Decommissioning Nuclear Facilities

The IAEA 51st General Conference was the setting for the launch of a new international initiative aimed at bolstering cooperation between organizations involved in the decommissioning of nuclear installations. Called the International Decommissioning Network (IDN), the initiative will act as a conduit for the flow of skills and information from those Member States with proven decommissioning expertise to those facing the challenge for the first time or whose programs are constrained by lack of resources.

Around the world more than 350 nuclear installations - including research and medical as well as power reactors - are ageing and approaching the end of their operational life-span. Decommissioning a nuclear facility is a complicated and costly process. Some have already been shut down and await the complicated and the costly task of decommissioning. The decommissioning is a process by which the facilities are cleared of industrial and radioactive contamination so that they may safely be used for other purposes. Many of these facilities are small and widely distributed geographically and the decommissioning strategies need to be tailored to cope with limited experience, infrastructure and funding.

Formed just a year ago, the International Decommissioning Network (IDN) is changing the way knowledge, expertise and information are shared between Member States. It was noted that many developing member states have become sources of very specific technical expertise in decommissioning of nuclear fuel cycle facilities (Source: IAEA News). The IAEA should serve as a nodal agency to collate and disseminate the decommissioning knowledge to Member States without much red tapism.