A task group, set up by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency’s Co-operative Programme on Decommissioning, has been studying the recycling and reuse of redundant material from the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Based on a survey of practices and regulations as well as experience in the field, the study has noted that a large amount of material has been released, almost all of it on case-by-case basis, according to widely varying criteria. Several international organisations have proposed interim and/or draft criteria for the unconditional or conditional release of material. Many countries have or are currently considering national regulations for these purposes. In order to remove the possibility of a duplicity of standards and also for solving the problem of trans-boundary movement of released material, it is necessary to co-ordinate efforts internationally in this area. This paper starts with a brief description of the background and terminology used in the area, continues with reports on the material released to date as well as on the technologies associated with recycling. It then focuses on the proposals, recommendations and/or regulations regarding recycling as practised in several countries. Finally, recycling is viewed in a broader perspective, comparing its radiological and other consequences with those of other industrial activities.
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