IAEA's oversight of nuclear power plant decommissioning

摘要

Vladimir Michal, Head of Decommissioning at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), led off the 2020 Decommissioning and Used Fuel Strategy Summit, which was held online October 29-30, with an overview of the IAEA’s work supporting Member States in areas related to decommissioning nuclear power plants, research reactors, and other nuclear facilities. In a broad overview, Michal noted that some of the IAEA’s main areas of work revolve around safeguards and verification of nuclear materials, safety and security, and science and technology. The IAEA defines decommissioning as “the administrative and technical actions taken to remove all or some of the regulatory controls from an authorized facility so the facility and its site can be reused. Decommissioning includes activities such as planning, physical and radiological characterization, facility and site decontamination, dismantling, and materials management.” The IAEA supports sharing knowledge, good practices, and technical information among its Member States.