Nuclear Back End Webinar Series 3.9 - Outcome of International Conference on Nuclear Decommissioning
Nuclear Back End Webinar Series 3.9 - Outcome of International Conference on Nuclear Decommissioning
The Webinar highlight presented topics, discussed challenges and lessons learned as well as main outcomes of the IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Decommissioning: Addressing the Past and Ensuring the Future, that was held in Vienna from 15 to 19 May 2023 and attracted interest of over 470 registered and invited participants from 69 IAEA Member States and 6 International Organizations.
The Webinar also raise awareness of the importance of addressing decommissioning as part of a sustainable future, supporting optimal use of the resources needed for implementation, enabling further development of sites, and providing relevant knowledge and inputs for new facilities under the design or construction.
Nuclear Back End Webinar Series 3.7 - Considerations on Decommissioning in Design and Operation of Research Reactors
This webinar focused on various aspects of the earlier tasks needed to be performed during both design and operation stages, aimed at facilitating the decommissioning planning and implementation of activities.
A new IAEA’s publication under development on the topic is presented at the webinar. Selected practical cases applicable to the design and operation stages is introduced.
Nuclear Back End Webinar Series 3.6 - Application of Clearance in Management of Waste from Decommissioning
Clearance is the term used to describe the release of radioactive materials from the control of the radiation protection authority. Usually, this involves sources, objects, materials or waste with very low levels of radioactivity, that are below certain well-established radiological criteria.
During decommissioning of nuclear facilities, especially NPPs and nuclear fuel cycle facilities, large amount of different materials and waste may be generated. Vast majority of that is radiologically clean or contains very low activity concentrations of radionuclides, thus presenting ‘trivial’ radiation risk to people, so it is not justified to keep it under the regulatory control by the nuclear or radiation safety authority. Clearance is then the exit from the regulatory regime - an authorized process of systematic sampling and measurements, using also knowledge of the history of a given material, to prove that it meets the clearance criteria. Once cleared, the material can be reused or recycled and the waste can be disposed of as non-radioactive.
The webinar explains the concept of clearance, the radiological criteria used and their determination, different clearance options, the implementation of the clearance process, main technical challenges and the practical benefits form application of clearance. It will also provide examples from practices in the Member States.
Nuclear Back End Webinar Series 3.5 - Characterization of Radioactively Contaminated Land
Characterization of a contaminated site is an essential step before embarking on a programme for environmental remediation. It is not only necessary for assessing the associated radiation risks but also important to support the required project design, planning and cost estimate.
This webinar is intended to present and discuss updated approaches and methodologies applicable for determining the characteristics of radioactively contaminated sites, remaining challenges and needed innovations. Four main areas will be addressed:
(i) characterization of sites with buried wastes,
(ii) groundwater characterization,
(iii) sites contaminated with mining and processing wastes and
(iv) data visualization and interpretation.
The webinar will also showcase activities of the IAEA in this field including the Mobile Unit for Site Characterization.
Nuclear Back End Webinar Series 3.4 - Holistic Approach to NORM Management in line with the Principles of the Circular Economy
This webinar is to present the Holistic Approach to NORM Management highlighting key aspects of the framework such as Policy and Strategy, Inventory, Disposal Options and Valorisation of Residues in line with principles of Circular Economy.
Many of the IAEA Member States still face challenges to manage NORM residues in a safe, cost-effective and timely capacity. With that in mind, the IAEA is developing a framework entitled “The Holistic Approach for NORM Management”. The purpose of this webinar is to describe the proposed framework that includes elements of Policy and Strategies for NORM, Inventory Determination, Sampling and Characterization of NORM Residues, Cost Estimate of NORM Waste Disposal Options, Valorisation of NORM Residues and Decommissioning of NORM-Related Facilities. Importantly, this webinar will emphasize the sustainability aspects of NORM residue/waste management in the context of the circular economy concepts.
Nuclear Back End Webinar Series 3.3 - Enhanced Knowledge Sharing for Decommissioning
This webinar, focusing on current good practice in the development of systems to organize knowledge for decommissioning of nuclear facilities, will be the 22nd in the series of the IAEA Back End Wednesday Webinars. International experts will discuss current approaches at project level to organize knowledge in support of scenario planning, inventory records, stakeholder engagement and project management for decommissioning. International initiatives will also be discussed, including the IAEA Nuclear Wiki and the current joint initiative of the IAEA, OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the European Commission to develop a standard taxonomy for nuclear decommissioning.
After attending this webinar, participants will have an increased understanding of:
- Current approaches to organization of knowledge to support the planning and implementation of decommissioning projects.
- The emerging role of digital technologies in facilitating data management for decommissioning.
- Approaches to developing ageing management programmes.
- Knowledge management in support of stakeholder engagement.
Nuclear Back End Webinar Series 3.1 - 60 years of Spent Fuel Storage: Challenges and Opportunities
This webinar, focusing on operational experience, lessons learned, and R&D activities gathered during 60 years of safe spent fuel storage will be the 20th in the series of the IAEA Back End Wednesday Webinars. International experts will discuss the findings of a series of IAEA collaborative projects, undertaken over the last 40 years on this topic, on-going IAEA activities and the recently published Guidebook on Spent Fuel Storage Options and Systems. Challenges and issues being addressed will include spent fuel storage options, experiences in developing ageing management programmes to ensure transportability after long storage period, and the importance of characterizing spent fuel enabling integration of different stages of the backend of the fuel cycle, to avoid precluding potential options.
After attending this webinar, participants will have an increased understanding of:
- Spent fuel performance during storage.
- Spent fuel storage options.
- Approaches to developing ageing management programmes.
- Spent fuel characterization methodologies and data management.
Nuclear Back End Webinar Series 3.8 - Challenges in the post-operational phase of uranium mining and processing facilities
The purpose of this webinar is to discuss critical elements to be dealt with upon the termination of uranium mining and processing operations such as determining restoration objectives; applicable regulatory framework and role of regulatory bodies; definition of future use of the site and site end-state (with the involvement of local community in the decision-making process); long-term stewardship and Institutional Controls (funding aspects to be emphasised) and innovative approaches that can comprise circular economy principles. These topics will be illustrated with real case examples.