An integrated system to manage wastes produced during decommissioning activities

An integrated computerized system has been developed and implemented to manage, through an organized Data Base, the dismantling activities in Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) decommissioning. For Caorso NPP (GE BWR4 - Mark II) a specific system has been developed, called 'DeCaorso'. DeCaorso is an integration system between a 3D CAD Model of the Nuclear Power Plant (as minimum for the controlled zone) in as built configuration and a computerized Data Base (in 'MS ACCESS' environment) which stores all the information (as 'attributes') associated to any elementary operational or dismantling waste. The 3D CAD Electronic Model is used to produce and manage the following certified information: i) geometrical characterization of elementary dismantling items; ii) dismantling sequence area by area inside the controlled zone, prior to any dismantling authorization; iii) details on dismantling activity for each specific area of the plant; iv) internal contamination and/or activation for systems / components and consequently for elementary dismantled items; v) area dose rates. The above information, associated to an elementary item properly identified, are automatically migrated into the DeCaorso 'MS ACCESS' Data Base, together with other attributes (i.e. radiological characterization, chemical/mechanical treatment, segmentation, washing) added during the waste route of each elementary item through the Waste Management Facility (WMF). DeCaorso has also developed the integration between the 3D CAD Electronic Model, the 'MS ACCESS' Data Base and the Decommissioning Planning Activity ('Primavera' and 'MS Project' Computer Codes). Through this automatic integration, DeCaorso is also extensively used to monitor the time / material progress of NPP decommissioning activities. DeCaorso produces for each elementary item generated by the NPPs decommissioning activities an automatic data sheet (MAC) which will move together with the item itself for all its life, from its generation in the dismantled plant area, through transportation into a waiting buffer and to the Waste Management Facility to be submitted to the specific waste treatment, up to the final radiological characterization. For the wastes which, at the end of the treatment and radiological characterization process, will be moved into qualified containers to the National Repository, the information (attributes) associated to the Container identification ( as per UNICEN 204 , in terms of global content list, radiological characterization, chemical composition, wastes classification, maintenance and inspection requirements, history of elementary waste) are stored into the DeCaorso Data Base. All the above information, through the DeCaorso Data Base, will be moved together with the qualified containers, to the Authority who has in charge the management of the National Waste Repository. (authors)