Transport of the Reactor Pressure Vessels in the Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant

Five WWER-440 reactors are being dismantled on the Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant (KGR) site. The strategy for the dismantling of the reactor units 1 to 4 (operation time 12–17 years) was to cut and pack the components remotely. For this purpose dry and wet cutting areas were installed. The remote cutting and packing of the reactor pressure vessel and its internals was successfully tested with non-activated original reactor components of units 7 and 8 from October 1999 until July 2003. From August 2004 until July 2007 the internals from reactor units 1 and 2 were cut, packed and transported to the on-site Interim Store North (ISN). For the reactor 5 it was planned to transport the RPV in one piece and the reactor internals in shielding and transport containers to the interim store for decay storage. In December 2003 the RPV of unit 5 was lifted and transported to the interim store. From April 2006 up to July 2006 the reactor internals of unit 5 were packed and transported to the interim store. After the evaluation of the experience made during the transport and the radiological measurements and samplings taken from the RPV unit 1, the strategy for the dismantling of the reactors was changed. The reactor pressure vessels of the units 1 to 4 and the reactor internals of the units 3 and 4 should be removed as complete parts and stored as shielded large components in the ISN. In summer 2005 EWN applied for the new strategy at the responsible licensing authority and in August 2007 this license was granted. In November 2007 the reactor pressure vessels of the units 1 and 2 were transported into the ISN. The transport of the reactor pressure vessels and the internals from units 3 and 4 is planned in the period from March till September 2009. These transports of the reactor pressure vessels and internals show that the dismantling of the reactors with dismantling and interim storage of large components could not only be an alternative for cutting but could also be favored from the economical and radiological point of view.