According to certain decisions, some electrical reactors can be closed and dismantled gradually. Also, for reasons of age and availability, prototype and research reactors, installations in medical applications, as well as nuclear fuel supply and disposal facilities may also be stopped and dismantled.

The safety requirements rules for nuclear decommissioning jobs set out all safety requirements. They shall apply to the decommissioning of an installation or part thereof, in one of the following situations:

• at the end of the estimated life span of the installation;
• after an unplanned permanent shutdown;
• after an accident, or in a situation where severe damage or contamination of the plant has resulted.

It shall also apply to the decommissioning of the following nuclear and radiological installations:

• nuclear power plants
• research reactors
• installations for the management of radioactive waste prior to final storage
• relevant medical, industrial radiological and research and development facilities
• buildings and support installations and services associated with installations for the disposal of radioactive waste

Nuclear decommissioning jobs are certainly not done at random, but by authorized service providers with qualifications and experience in the nuclear industry, who are already present, with their specialized teams, in many locations where decommissioning and disassembly projects are carried out.

In the context of decommissioning and disassembly planning, they are reliable partners in drawing up concepts, studies and approval documents. They know the nuclear regulations very well and have the appropriate certifications.

Nuclear decommissioning service suppliers develop, build and deliver facilities for professional disassembly, packaging and disposal of components in nuclear installations. They support quality and economic efficiency, and respect deadlines.

The works are carried out in planning offices and in on-site workshops, by certified specialists who have a good knowledge of the location. In terms of disassembly and dismantling equipment and tools, nuclear decommissioning services providers rely on tested and proven procedures and tools, some of which being developed by them and adapted internally.

Experience in remote disassembly, as well as in manual disassembly and packaging of components and equipment according to the specific requirements guarantees safe and economical solutions for customer decommissioning and disassembly projects.

The initial decommissioning plan must:

• identify the decommissioning option;
• demonstrate the feasibility of decommissioning and the fact that it can be carried out safely;
• demonstrate that adequate and sufficient financial resources are in place for decommissioning;
• identify the categories and estimate the quantities of radioactive waste that will be generated during decommissioning;
• contain aspects of environmental protection.

Regarding the specialists who can provide such services, there are minimum requirements for education and job experience for a nuclear decommissioning job, which include:

• knowledge of nuclear legislation and regulations;
• knowledge of the requirements of the standards for quality management systems and of the norms regarding the requirements for the quality management systems applied in the nuclear field;
• graduation of specialized courses regarding the evaluation by audit of the quality management systems;
• audit experience in the last 3 years.

Job experience that might be useful for nuclear decommissioning jobs include knowledge in the field of environmental management systems, health and safety at work and information security, according to international standards; audit experience for assessing the conformity of management systems with standards requirements; more than 3 years of active experience in the nuclear field.