Planning, Management and Organizational Aspects of the Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities

Many old reactors and other nuclear facilities worldwide are being actively dismantled or are candidates for decommissioning in the near term. A significant number of these facilities are located in Member States having little experience or expertise in planning and implementing state of the art decommissioning projects. Planning, management and organization are critical for the success of such projects. The main objective of IAEA technical activities related to decommissioning is to promote the exchange of lessons learned, thereby contributing to successful planning and implementation of decommissioning projects. Imperative for success is a better understanding of the decision making process, the comparison and selection of decommissioning plans and organizational provisions, and relevant issues affecting the entire decommissioning process. Topics addressed in this publication include details on development of the decommissioning plan, structuring of key project tasks, organizing the project management team, identifying key staffing positions and determining required workforce skills, and managing the transition from an operational phase to the decommissioning phase. It is expected that this project, and in particular the papers collected in this publication, will draw Member States' attention to the practicality and achievability of timely planning and smooth management of decommissioning projects, especially for smaller projects. Concluding reports summarizing the work undertaken under the aegis of a coordinated research project (CRP) on planning, management and organizational aspects in the decommissioning of nuclear facilities, and presented at the third and final research coordination meeting (RCM) held in Da Lat, Vietnam, 5-9 September 2011, are included in this publication. Operating experience and lessons learned during full scale applications, as well as national programmes and plans, are among the most significant achievements of the CRP and have been highlighted