Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Global Status of Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations
    Global Status of Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations
    Global Status of Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations
    Ebook313 pages2 hours

    Global Status of Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations

    By IAEA

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This publication presents the outcomes of a collaborative study to analyse the status of nuclear decommissioning activities around the world as of 2020. Future evolution of these activities was also considered. The information presented is based on responses to a questionnaire distributed to organizations with responsibility for planning, implementation and oversight of decommissioning programmes, with baseline information on the numbers and current operational status of nuclear facilities being extracted from the online nuclear facilities databases maintained by IAEA. Analysis of the collected data was undertaken at global and regional levels, rather than at the level of individual States or facility sites. The publication is intended primarily to be of use to individuals with policy responsibilities in the area of decommissioning and associated waste management activities, including government officials, regulators, facility manages and service providers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInternational Atomic Energy Agency
    Release dateMar 30, 2023
    ISBN9789201048233
    Global Status of Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations

    Read more from Iaea

    Related to Global Status of Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations

    Titles in the series (60)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Power Resources For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Ham Radio News

      Dec 1, 2019

      The 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) was under way in Egypt as we went to press. This quadrennial conference of the International Telecommunication Union sets worldwide policies and frequency allocations within the radio spectrum. Th

      4 min read

    • Article

      Contesting

      Jun 1, 2020

      Contesting
      11 min read

    • Article

      Could Nuclear Energy Be Singapore's Net-zero 'Game Changer'?

      Apr 18, 2022

      It is 2050. Singapore has started generating nuclear power and about one-tenth of its energy comes from nuclear sources. The city state's once-heavy reliance on natural gas has now shifted to low-carbon hydrogen for its electricity needs. This is one

      6 min read

    • Article

      Safety and Equity Must be Central to Battery Storage Development.

      Sep 3, 2024

      It’s important to make sure that batteries are developed as safely and equitably as possible.

      5 min read

    • Article

      UCS Testimony on the Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit

      Mar 25, 2024

      Here is testimony provided by Deputy Policy Director with the Climate & Energy program Julie McNamara to the the U.S. Department of the Treasury, on proposed regulations around hydrogen production and use.

      5 min read

    • Article

      Proposed Electrolyzer Requirements for the Hydrogen Tax Credit: Strengths and Risks

      Jan 18, 2024

      New proposed regulations around hydrogen production tax credits may leave dangerous loopholes, says UCS expert Julie McNamara.

      4 min read

    • Article

      Load Shedding: Stage 16 Fears

      Jan 20, 2024

      More stages of load shedding are on the cards even though South Africans are still in the dark about the government’s plans to resolve the energy crisis. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has mooted eight more stages of load shedd

      3 min read

    • Article

      What’s New with NextGrid?

      Aug 13, 2018

      What’s New with NextGrid?
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Future is Nuclear

      Sep 26, 2021

      The Future is Nuclear
      5 min read

    • Article

      Tilting At Windmills

      Dec 5, 2023

      Tilting At Windmills
      8 min read

    • Article

      Fukushima Water Release: Asian States To Pursue Nuclear Energy Plans Despite Recent Protests

      Aug 31, 2023

      Japan's release of Fukushima waste water is unlikely to set back development of nuclear energy across the Asia-Pacific despite protests by its neighbours about the environmental impact from the discharge, analysts say. Last week, Japan conducted the

      4 min read

    • Article

      UCS Expert Testifies on the New Clean Electricity Tax Credits

      Aug 21, 2024

      The 45Y and 48E tax credits, foundational to the Inflation Reduction Act, must be rigorously implemented. The risk is high that heavily polluting power plants co-opt the credits for themselves.

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Big Hydrogen Cash Grab

      May 9, 2024

      As the Biden administration finalizes rules governing implementation of a large new hydrogen production tax credit, called 45V, they have to reject profit-motivated lobbying and hold the line for strong standards that truly deliver for people and the

      6 min read

    • Article

      Ham Radio News

      Jun 1, 2019

      Honda Recalls Several Generator Models Heads-up before you head out for Field Day … American Honda has recalled several models of its portable generators. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says the recall affects models EU2200i, EU2200i Com

      8 min read

    • Article

      Communications (In)Security

      Aug 1, 2021

      Communications (In)Security
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Global Status of Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Global Status of Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations - IAEA

      1.png

      GLOBAL STATUS OF

      DECOMMISSIONING OF

      NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS

      IAEA NUCLEAR ENERGY SERIES NW-T-2.16

      GLOBAL STATUS OF

      DECOMMISSIONING OF

      NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS

      INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY

      VIENNA, 2023

      COPYRIGHT NOTICE

      All IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements. Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Enquiries should be addressed to the IAEA Publishing Section at:

      Marketing and Sales Unit, Publishing Section

      International Atomic Energy Agency

      Vienna International Centre

      PO Box 100

      1400 Vienna, Austria

      fax: +43 1 26007 22529

      tel.: +43 1 2600 22417

      email: [email protected]

      www.iaea.org/publications

      © IAEA, 2023

      Printed by the IAEA in Austria

      March 2023

      STI/PUB/2023

      IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

      Names: International Atomic Energy Agency.

      Title: Global status of decommissioning of nuclear installations / International Atomic Energy Agency.

      Description: Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, 2023. | Series: IAEA nuclear energy series, ISSN 1995–7807 ; no. NW-T-2.16 | Includes bibliographical references.

      Identifiers: IAEAL 23-01572 | ISBN 978–92–0–104623–9 (paperback : alk. paper) | ISBN 978–92–0–104723–6 (pdf) | ISBN 978–92–0–104823–3 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Nuclear facilities — Decommissioning. | Nuclear reactors — Decommissioning. | Nuclear power plants — Decommissioning.

      Classification: UDC 621.039.59 | STI/PUB/2023

      FOREWORD

      The IAEA’s statutory role is to seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world. Among other functions, the IAEA is authorized to foster the exchange of scientific and technical information on peaceful uses of atomic energy. One way this is achieved is through a range of technical publications including the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series.

      The IAEA Nuclear Energy Series comprises publications designed to further the use of nuclear technologies in support of sustainable development, to advance nuclear science and technology, catalyse innovation and build capacity to support the existing and expanded use of nuclear power and nuclear science applications. The publications include information covering all policy, technological and management aspects of the definition and implementation of activities involving the peaceful use of nuclear technology.

      The IAEA safety standards establish fundamental principles, requirements and recommendations to ensure nuclear safety and serve as a global reference for protecting people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation.

      When IAEA Nuclear Energy Series publications address safety, it is ensured that the IAEA safety standards are referred to as the current boundary conditions for the application of nuclear technology.

      The Global Status of Decommissioning project was launched in August 2019 and involved collecting and analysing authoritative information on the current status and future evolution of nuclear decommissioning activities around the world. Such information is currently not generally available and therefore this publication addresses this knowledge gap.

      The project was coordinated by a steering group comprising experts from a range of IAEA Member States: M. Guy (United Kingdom, Chair), S. Carroll, (Sweden), B. Rehs (Germany), P. Imielski (Germany), J. McCafferty (Canada), T. Kukan (Slovakia), H. Hänggi (Switzerland), T. Rakitskaya (Russian Federation) and R. Quintiliani (Italy). The involvement of and support received from M. Brandauer (OECD Nuclear Energy Agency) and J.-P. Guisset (European Commission) are also gratefully acknowledged.

      The IAEA officers responsible for this publication were P.J. O’Sullivan and T. Kilochytska of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology.

      EDITORIAL NOTE

      This publication has been edited by the editorial staff of the IAEA to the extent considered necessary for the reader’s assistance. It does not address questions of responsibility, legal or otherwise, for acts or omissions on the part of any person.

      Although great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of information contained in this publication, neither the IAEA nor its Member States assume any responsibility for consequences which may arise from its use.

      Guidance provided here, describing good practices, represents expert opinion but does not constitute recommendations made on the basis of a consensus of Member States.

      The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries.

      The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA.

      The IAEA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third party Internet web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

      The authoritative version of this publication is the hard copy issued at the same time and available as pdf on www.iaea.org/publications. To create this version for e-readers, certain changes have been made, including a the movement of some figures and tables.

      CONTENTS

      SUMMARY

      1. INTRODUCTION

      1.1. Background

      1.2. Objective

      1.3. Scope

      1.4. Structure

      2. THE CONTEXT FOR DECOMMISSIONING AND BASELINE INFORMATION

      2.1. Decommissioning of nuclear installations

      2.2. Nuclear power reactors

      2.3. Research reactors

      2.4. Nuclear fuel cycle facilities

      2.5. Conclusions

      3. INSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORKS FOR DECOMMISSIONING

      3.1. Policies and institutional arrangements

      3.2. Legal and regulatory frameworks

      3.3. Responsibilities for decommissioning

      3.4. Financing arrangements for decommissioning

      3.5. Additional sources of information on institutional and legal frameworks

      4. DECOMMISSIONING STRATEGIES AND END STATES

      4.1. General approach

      4.2. Decommissioning timeline

      4.3. Drivers for strategy selection

      4.4. Trends and variations

      4.5. Conclusions

      5. DECOMMISSIONING IMPLEMENTATION

      5.1. Responses to questions on decommissioning implementation

      5.2. Factors impacting on decommissioning

      5.3. Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for delivering decommissioning

      5.4. Conclusions

      6. THE WORKFORCE AND LIABILITIES FOR DECOMMISSIONING

      6.1. Introduction

      6.2. Workforce for decommissioning

      6.3. Decommissioning costs incurred and estimates of future decommissioning liabilities

      6.4. Conclusions

      7. TECHNICAL CHALLENGES AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR DECOMMISSIONING

      7.1. Introduction

      7.2. Technological challenges for different types of nuclear facilities under decommissioning

      7.3. Regional variations

      7.4. Technologies for decommissioning

      7.5. Drivers for innovation

      7.6. Emerging technologies and tools

      7.7. Conclusions

      8. CONCLUSIONS

      8.1. Introduction

      8.2. The current baseline

      8.3. Frameworks

      8.4. Strategy

      8.5. Implementation

      8.6. Resources for implementation

      8.7. Technical challenges and technologies

      Appendix I: IAEA ONLINE DATABASES FOR NUCLEAR FACILITY INFORMATION

      Appendix II: FULLY DECOMMISSIONED NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS

      Appendix III: EXAMPLES OF NATIONAL FINANCING SCHEMES AND FUNDING MECHANISMS FOR SPENT FUEL, RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND DECOMMISSIONING

      Appendix IV: DECOMMISSIONING STRATEGY: NATIONAL AND FACILITY SPECIFIC EXAMPLES

      REFERENCES

      ABBREVIATIONS

      CONTRIBUTORS TO DRAFTING AND REVIEW

      STRUCTURE OF THE IAEA NUCLEAR ENERGY SERIES

      SUMMARY

      This publication presents the outcomes of a project that aimed to analyse the status of nuclear decommissioning activity around the world, as of 2020, and its future evolution. The information presented is based on responses to a questionnaire distributed to organizations with responsibility for planning, implementation and oversight of decommissioning programmes. Baseline information on the numbers and current operational status of nuclear facilities was extracted from the various online nuclear facilities databases maintained by the IAEA. Analysis of the collected data was undertaken at global and regional levels, rather than at the level of individual Member States or sites. Given the unavoidable limitations introduced by such an extensive data collection exercise, this publication is a ‘first of a kind’ and has a pilot nature, with the intention being to develop further editions in due course, taking benefit of the experience gained from the project.

      Many of the issues that have led to the shutdown of nuclear facilities over the past decade — political and economic factors, maintenance and/or refurbishment costs and electricity market conditions — may be expected to continue to apply in the future, and indeed it is likely that the rate of shutdowns will accelerate over the next one to two decades due to the age profile of the nuclear power reactors and other facilities currently in operation. This is particularly the case for nuclear power reactors, as a significant proportion of these have been in operation for more than 40 years. Nonetheless, it should also be noted that there is no simple relationship between the age of a facility and the timing of permanent closure, with multiple factors influencing decisions on when a particular facility may be permanently shut down.

      Considering all main types of nuclear facility, it is evident that decommissioning activities are likely to continue for the remainder of this century and even beyond. The questionnaire responses suggest that, despite the substantial amount of decommissioning undertaken over the past two to three decades, decommissioning funding and workforce needs will increase significantly in the future.

      Subject to the availability of appropriate waste management infrastructure and funding, the responses indicate that immediate dismantling is the preferred decommissioning strategy for all main facility types. Even in the case of graphite moderated reactors, for which deferred dismantling was historically often the selected strategy, the study findings suggest that immediate dismantling approaches are increasingly being selected. National policy, often linked to sustainability considerations, is an important driver for all facility types, together with an increasing tendency among plant owners to seek to discharge liabilities sooner rather than later.

      The analysis of factors impacting on project delivery showed regional differences but again generally emphasized the importance of the availability of waste and spent fuel management systems, funding and access to appropriate technology. The latter issue received greatest emphasis in the more advanced programmes, suggesting a perceived need to take greater advantage of technological developments. Licensing and regulatory issues were noted as important considerations for fuel cycle facility decommissioning programmes in particular.

      The study respondents indicated a number of technical challenges for which it was anticipated that further technological developments will be required, such as for the dismantling of large components and concrete structures present in graphite moderated reactors, and for improved characterization techniques in poorly accessible locations. Accordingly, despite the technical maturity of current routine decommissioning activities, respondents envisaged that ongoing research and development work will lead to improved levels of safety and of efficiency of implementation.

      1. INTRODUCTION

      1.1. Background

      ‘Decommissioning’ is the term generally used in the nuclear industry to delineate the final stage in the lifetime of an authorized nuclear facility, the preceding stages being ‘siting’, ‘design’, ‘construction’, ‘commissioning’ and ‘operation’. It is defined in the following terms in the IAEA Safety Standards Series, Decommissioning of Facilities, No. GSR Part 6 [1]:

      The term ‘decommissioning’ refers to the administrative and technical actions taken to allow the removal of some or all of the regulatory controls from a facility (except for the part of a disposal facility in which the radioactive waste is emplaced, for which the term ‘closure’ instead of ‘decommissioning’ is used). Aspects of decommissioning have to be considered throughout the other five major stages.

      In accordance with this definition, decommissioning is a planned activity, undertaken in accordance with strict radiological safety criteria appropriate to such activities [2], to ensure the safety of the workforce and the public, as well as of the surrounding environment.

      Decommissioning activities have been ongoing for several decades in the nuclear industry and, as of the end of 2020, substantial experience has already been gained in several countries, particularly those with long running nuclear power or nuclear fuel cycle programmes. Given that many such programmes have typically been in existence for more than half a century, an increasing number of nuclear facilities are reaching the end of their useful lives and are being withdrawn from service. It is therefore inevitable that the number of facilities requiring decommissioning will increase substantially in the coming decades.

      In 2019 IAEA launched an international collaborative project to collect relevant data and analyse the current global status and future prospects for decommissioning of nuclear facilities (Technical Meeting, 26–30 August 2019, Vienna International Centre), following which the terms of reference for the project were finalized by a steering group comprising representatives from IAEA Member States with significant decommissioning programmes. The terms of reference were issued to Member States in February 2020, together with details of an online questionnaire to collect data on decommissioning plans.

      The collected national level information is not being published, but is being used to inform a global and regional level analysis of current practice in decommissioning and future plans, as presented in this publication. The baseline information required for this analysis — for example, regarding the age and current operational status of facilities — was obtained from the IAEA’s online databases for nuclear facility information, such as the Power Reactor Information System (PRIS), the Research Reactor Database (RRDB)¹ and the Integrated Nuclear Fuel Cycle Information System (iNFCIS). A summary description of these databases is provided in Appendix I.

      The data collection exercise, based around the online questionnaire, began in February 2020 and continued throughout that year. The questionnaire focused on individual nuclear sites and requested up to date information on current activities and future plans relating to facility decommissioning. The data request was issued to the organizations best placed to provide this information, with this typically being the facility owner, except in limited

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1