Topical session on buildings and sites release and reuse

Set up by the Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC), the WPDD brings together senior representatives of national organisations who have a broad overview of Decommissioning and Dismantling (D and D) issues through their work as regulators, implementers, R and D experts or policy makers. These include representatives from regulatory authorities, industrial decommissioners from the NEA Co-operative Programme on Exchange of Scientific and Technical Information on Nuclear Installation Decommissioning Projects (CPD), and cross-representation from the NEA Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities, the Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health, and the RWMC. The EC is a member of the WPDD and the IAEA also participates. This ensures co-ordination amongst activities in these international programmes. Participation from civil society organisations is considered on a case by case basis, and has already taken place through the active involvement of the Group of Municipalities with Nuclear Installations at the first meeting of the WPDD. At its third meeting, the WPDD held a topical session on Buildings and Sites Release and Reuse. Presentations during the topical session covered key aspects of the release of buildings and sites and provided the basis for exchange of information and experience, including: 1 - Standards: What are the release standards for site release? Do the same release standards apply to soil and the grounds as apply to the buildings? Are release standards dose-based, or concentration-based? Are there different release standards for different types of radionuclides (e.g. are Uranium and Thorium treated in the same manner as other radionuclide contaminates)? What are the standards for groundwater? Do implementers use surface contamination standards for cleaning interiors of buildings, or volumetric contamination standards? 2 - Standards Setting: What types of modelling do regulatory agencies perform before site release? What types of modelling are performed for buildings that are to be reused? What are the exposure scenario assumptions? Are the models based on ICRP 60 methodology or earlier exposure models? 3 - Experience: What has been the international experience with respect to groundwater monitoring and contamination? How is the site determined to be 'clean?' Through monitoring? In-process inspections? What types of final surveys are conducted? By whom (regulator or implementor)? How are the final surveys conducted? Are they based on statistical sampling? How do countries address discrete, low-level sources (e.g., slag) on a site if the overall site meets dose-based release standards? Are there follow-up monitoring requirements for buildings and facilities that are reused? In case of building reuse, what are the 'rights' of the new user? How long does the former nuclear operator/owner keep the liability? (or is the building released 'once and forever'?) Which are situations where release of site and buildings has been restricted to other nuclear uses, and what issues does this entail from the point of view of licensing? 4 - Opinion: Does the release of site need to be 'harmonized' internationally? Local Community (LC) what would local communities like to know? what issues had arisen from local communities in implementation and follow on use? Does greater confidence need to be established in LC's and how is this done? At the end of each presentation time was allotted for discussion of the paper. Integral to the Topical Session was a facilitated plenary discussion on the topical issues identified above. The Rapporteur briefly reviewed the main points at the end of the topical session. The Topical Session is documented as follows. First a summary of the presentations is given along with the questions that were asked to each speaker; then follow a summary of the plenary discussions and the main points made. The extended abstracts or full papers supporting each presentation are given in Appendix 1.