Activities in the José Cabrera Dismantling and Decommissioning Plan

In the Dismantling and Decommissioning Project approved for the José Cabrera nuclear power plant priority is given to the safety of the personnel performing the work, the general public and the environment.

All the activities are subject to strict controls in which consideration is given to both the occupational risks present in any conventional industry and to radiological risks.

Preparatory activities

Initiation of the dismantling tasks requires a series of auxiliary systems and facilities that have to be constructed or modified beforehand. The preparatory activities will be carried out in accordance with the following Plans:

• Systems Modification Plans.
• Auxiliary Facilities Conditioning Plans.

In addition, the following will be applied with a view to eliminating risks and interferences during performance of the works:

• Definitive Tagout Plans.
• Risk Reduction / Elimination Plan.

Dismantling of conventional elements

This heading includes the dismantling of those plant buildings and facilities that have no radiological connotations. The most significant installations included in this group are as follows:

• Turbine building.
• Diesel generator building.
• Cooling towers.
• Workshops.

Dismantling of radiological elements

This is the activity that requires the highest levels of protection and the participation of the most highly specialised companies, and will be undertaken in accordance with the following plans:

• Radioactive Elements Disassembly Plan, this includes the disassembly and decontamination of the following elements:
  • Reactor building.
  • Auxiliary building.
  • Evaporator building.
  • Temporary waste stores.
• Major Components Disassembly Plan. One of the most complex activities to be undertaken is the disassembly and segmentation of the major components of the primary system, located inside the containment building. This task is expected to last more than three years and includes the disassembly and segmentation of the following items:
  • Reactor internals.
  • Reactor vessel.
  • Major primary circuit components, in the following order: coolant pump, pressuriser and steam generator.

Decontamination and demolition of buildings

The following Plans will be applicable to this group of activities:

• Walls and Structures Decontamination Plan, which will be carried out following the removal of the components from the different buildings and on completion of any activity that might imply new contamination.
• Activated Concrete Chopping Plan.
• Demolition and Backfill Plan.

Decontamination and demolition of buildings

The following Plans will be applicable to this group of activities:

• Walls and Structures Decontamination Plan, which will be carried out following the removal of the components from the different buildings and on completion of any activity that might imply new contamination.
• Activated Concrete Chopping Plan.
• Demolition and Backfill Plan.

Management of waste materials

Management of waste materials from the José Cabrera nuclear power plant dismantling project

Like radiological characterisation, the management of materials entails activities that are performed during all the phases of the project. Performance of this activity is broken down into four major areas of management:

• Conventional wastes.
• Hazardous wastes.
• Materials open to declassification.
• Radioactive wastes and spent fuel.

The dismantling of the plant will generate a large quantity of waste materials, and it will be necessary to determine which may be recycled and which are to be treated as wastes. These waste materials will be as follows:

• Clean concrete rubble, which may be reused on the site.
• Conventional ferritic materials, which will be recycled.
• Toxic and hazardous products, which will be deposited and treated at appropriate facilities by authorised management organisations.
• Radioactive wastes. It is estimated that the radioactive wastes will account for only 3.88% of the total quantity of materials generated during dismantling.