Decommissioning nuclear facilities
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Decommissioning nuclear plants includes all clean-up of radioactivity and progressive demolition of the plant.
Generally speaking, nuclear plants were designed for a life of about 30 years. Newer plants are designed for a 40 to 60 year operating life. At the end of the life of any power plant, it needs to be decommissioned and demolished so that the site is made available for other uses.
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[edit] Decommissioning options
The International Atomic Energy Agency has defined three options for decommissioning, the definitions of which have been internationally adopted:
- Immediate Dismantling (or Early Site Release/Decon in the US): This option allows for the facility to be removed from regulatory control relatively soon after shutdown or termination of regulated activities. Usually, the final dismantling or decontamination activities begin within a few months or years, depending on the facility. Following removal from regulatory control, the site is then available for re-use.
- Safe Enclosure (or Safestor(e)): This option postpones the final removal of controls for a longer period, usually in the order of 40 to 60 years. The facility is placed into a safe storage configuration until the eventual dismantling and decontamination activities occur.
- Entombment: This option entails placing the facility into a condition that will allow the remaining on-site radioactive material to remain on-site without the requirement of ever removing it totally. This option usually involves reducing the size of the area where the radioactive material is located and then encasing the facility in a long-lived structure such as concrete, that will last for a period of time to ensure the remaining radioactivity is no longer of concern.
[edit] Cost of decommisionning
In USA many utilities estimates now average $325 million per reactor all-up (1998 $).
In France, decommissioning of Brennilis nuclear plant, a 70 MW power plant, cost 500 millions euros and last 30 years.
In the UK, decommissioning of Windscale Advanced Cooled Reactor (WAGR), a 32 MW power plant, cost 117 millions euros.
In Germany, decommissioning of Niederaichbach nuclear power plant , a 100MW power plant, cost about 90 millions euros.
[edit] See also
- Marcoule French nuclear site
