Waste Technology Section
Decommissioning
Facilitating the transfer of sustainable technologies for decommissioning of facilities
Objective: To provide information and guidance and to support research on strategic, organizational, managerial and technological approaches to best practice in decommissioning, including assessment and minimization of decommissioning material/ waste.
Responsible Officer : Michele LARAIA
The IAEA Programme on Decommissioning:
To get access to the IAEA Decommissioning Activities, click on http://goto.iaea.org/decommissioning/
The International Decommissioning Network (IDN):
At the end of 2007, the IAEA launched a new network focused on the transfer of practical information on decommissioning amongst practitioners. Click here to access the IDN homepage.
International Peer Review Services
Peer review services are provided at the request of member States based on international safety standards, good international practices and other relevant recommendations in this field. For more information on Decommissioning Peer Reviews, please read the following documents:
- Standard Terms of Reference for Peer Review Services
- Overview of Decommissioning Peer Review Services
Current and Recent Work:
Several reports on specific aspects of decommissioning, including the dismantling of “difficult” systems or components have been recently completed. Others are being completed and are close to the publishing stage. In addition, the Agency currently provides support to Member States through the Department of Technical Cooperation (in cooperation with the Waste Safety Section-WSS).
Guidance and Technical Publications:
The following list presents Agency documents recently published on the subject of Decommissioning. Please click on the links below to find more detailed information.
- TRS No. 444 "Redevelopment of Nuclear Facilities after Decommissioning"
- TRS No. 439 "The Decommissioning of Underground Structures, Systems and Components"
- TRS No. 446 "The Decommissioning of Research Reactors: Evolution, State of the Art, Open Issues"
Forthcoming Documents:
In the general field of decommissioning, a vast technical area deserving attention is related to the decision-making in decommissioning material/waste management and disposal, including clearance as one possible strategy, but also leaving alternative strategies open. One important element of the decision-making is the methodologies to evaluate and characterize material/waste in view of their cost-effective and safe management. The objective of a report recently submitted for publication on Managing Large Amounts of Decommissioning Material of Low Radioactivity is first to investigate factors relevant to release strategies for large amounts of decommissioning waste, including unrestricted or restricted release, or storage/disposal as radioactive or other waste; second, to define evaluation and characterization methodologies for the planning and implementation of such strategies; and third, to provide practical guidance on the flexibility and options offered by current management systems.
One particular concern in the local community of a facility to be decommissioned is the societal effects of plant shutdown. The decision to decommission brings uncertainties to the local community and may have a de-stabilising effect on the local economy. Information on the experiences already obtained and the solutions found may be valuable to others who will be engaged in decommissioning projects in the future. Socio-economic impacts of decommissioning are dealt with in a report under preparation.
A separate IAEA document will deal with impacts on a wider range of stakeholders. Decision making, in the context of projects which have an impact on communities and their environment, is increasingly being implemented with the involvement of those affected by the project – "the stakeholders". It is clear that decommissioning projects fall into this category and there is already some experience of related decisions in Member States having involved stakeholders. It is noteworthy that the notion of "stakeholders" is not necessarily limited to those living in the vicinity of a nuclear facility: funding bodies, waste managers, archaeological societies are only a few examples of physically distant "stakeholders". It is important for all concerned in decommissioning projects to understand the issues that may affect decisions and therefore to be able to gain from the experiences already obtained in other countries. It is recognized, however, that all experiences may not be universally relevant and that some issues have a particular national character.
It is important to preserve the information needed for assuring that decommissioning is conducted in a safe manner. This becomes a problem when delays in the decommissioning process are introduced after the facility is shut down and it could be a particular problem if a safe enclosure period of several decades is envisaged. It is evident that there is a need to make provisions to retain the most important information to facilitate future decommissioning. Experience from completed decommissioning projects can be used to establish the key information that would be needed to support this extended decommissioning activity. When it becomes evident that there will be significant delays between shutdown and the start of dismantling, arrangements must be put into place to ensure that the necessary information is preserved. This refers not only to the physical preservation of information, but to its legibility and the skills needed to understand the technical meaning and start action in due time. A report is under preparation in this field.
A TECDOC on Decommissioning of Research Reactors and Other Small Nuclear Facilities by Making Optimal Use of Limited Resources is also under advanced preparation. This TECDOC is intended to facilitate timely and efficient completion of decommissioning project for research reactors and other small nuclear facilities in that it highlights cost-effective technologies and planning methodologies and suggests ways to simplify and optimise the decommissioning process without compromising safety. This is particularly critical in MSs or institutions short of technical, financial and human resources at disposal of a decommissioning project. Addressing the decision - making process under such difficult circumstances is the focus of this TECDOC.
Technical Cooperation Projects:
There are currently two significant national and one regional Technical Co-operation projects in the Decommissioning area:
- GEO/3/002: Decommissioning of the IRT-M Research Reactor
- LAT/4/006: Upgrading of Radiation Protection for Decommissioning of Salaspils Nuclear Reactor
LAT/3/002: Upgrade of Biological Shield Cutting System - RER/3/005: (Support in Planning the Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants and Research Reactors
Related IAEA Publications
| Technology | Management | Implementation | Development | Special Topics |
|
Radiological Characterization of Shutdown Nuclear
Reactors for Decommissioning Purposes, |
Organization and
Management for the Decommissioning of Large Nuclear Facilities, TRS-399 (2000) |
Safe Enclosure of Shutdown
Nuclear Installations, TRS-375 (1995) |
Design and Construction of
Nuclear Power Plants to Facilitate Decommissioning, TRS-382 (1997) |
A Proposed Standardised List of Items for Costing Purposes in the Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations -Interim Technical Document, co-operation with OECD/NEA - OECD/NEA, Paris 1999 |
| State-of-the-art Technology for
Decontamination and Dismantling of Nuclear Facilities, TRS-395 (1999) |
Record keeping for the Decommissioning of
Nuclear Facilities: Guidelines and Experience, TRS-411 (2002) |
Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities Other
than Reactors, TRS-386 (1998) |
New Methods and Techniques for Decontamination in
Maintenance or Decommissioning Operations - Results of a Co-ordination
Research Programme, 1994-1998, |
|
| Decommissioning of Stacks at Nuclear Facilities – (approved for publication) | The Transition from
Operation to Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations, TRS-420 (2004) |
Decommissioning of Small Medical, Industrial and Research
Facilities, |
On-site Disposal as a Decommissioning Strategy, |
|
| Decommissioning of Underground Structures,
Systems and Components, TRS-439 (2006) |
Planning, Organizational and Management
Aspects of Decommissioning: Lessons Learned, IAEA-TECDOC-1394 (2004) |
The Decommissioning of WWER-Type Nuclear Power Plants, |
Decommissioning Techniques for Research Reactors- Final
report of a Co-ordinated Research Project 1997-2001, |
|
|
Decommissioning of research reactors: evolution,
state-of-the-art, open issues |
Redevelopment of Nuclear Facilities after
Decommissioning, |
|