Decommissioning of Small Medical, Industrial and Research Facilities: A Simplified Stepwise Approach

This report provides practical information, experience and assistance to practitioners who are faced with decommissioning of a small nuclear facility, yet have limited or no previous experience. In such circumstances, it is also conceivable that newcomers to decommissioning may be faced with inadequate financial and scientific resources to complete the task; making it all the more important to avoid costly errors. Furthermore, it is also possible that a worker may need some guidance in starting the process of obtaining finance and resources to progress with the task of decommissioning. The aim of this report is to provide useful practical advice to newcomers to decommissioning to aid them in the planning and management of hands-on decommissioning technologies for small nuclear facilities, using a step wise approach, through to facility and site release. This report breaks down the process of decommissioning into a number of manageable stages, such that the inexperienced practitioner has the opportunity to build confidence as they progress with each stage. Whilst acknowledging that there may be a wide diversity of regulatory licence termination conditions throughout the world, the generic stages of decommissioning will broadly be the same, such that this report should be a basic handbook of use in all instances of small facility decommissioning. This text emphasizes, at each stage, the importance of appropriate interface and dialogue with the Regulatory Body and other stakeholders, not only as a means of advancing any regulatory permission required for decommissioning and licence termination, but also for the many benefits gained by early and ongoing dialogue. This report covers the practical aspects of decommissioning of small nuclear facilities typically found in medical, research and industrial applications. Power reactors, prototype and demonstration reactors, larger research reactors, fuel processing and reprocessing plants and their associated large chemical facilities, and all forms of waste disposal are outside the scope of this report and have been covered adequately elsewhere. Typical facilities covered by this report include: - Medical facilities with radiography and radiotherapy units and those using radioisotopes; - Industrial facilities, such as those producing radioisotopes, using irradiation and radiography devices, and manufacturing products incorporating radioactive materials; - Research facilities such as particle accelerators, and those associated with the nuclear industry (e.g. critical assemblies or zero-power reactors), pharmaceuticals and medicine; - Laboratories in universities and hospitals. This publication has been structured as a series of sequential actions, and is supported by tables identifying lessons learned during decommissioning of small facilities. This should assist the inexperienced worker in following a logical stepwise approach to decommissioning. Whereas it is not possible to include all the specific detail of every aspect of decommissioning in this report, a number of useful references are included at each stage, thereby directing the reader to further information. This report is structured as a number of practical stages, some of which can be initiated in parallel rather than sequentially, taking note that many factors under consideration may change throughout the decommissioning process up to achievement of release conditions. An accompanying CD includes a range of practical examples of decommissioning projects from around the world in the annexes, specifically providing details of project planning and implementation, along with lessons learned. (author)