The project, to begin Monday, will cost $4 million and take six months to remove all the dangerous materials, said Elizabeth Peterson, the UW project manager. Testing and final approval from federal regulators to demolish the building will take another six months, she said.

The reactor was built for training and educational purposes in 1959 and became operational two years later. It may be the only reactor to be contained in a glass building, Peterson said. The idea was to allow students to peek in and show them there was nothing to fear.

But a small leak of plutonium dust in 1972 during an experiment didn't help that cause. When officials found residual radiation in the reactor room floor, they covered it with paint and tiles, which were later removed, according to a UW report.

The reactor stopped operating in 1988 and the fuel rods were removed in the following years. By 1992, the university Department of Nuclear Engineering also was dissolved. But despite several efforts, the university had trouble getting state money to dismantle the reactor and demolish the building.

After the dismantling, the radioactive waste will be shipped to facilities at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Eastern Washington and in Utah, Peterson said.