On Decommissioning Costs of the Ranstad Site

The main objective of this study has been to extend the review of the future cost to decommission and dismantling the industrial area at the site of the old uranium mine at Ranstad in Sweden. The feedback of experience and actual costs from a decommissioning project in the United Kingdom (A26 in Springfields) has been used to help in the assessment of the reasonableness of the estimated costs for decommissioning of the old uranium mine in Ranstad. A quantitative (albeit subjective) statement about the accuracy of the Ranstad cost estimate has been developed. Also, the factors relevant to the allocation of costs between the Swedish state and the current owners of the old uranium mine site have been evaluated and presented. The study has developed the following main conclusions: - The importance of thorough characterization/radiological mapping to the selection of the optimum decommissioning approach (technique) has been reinforced very strongly. - Thorough characterization has the related consequence of being able to better define the costs of decommissioning, in terms of equipment needed, labour hours required and, importantly, the volumes of different categories of waste requiring different routes (and associated different unit costs) for ultimate disposition. - Uncertainties in the Ranstad decommissioning cost estimate nevertheless remain, in particular relating to the viability of the proposed approach to dismantling and decontaminating the acid proof bricks that line the pools in the Large Leaching Hall; a method that is acknowledged to be not proven. The outcome could have an impact on actual dismantling and decontamination costs, as well as on the costs of ultimate waste disposition. The KB2010 cost estimate report does not offer an alternative in the event that the base plan proves to be unfeasible. - On balance it would appear that the continued presence of RMA at the Ranstad site ultimately will provide a net cost benefit to the program. The extra costs that RMA operations may cause are assessed to be more than offset by the benefits of having a functioning RMA Leach Hall facility, as well as the historical benefits of general site management.