Safety assessment as applied to uranium mine closure

In order to assist operators, regulators and other experts involved in the planning, performance, control and termination of decommissioning activities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) launched in November 2004 an international project on 'International Project on Evaluation and Demonstration of Safety for Decommissioning of Facilities Using Radioactive Material' (DeSa). On completion of the DeSa project, the IAEA revised the International Action Plan on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities in September 2007. The revised Action Plan envisages the 'establishment of a forum for exchange of experience and harmonization of approaches to development and review of safety case (decommissioning plan) for decommissioning (DeSa follow-up project), including recommendations for the application of the graded approach.' The FaSa project was started in November 2008 to fulfil this purpose, and will be completed in 2011. It aims to build on the DeSa project outcomes; to review international experience, and to develop agreed recommendations on: (i) The use and application of safety assessment in the development and review of decommissioning plans and safety related documents through the life cycle of nuclear facilities and other facilities that use radioactive material; (ii) The implementation of the safety assessment results in the conduct of decommissioning activities (e.g., optimization, defense in depth, technical feasibility, safety functions and controls); (iii) Application of the graded approach in the application of safety assessment; (iv) Update of safety assessment, the operators/regulators review of safety assessments and the implementations of its results during planning and conduct of decommissioning (e.g., single and multi-facility sites); (v) Demonstrate the application of these recommendations on selected real facilities planned for or undergoing decommissioning. This paper will present an overview of the FaSa project, progress to date with the mining and mineral processing test case and how the DeSa methodology may influence the decommissioning of uranium mining and mineral processing facilities. (author)