam Rayburn " is scheduled to operate as an MTS until 2014 while undergoing shipyard availabilities at four - year intervals .