Once a nuclear installation has reached the end of its safe and economical operational lifetime, the need for its decommissioning arises. Different strategies can be employed for nuclear decommissioning, based on the evaluation of particular hazards and their attendant risks, as well as on the analysis of costs of clean-up and waste management. This allows for decommissioning either soon after permanent shutdown, or perhaps a long time later, the latter course allowing for radioactivity levels to drop in any activated or contaminated components. It is crucial for clear processes and best practices to be applied in decommissioning such installations and sites, particular where any significant health and environmental risks exist.This book critically reviews the nuclear decommissioning processes and technologies applicable to nuclear power plants and other civilian nuclear facilities. Part one focuses on the fundamental planning issues in starting a nuclear decommissioning process, from principles and safety regulations, to financing and project management. Part two covers the execution phase of nuclear decommissioning projects, detailing processes and technologies such as dismantling, decontamination, and radioactive waste management, as well as environmental remediation, site clearance and reuse. Finally, part three details international experience in the decommissioning of nuclear applications, including the main nuclear reactor types and nuclear fuel cycle facilities, as well as small nuclear facilities and legacy nuclear waste sites. - Critically reviews nuclear decommissioning processes and technologies applicable to nuclear power plants and other civilian nuclear facilities - Discusses the fundamental planning issues in starting a nuclear decommissioning process - Considers the execution phase of nuclear decommissioning projects, including dismantling, decontamination, and radioactive waste management, as well as environmental remediation, site clearance and reuse

Simple text and photographs introduce the life of George Washington Carver.

Following the acquisition of the atomic bomb by five states, the United Nations began drafting several treaties to limit nuclear proliferation. These efforts failed, as four more states also acquired nuclear weapons. In a similar vein, an attempt to limit atomic weapons - primarily within the two superpowers - was initiated. While the number of weapons has decreased, the new bombs now being manufactured are more powerful and more precise, negating any reduction in numbers. In the field of civil nuclear use, all nuclear facilities (reactors, factories, etc.) have a limited lifespan. Once a plant is permanently shut down, these facilities must be decommissioned and dismantled. These operations are difficult, time-consuming and costly. In addition, decommissioning generates large volumes of radioactive waste of various categories, including long-lived and high-activity waste. Risks to the environment and to health are not negligible during decommissioning. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have produced numerous publications with recommendations. Each state has its own decommissioning strategy (immediate or delayed) and final plan for the site - whether it be returning it to greenfield status or obtaining a nuclear site license with centuries-long monitoring.

When economic circumstances dictate that a process plant should cease or change production, either temporarily or for good, action must be taken. This book explains the pitfalls in planning to raze a plant to the ground, mothballing it or modifying it to something else.

Experienced Guidance on the Technical Issues of Decommissioning Projects Written by one of the original MARSSIM authors, Decommissioning Health Physics: A Handbook for MARSSIM Users, Second Edition is the only book to incorporate all of the requisite technical aspects of planning and executing radiological surveys in support of decommissioning. Extensively revised and updated, it covers survey instrumentation, detection sensitivity, statistics, dose modeling, survey procedures, and release criteria. New to the Second Edition Chapter on hot spot assessment that recognizes appropriate dosimetric significance of hot spots when designing surveys and includes a new approach for establishing hot spot limits Chapter on the clearance or release of materials, highlighting aspects of the MARSAME manual Revised chapter on characterization survey design to reflect guidance in ANSI N13.59 on the value of data quality objectives (DQOs) Updated regulations and guidance documents throughout Updated survey instrumentation used to support decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) surveys, including expanded coverage of in situ gamma spectrometers Revised statistics chapter that includes an introduction to Bayesian statistics and additional double sampling and ranked set sampling statistical approaches More case studies and examples throughout Implement the Surveys Effectively and Avoid Common Pitfalls With more than 20 years of experience as a practitioner in the decommissioning survey field, author Eric W. Abelquist prepares you for the technical challenges associated with planning and executing MARSSIM surveys. He discusses the application of statistics for survey design and data reduction and addresses the selection of survey instrumentation and detection sensitivity. He presents final status survey