Facilities

Decomissioning of nuclear facilities

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Decomissioning of nuclear facilities

According to §40 of the Atomic Energy Act the decommissioning and dismantling of the currently operating nuclear facilities is the responsibility of the Public Limited Company for Radioactive Waste Management. For Paks NPP and the SFISF it is the task of our company to prepare and regularly review the preliminary and final decommissioning plans, for other nuclear facilities the company cooperates in the preparation of these plans. The company carries out all tasks related to the decommissioning and dismantling of all nuclear facilities and the recultivation of these areas.

Preparing the decommissioning of Paks NPP

The first unit of Paks NPP was connected to the national grid in 1982, the fourth unit was put into operation in 1987. The original designed lifetime of the plant is 30 years, currently the extended lifetime of the plant is 50 years. Therefore, the last unit of Paks NPP is expected to be decommissioned in 2037.

The first study regarding the decommissioning was prepared in 1993. This study only focused on the first two units. The extended study in 1997 included the decommissioning of all four units and the Spent Fuel Interim Storage Facility.

A significant step forward was when in 2003 the first Preliminary Decommissioning Plan was put together for both Paks NPP and the SFISF. This document evaluated the same decommissioning scenarios, as the 1997 study, however, it was a more detailed plan and considered the relevant recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The current international practice shows that for those nuclear facilities, which were designed a long time ago, when no computerized design tools were used, the creation of correct decommissioning input data and the so-called decommissioning database required for planning the decommissioning is extremely time- and resource consuming. The decommissioning database must be room-oriented, as decommissioning will be carried out room by room, not by system. For Paks NPP PURAM prepared the decommissioning database structure and the database itself in 2004. By the initiation of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority this was reviewed in 2005 as part of a regional programme by the IAEA with the involvement of German and Slovakian experts. The collection of the first round of data commenced in 2006 and continued until 2009. The decommissioning plans of the nuclear facilities must be reviewed every five years. In regard of the preliminary decommissioning plan of Paks NPP the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority made comments and recommendations in 2009 as well as it requested some amendments. Based on these comments and recommendations the next review of the preliminary plan was carried out in 2014, during which the following were included:

  • the review of the evaluation report titled: "The activation and degradation of the reactor main equipment and of the surrounding concrete structures that provide radiation protection";

  • the review of the decommissioning database of Paks NPP;

  • the radiological survey required for determining the costs of decommissioning and the quantities of radioactive waste to be disposed.

  • the compilation of the updated decommissioning plan for Paks NPP.

The plan includes two options - immediate dismantling or the high security guarding of the radiation controlled area for 20 years -, and presents the expected costs and waste quantities for both scenarios. The national programme of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management considers the scenario of guarding the radiation controlled area for 20 years. For the SFISF the preliminary decommissioning plan was reviewed in 2011, in line with the decommissioning plan of Paks NPP.

Task schedule

2014-2040

  • Regular review of the Preliminary Decommissioning Plans of the NPP and the SFISF, then the preparation and licensing of the Final Decommissioning Plans.

  • Phased shut-down of the nuclear units.

2037-2043

  • Transport of the spent fuel assemblies to the Spent Fuel Interim Storage Facility. Preparation of high security guarding of the active areas of the nuclear power plant.

2044-2064

  • High security guarding of the NPP and controlling and maintaining the SFISF.

  • Dismantling the inactive parts of the nuclear power plant.

2065-2080

  • Dismantling the active parts of the nuclear power plant.

  • Transport of the spent fuel assemblies from the Spent Fuel Interim Storage Facility.

  • Decommissioning the SFISF.

Decommissioning other nuclear facilities

The greatest task is the decommissioning of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant and the Spent Fuel Interim Storage Facility; however, the decommissioning of other nuclear facilities is also the task of PURAM. The decommissioning of the Paks NPP is going to be financed by the payments made by the plant to the Central Nuclear Financial Fund. For the nuclear facilities operated from the state budget (the training reactor of the Institute of Nuclear Techniques of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics - BME NTI -, and the research reactor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre for Energy Research - MTA EK-), the costs related to spent fuel management and decommissioning are covered by the annual state budget in the year when the costs arise.

The training reactor of the BME NTI was commissioned in 1971 for training the national nuclear workforce. The reactor nowadays operates at 100 kW nominal thermal power, and has a valid operating license until 2017. The good technical condition of the training reactor allows an operating lifetime extension until even 2027. The lifetime extension of Paks NPP and the training needs of additional plant personnel also require the prolonged operation of the training reactor. Therefore, the decommissioning of this facility is planned after 2027. The preliminary decommissioning plan of the training reactor was prepared in 2014, which contains that the reactor shall be immediately decommissioned while some functions (e.g: laboratories) in the reactor building remain functional.

The research reactor of the MTA EK was built in 1959. The core design was modified in 1967 with the introduction of a new type of fuel assembly. Between 1986 and 1992 the facility was refurbished; a new vessel was installed and thermal power was increased to 10 MW. The facility serves as a research and isotope manufacturing facility. The planned operating lifetime of the research reactor is 30 years, its operation is planned until 2023, however, due to the increased prices of nuclear fuel decommissioning might occur sooner, or if needs warrant it, the lifetime may be extended by 10 years. A decommissioning report was prepared by international cooperation in 1997 and 1998. Since 2005, besides the review (update) performed every 5 years, a preliminary decommissioning plan has been also prepared, which is included in Chapter 6 of the Final Safety Report of the Budapest Research Reactor.