DATA4DECOM

Project summary        

Decommissioning safely a nuclear site is a long-term technological and organisational challenge because of the complexity of the plant, the need for transferring knowledge to the next generations, and the contamination. When planning, training, and performing the dismantling of a nuclear site, the need for information about the actual design and the current state of the plant is of highest importance to perform the work safely, efficiently and with acceptable economic costs.

Safe work requires good planning that should be based on detailed data about the materials, the environment, the propre procedures, the history of the plant etc. This is the case both when operating and decommissioning a nuclear site. Because of safety concerns, the nuclear world is conservative and likes to continue using well- known procedures and technology even in cases where it would be obvious in comparable industries to use a more modern approach. In addition, the task exploring new ways of doing things and implementing them in the daily work can be time consuming and costly. Therefore, it is important to get the correct data by using good methods and right organisation.

For planning a work scenario in a nuclear environment one needs access to input data that describes the environment. In addition to radiological data one needs other information such as what the physical environment looks like and consists of. As an example, geometrical data can be collected from measurements done manually, blueprints or more advanced methods like for example laser scanning (LIDAR) and photogrammetry. The first methods require little when it comes to knowledge, organisation and technology but are often time-consuming and may result in low quality or errors if – as an example – the blueprints are not up to date or in a bad state. On the other hand, this way one only gets the data one needs. The latter, advanced metods require investments in equipment, software, training, and organisation, but are efficient if one has a need in several projects for precise, as- build 3D models. At the same time, one gets a lot more data that one maybe needs for the current scenario and not necessarily the most important details, which then must be created separately. The choice of the right tool, method and organisation is in other words essential for success in all means.

The Data4decom project will ask stakeholders in the Nordic nuclear professional environment to share their experiences about how they collect all sorts of data needed in their decommissioning. This includes the pros and cons of the chosen approaches, as well as the time and costs for getting the data and preparing it for use in decommissioning.

The material will be published in a NKS white paper and a workshop on the topic will be arranged at the end of the project. That is, to give access to recommendations about the resources needed, and possible new approaches to apply, when doing decommissioning.

Lead organisation

Institutt for energiteknikk (IFE), Halden, Norway

Contact person

Niels-Kristian Mark

niels.kristian.mark@ife.no 

+47 482 76 044