Regulatory review of safety assessments for decommissioning projects - an international project

Decommissioning is being planned or has already taken place for a broad range of nuclear facilities worldwide, including nuclear power plants, research reactors, nuclear fuel cycle facilities, research laboratories and industrial facilities, and it is expected that the number of facilities permanently ceasing operations will increase in the next few decades. Ensuring safety during decommissioning is a regulatory requirement, and adequate planning, evaluation and demonstration of safety for decommissioning activities are necessary to meet this requirement. It has been recognized that it would be desirable for a harmonized approach to be developed taking into account international experience and lessons learned. In view of this, a new International project was initiated by the International Atomic Energy Agency on evaluation and demonstration of safety of decommissioning of nuclear facilities (DeSa). It aims at drawing on international experience in order to develop a harmonized approach for evaluating the safety of decommissioning activities and reviewing safety assessments for these activities for all types of nuclear facilities (e.g. nuclear power plants, research reactors, nuclear fuel cycle facilities, research laboratories, industrial plants). The DeSa project commenced last year and this paper will describe the outcomes and progress of the project to date. (author)