Collection and characterization of emissions from metal cutting in Caorso nuclear power plant decommissioning

The Caorso's Nuclear Power Plant (BWR, 870 MWe) has just started the decommissioning process, with the intent to reach, by almost ten years, the 'green field' conditions for the site. The plant has fully worked for a very short period of time, by 1981 to 1986, being shut down after 1987 Italy's poll that abrogated nuclear power use. The dismantling of the components and of the structural materials has already begun in the Turbine Building. The University of Bologna, on indication of the NPP's management, has started an experimental campaign to test the cutting processes and its filtering plant. The starting phase is the qualification of the cutting methods chosen by Caorso's management, oxyfuel and plasma cuttings. This campaign is set over no contaminated material, or, better, material with a contamination under the level of free release, and is now running in the University Labs. Next phase are filtering tests. This part of the qualifying campaign is set to highlight the kind of trouble that can emerge in the cutting processes, not yet taking into account radioactivity. Caorso's BWR is a plant designed and built in the 70s. Possible decommissioning problems weren't considered during the design phase so the cutting processes will be quite difficult, even on the conventional side. The final phase is settled in the plant. Cutting tests, following indications made by previous campaigns, will be conducted in the Turbine Building, where tests can be conducted on a low level of radioactivity (only some little part of it has a contamination level over the free release limit of 1 Bq/cm2). The intent is to develop an extensive cutting procedure, with the obvious option of remote control, able to face difficulties connected with cutting processes in a nuclear plant like Caorso. This means handling with radioactivity and with not airy narrow rooms, fulfilled with pipes. (authors)