Decommissioning the Romanian Water-Cooled Water-Moderated Research Reactor: New Environmental Perspective on the Management of Radioactive Waste

Conference · Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2006

OSTI ID:21208664

Barariu, G; Giumanca, R ^[1]

---

1. Romanian Authority for Nuclear Activity (RAAN), Subsidiary of Technology and Engineering for Nuclear Objectives (SITON), 111 Atomistilor St., Bucuresti-Magurele, Ilfov (Romania)

Pre-feasibility and feasibility studies were performed for decommissioning of the water-cooled water-moderated research reactor (WWER) located in Bucharest - Magurele, Romania. Using these studies as a starting point, the preferred safe management strategy for radioactive wastes produced by reactor decommissioning is outlined. The strategy must account for reactor decommissioning, as well as for the rehabilitation of the existing Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant and for the upgrade of the Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility at Baita-Bihor. Furthermore, the final rehabilitation of the laboratories and ecological reconstruction of the grounds need to be provided for, in accordance with national and international regulations. In accordance with IAEA recommendations at the time, the pre-feasibility study proposed three stages of decommissioning. However, since then new ideas have surfaced with regard to decommissioning. Thus, taking into account the current IAEA ideology, the feasibility study proposes that decommissioning of the WWER be done in one stage to an unrestricted clearance level of the reactor building in an Immediate Dismantling option. Different options and the corresponding derived preferred option for waste management are discussed taking into account safety measures, but also considering technical, logistical and economic factors. For this purpose, possible types of waste created during each decommissioning stage are reviewed. An approximate inventory of each type of radioactive waste is presented. The proposed waste management strategy is selected in accordance with the recommended international basic safety standards identified in the previous phase of the project. The existing Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant (RWTP) from the Horia Hulubei Institute for Nuclear Physics and Engineering (IFIN-HH), which has been in service with no significant upgrade since 1974, will need refurbishing due to deterioration, as well as upgrading in order to ensure the plant complies with current safety standards. This plant will also need to be adapted to treat wastes generated by WWER dismantling. The Baita-Bihor National Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility consists of two galleries in an abandoned uranium mine located in the central-western part of the Bihor Mountains in Transylvania. The galleries lie at a depth of 840 m. The facility requires a considerable overhaul. Several steps recommended for the upgrade of the facility are explored. Environmental concerns have lately become a crucial part of the radioactive waste management strategy. As such, all decisions must be made with great regard for land utilization around nuclear objectives. (authors)

• Research Organization: WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 13023, Tucson, AZ, 85732-3023 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 21208664
• Report Number(s): INIS-US-09-WM-06185; TRN: US09V0975079451
• Resource Relation: Conference: Waste Management 2006 Symposium - WM'06 - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 26 Feb - 2 Mar 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France; 6 refs
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
42 ENGINEERING
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
IAEA
INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING
RECOMMENDATIONS
RESEARCH REACTORS
ROMANIA
SAFETY STANDARDS
STORAGE FACILITIES
WWER TYPE REACTORS