Nuclear decommissioning is the dismantling and decontamination of a nuclear power plant site so that it will no longer require measures for radiation protection. The presence of radioactive material necessitates special precautions not required for the dismantling of other types of power plants.
Most nuclear plants currently operating in the US were designed for a life of about 30 years and are licensed to operate for 40 years by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The average age of these reactors is 32 years. Therefore, many reactors are coming to the end of their licensing period. If their licenses are not renewed, the plants must go through a decontamination and decommissioning process.
Decommissioning involves many administrative and technical actions. It includes clean-up of radioactivity and progressive demolition of the plant. Once a facility is decommissioned, there should no longer be any danger of a radioactive accident or any danger to those visiting it. After a facility has been completely decommissioned, it is released from regulatory control, and the licensee of the plant will no longer be responsible for its nuclear safety.
Read more about Nuclear Decommissioning: Decommissioning Options, Experience, Legal Aspects, Cost of Decommissioning, International Collaboration, Ships, Mobile Reactors, Military Reactors, See Also
Famous quotes containing the word nuclear:
“American universities are organized on the principle of the nuclear rather than the extended family. Graduate students are grimly trained to be technicians rather than connoisseurs. The old German style of universal scholarship has gone.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)