Safe decontamination is a regular requirement in the lifecycle of a nuclear plant and is integral to the careful maintenance of any nuclear installation for 4 key reasons:
• To decrease the risk of radioactive contamination spreading
• To limit the radioactive doses contracted by maintenance personnel
• To limit the radioactive doses incurred during decommissioning
• To downgrade the class of radioactive waste
The primary goal of decommissioning is to remove aged and/or contaminated and/or activated components of an installation, safely and securely, in as short a time as possible. There are several reasons why this may be necessary:
• To eliminate the risk of radioactive contamination spreading
• To eliminate the risk of radiation
• To downgrade a site or a circuit to a point where it no longer is submitted to regular inspection
• To remove installations or parts that are no longer in service or have aged
There are many different D&D techniques, tools and materials available today. What is important is knowing how best to use them.
This paper describes the experiences and the future projects of Tecnubel in D & D projects in Belgium and abroad.
