Decommissioning Planning
Plans for the safe, compliant, and cost-effective decommissioning and site restoration of nuclear facilities, produced by a team of experts with decades of experience.
Our Global Team
Canada
Mina Shinouda
Nuclear Account Manager, CanadaOur Global Team
United States
Jenna Gatto
Nuclear Senior Business Development Director, United StatesOur Global Team
International
Shahrokh Zangeneh
Senior Vice President Sales, InternationalOverview
At the end of a facility’s useful life actions must be taken to place it in a safe state and restore the site for future possible use. In the case of nuclear facilities, this can be done in phases that take into account radioactive decay and the lessening of the radiation hazards over time.
Consideration of the approach for decommissioning is necessary at various stages in the facility’s lifecycle. The decommissioning plan can influence plant design; is an important part of the licensing process; must be updated in order to maintain a view on financial liabilities; and a detailed plan must be approved and licensed before a decommissioning project can begin. Decommissioning planning is a complex exercise that incorporates conventional engineering, safety and licensing, cost estimating, and waste management. A key part of the plan is associated with the final waste disposal cost and actions taken to minimize the creation of additional more challenging decommissioning wastes.
Our expertise and experience enables us to provide a comprehensive decommissioning service to develop optimized plans that minimize risk and cost, as well as maximize safety and environmental protection.
Why Us?
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All Types of Facilities
We have prepared preliminary decommissioning plans, and cost estimates, and have originated or amended licensing documentation for prototypes, power reactors, waste management facilities, tritium handling facilities, and disposal sites around the world.
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Knowledge of Regulatory Requirements
Our team has assisted in the development of the latest Canadian Standards Association N294 standard (Decommissioning of facilities containing radioactive materials) and our subject matter experts are serving on associated technical committees.
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Waste Management Expertise
Waste management is often the key issue driving the cost of a decommissioning project. We use our knowledge of the options to minimize the overall cost, while maintaining safety and the environment.
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Safe and Licensable
As Canada's leading safety and licensing organization you can be sure that the plans we develop will be acceptable to your regulator.
Technical Abilities
Planning Support
Strategy Planning and Analysis
Experience with engineering related projects has helped clients and regulators better understand what routes are most feasible for planned decommissioning projects.
- Strategy Development
- Waste Disposal Strategy
- Waste Process Optioneering
- Decommissioning Options and Costs
- Funding Options
- Deterministic and Probabilistic Safety Analysis
Preliminary Decommissioning Plan (PDP)
With experience in PDP activities for Canadian and international clients, we have subject matter experts who can help identify OPEX and provide insights to high-level plans for a decommissioning project.
- Process Modeling/Simulation
- Application of Standards and Regulatory Guidance
- End-State Definition
- Cost Estimation
- PDP Preparation
Detailed Decommissioning Plan
Our experience with preparing preliminary decommissioning plans and developing decommissioning strategies can be leveraged to document the final end-state objectives, a waste management plan, and potential environmental effects required for the detailed decommissioning plan. The combination of process modeling/simulation and past project experience helps identify and mitigate process bottlenecks in decommissioning schedules.
- Process Modeling / Simulation
- Schedule and Cost Estimation
- Engineering Plans and Procedures
- Waste Stream and Quantity
- Project Organization and Management
Site and Facility Characterization
Extensive experience with operational facilities allows for efficient site scoping and characterization activities.
- Historical Site Assessment
- Scoping Surveys
- Survey Design
- Final Release Surveys
- Environmental Assessment
- Decommissioning Impact Assessment
- Dose Assessment
- Radionuclide Inventory
- Chemical and Hazard Analysis
- Activation Analysis for Structures and Components
Waste Management Options
Every country has a different political environment which can affect waste management costs and a "social license" to build, license and operate. Subject matter experts, with international experience, allow us to understand these considerations in order to inform business decisions and regulatory proceedings.
- Waste Strategy Development
- Optioneering
- Disposal and Cost Analysis
- Volume Reduction Strategies
- Treatment and Processing
- System Decontamination at Shutdown
Decommissioning Cost Estimate
We apply our expertise from decommissioning strategic planning and past experiences to optimize the development of Decommissioning Cost Estimates for both accelerated or long-term decommissioning strategies.
- Modeling
- Optioneering
- Site End-State Scenarios
- Database
Assessments
Decommissioning Safety Assessment
Planning and execution experience tied to operational reactors and decommissioning projects can be applied to our future projects.
- Hot Areas Definition
- Resource Requirements
- Operations Planning
- Virtual Simulations
- Shielding Analysis and Dose Calculation
System & Component Assessment
An understanding of system interoperability and condition assessments allows us to develop plans to isolate decommissioning units from the rest of the nuclear facility.
- Redundant and Retained Systems
- New Build Replacement Options
- Life Management for Retained Systems
- Infrastructure Support Needs
Transition Management
Staff training programs, OPEX collection, and Subject Matter Experts with industry management experience and leadership are used for the development of transition strategies decades in advance of final site turnover.
- Retention of Institutional Memory
- Release or Transfer of Staff
- Commercial Handover
- License Termination Planning
- Safe Operation Planning - Regulatory
- Stabilization Planning - Regulatory and Engineering
Regulatory Support
We are widely recognized as the most reliable team in Canada for licensing consulting services, backed by our decades of experience working with Canadian and international licensees to successfully deliver licensing projects. Strategic regulatory planning ensures projects can meet applicable regulatory requirements as efficiently as possible and provides confidence in scheduling.
- Licensing Case Development
- Regulatory Compliance Support and Interpretation
- Environmental Assessment
- Notifications - Decommissioning, Mandate, Hold Points
Our Proven Experience
Key Clients
Projects
The Canadian nuclear supply chain has been fortunate. A consistent stream of new build projects was followed immediately by preparation for and then implementation of the refurbishments. These will then be followed by the decommissioning program. This consistency has enabled the companies to retain their nuclear capabilities and qualifications and to continue to hone their expertise positioning them well to serve the developing international Decommissioning and Waste Management business.
Let's Work Together
Whether it’s about our world-renowned team, our laboratories, or our lifecycle management solutions, we’re happy to answer any questions you might have.