Development of guideline for safe decommissioning of concrete structures for nuclear facilities based on a comparative analysis with the previous asbestos dismantlement studies

Abstract

The need to develop procedures and safety assessments for decommissioning is emerging as more nuclear power plants worldwide are planning closures for safety, political, and social reasons. However, due to the lack of empirical examples and data related to the decommissioning of nuclear power plants, it is not easy to develop and verify the procedures and safety assessments for decommissioning. Therefore, countries with little or no nuclear decommissioning experience should establish a strategy to conduct safe decommissioning through the analysis of existing cases. While most of the guidelines for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities focus on radiological risks, they are relatively negligent in handling non-radioactive risk factors. As nuclear decommissioning has many similar characteristics to the dismantling of concrete structures, a proper decommissioning plan considering those risk factors should be formulated to protect workers and prevent accidents. Thus, this study aimed to develop procedures for the safe decommissioning of concrete structures in nuclear facilities, taking into account not only radiological risks but also structural hazards. In this study, we proposed the basic guidelines for avoiding the safety risks with the decommissioning process of radioactive concrete structures in nuclear facilities through the comparison with asbestos dismantling that had similar processes from the preparation stage to the disposal stage and systematic management through many empirical cases. And we verified their validity through expert interviews. © International Journal of Sustainable Building Technology and Urban Development.