The R and D view

CIEMAT, the Spanish National Research and Technological Development Centre on Energy and Environment, is a public Institution ascribed to the Ministry of Science and Technology. Its main mission is to promote and conduct research and technological development projects in the field of energy and its impact on the environment. It had its origins in the Junta de Energia Nuclear (JEN), that for several decades endeavour to develop nuclear energy in Spain, with activities including different topics of the nuclear fuel cycle. In order to achieve it, CIEMAT built more than fifty radioactive facilities and laboratories, as well as some nuclear installations, nowadays in decommissioning status; that allowed mastering the knowledge of this technology and made possible the definition of national energy plans that managed the construction and operation of nuclear power plants up to a total installed power of 7,8 GWe. Several companies and institutions originated from JEN, such as Empresa Nacional del Uranio (ENUSA), with the missions of uranium prospecting, mining and milling and nuclear fuel elements manufacturing; Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN) as Spanish regulatory authority for nuclear and radioactive installations and radiological protection for individuals; Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos (ENRESA) as responsible for radioactive waste management and decommissioning of nuclear and radioactive installations. From the end of the eighties, CIEMAT has undertaken some actions aimed at eliminating the 'radioactive source term' present in the Centre as a consequence of its previous activities. First of all, radioactive installations were grouped in order to proceed to licensing them and changing their activities. At the same time, the irradiated fuel from the JEN-1 research reactor as well as the fertile material from the Coral fast reactor were transferred to foreign centres. All these activities led to the conditioning of radioactive wastes that were managed by ENRESA. Ever since the creation of ENRESA in 1984, CIEMAT has been acting as one of its advisors in the radiological characterisation of wastes generated in Spanish nuclear and radioactive installations, as well as in the intervention and temporary storage of 'orphan' sources and in the operation of El Cabril repository. CIEMAT has done that through the transfer of technology and analytical methods allowing a more precise classification of wastes from different origins. CIEMAT, as a R and D Centre with responsibilities in the nuclear energy field, has always been concerned with subjects relating to decommissioning of nuclear installations. CIEMAT, through its participation in international programmes and projects, has acquired a know-how on decommissioning, and can act as an advisor not only to the company responsible for decommissioning tasks (ENRESA), but also to the regulatory authority (CSN) and other national administrations. Collaboration between CIEMAT arid ENRESA in the PIMIC project will certainly be an interesting experience that will supply useful information for future decommissioning of nuclear installations. (author)