Waste Management Strategy
Decommissioning & waste management strategy and plan
There is a clear need for the decommissioning project to develop the Decommissioning Strategy and Plan based on the characterisation data for the sites and facilities and on the output from the prioritisation process.
Ideally such a decommissioning strategy and plan should be developed and approved by the regulatory body prior to implementation of any hands-on decommissioning activity. However, the scale of the overall programme, the condition of the facilities and the need to start to build up experience and expertise within Iraq dictate that it is appropriate to develop the strategy and plan in parallel with undertaking some initial low-activity operational decommissioning work.
The Decommissioning Strategy and Plan must contain, as an integral component, a clear understanding of the nature and quantity of all waste and re-usable material arising from the decommissioning activity and a plan for its disposition in terms of clearance, re-use, interim storage or disposal as radioactive waste. It is therefore necessary to develop a national waste management strategy for Iraq in parallel with the decommissioning plan. There are currently no approved radioactive waste disposal sites in Iraq.
In the current phase of the project it is necessary to undertake preparatory steps to facilitate the development of the decommissioning and waste management strategy and the resultant plan:
- As characterisation data becomes available it is possible to develop and refine the information on potential waste streams which will need to be addressed
- International experience and current practices relevant to decommissioning waste management, material sentencing and clearance, treatment and packaging of waste, and waste disposal options for ILW, LLW and VLLW are being reviewed. It is particularly important to gain an understanding of the strategic issues involved and the interaction between disposal requirements and decommissioning operations
- Assess whether any current Iraqi facilities could be modified or upgraded to provide useful service for waste conditioning or storage
- Begin to refine the options for waste management and disposal appropriate for Iraq, including the number, size and location of possible interim waste stores and to give preliminary consideration of potential specifications and locations for waste disposal sites
- Determine the vision for the defined end state for the key site at Tuwaitha
The Plan will allow a cost estimate to be derived, and provides the platform both to secure the necessary funding and for the refinement of the overall project implementation plan.
For further information please contact
