The Programme of Work of the NEA in the Field of Decommissioning

Abstract

OECD member countries are increasingly faced with the need to make provisions for dealing with all aspects of the management of legacy nuclear installations, especially in terms of having in place adequate policies and regulatory frameworks for ensuring both safety and the efficient implementation of the decommissioning projects. Efficiency also requires that funding schemes are capable of providing adequate funds when required, even in the event that issues arise during implementation that were not anticipated during the planning phase. Waste management arrangements may encompass separate disposal routes for different categories of waste, including Very Low Level Waste, and may also include provisions for clearance and recycling.Recent moves in several countries towards establishing new nuclear programmes are bringing decommissioning activities into fresh focus, for reasons of public confidence (i.e. demonstrating that decommissioning can be done). In some instances existing nuclear sites will be used for the construction of new installations, but stakeholder issues are important for these sites as well. Maturing decommissioning experience should also provide lessons that would help in the reduction of lifetime costs for nuclear plants and other facilities.The challenge lying ahead is to establish a framework that will account for growing nuclear industrial activities in competitive, globalised markets, while maintaining and assuring the safety of decommissioning for the public and for workers. Within this context, institutional arrangements, stakeholder issues, costs and funding, waste management and release policies, as well as availability of technologies and skills, need to be kept under review. All these issues form part of the work programme of the NEA in the field of decommissioning.