Characterisation and Site/Facility Records
Introduction
In order to prepare the decommissioning plan and the associated prioritisation of the sites and facilities it is necessary to properly understand the radiological and non-radiological hazard status of the facilities and ground areas, and of the materials and wastes which will be generated in the decommissioning process.
Data exists from survey work carried out in different time periods and with different objectives, some of which will be relevant to the current status. In most cases this data is not systematic and there may be uncertainties over data quality. Due to the turmoil created by the wars and the subsequent security situation, much historical data has been lost or its location is uncertain. This includes design and construction data for many of the facilities. Several potential data sources must be searched, including records and the knowledge of experienced operators within Iraq, IAEA’s INVO inspection team files and also the organisations which provided some of the nuclear facilities (i.e. France, Italy and Russia).
The forward programme
It is therefore necessary to assemble and collate all existing data on those sites and facilities within the project, and indeed to determine the boundaries of the project by confirming the absence of hazards in other locations of potential interest. The data must be interpreted for relevance, quality and confidence. The availability of data must then be judged against the requirements for establishing the decommissioning plan. It is inevitable that much more characterisation data will be required in order to underpin the plan, and it is necessary to arrange for a systematic data measurement and collection exercise, within a quality management system, to cover the gaps.
The necessary additional monitoring and sampling work will require appropriate equipment, expertise and services. These requirements must be assessed, and assistance will be provided through procurement and training.
The project will generate a considerable data set which needs to be managed in an efficient manner. The provision of a Data Management System is being explored which will support both the representation of data based on facility mapping and also track the material, once decommissioning commences, through the waste management processes up to clearance or final disposal.
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