Decommissioning strategies in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, legislation has established common guidelines that, based on technical and safety requirements and a timetable, lay down financial and environmental conditions for dismantlement strategies. Managing radioactive wastes falls under precise regulations. In this restrictive legal context, strategies for phasing out British nuclear installations can be classified in two IAEA categories depending on whether or not they include reactors. The strategy for most reactors reckons with the three phases defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency. For other installations, quite pragmatic strategies have been drawn up by taking into account the diversity of situations. (authors)