Radiation protection planning in decommissioning of pilot plant of uranium processing for fuel element fabrication

After 25 years processing uranium oxides for the manufacturing of fuel elements, it was decided the decommissioning and decontamination of the uranium processing plant, for other purposes that not the handling of radioactive material. This decision was made by strategic causes, and the rationalizing of the assembly line. Based in national norms, especially the Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission - CNEN-NE-3.01 - Diretrizes Basicas de Radioprotecao and others norms and international recommendations for the decommissioning of uranium facilities, in mid-2003, planning and preparedness were made for the decommissioning of this facility. It was made a plan of work, and arranged a team of operators and the local radiation protection people, to work together in the decommissioning of the facility. Operations related to dismantling, decontamination, and monitoring are foreseen, involving industrial structures, walls, floors and etc. To be accordingly with radiation protection recommendations and to get an adequate and optimized control of the exposure of workers to ionizing radiation, there were made radiation protection procedures for these operations. We present here the preliminary steps, methods and equipment that will be used, as well as the initial radiation and contamination monitoring of this pilot plant. (author)