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| NKS Programme Area: | NKS-R | | Research Area: | Decommissioning | | Report Number: | NKS-165 | | Report Title: | Cost Calculations for Decommissioning and Dismantling of Nuclear Research Facilities | | Activity Acronym: | CostCalc | | Authors: | Inga Andersson, Steinar Backe, Anna Cato, Henrik Efraimsson, Klaus Iversen, Staffan Lindskog, Seppo Salmenhaara, Rolf Sjöblom | | Abstract: | Today, it is recommended that planning of decommission should form an integral part of the activities over the life cycle of a nuclear facility (planning, building and operation), but it was only in the nineteen seventies that the waste issue really surface. Actually, the IAEA guidelines on decommissioning have been issued as recently as over the last ten years, and international advice on finance of decommissioning is even younger. No general international guideline on cost calculations exists at present.
This implies that cost calculations cannot be performed with any accuracy or credibility without a relatively detailed consideration of the radiological prerequisites. Consequently, any cost estimates based mainly on the particulars of the building structures and installations are likely to be gross underestimations.
The present study has come about on initiative by the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI) and is based on a common need in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
The content of the report may be briefly summarised as follows. The background covers design and operation prerequisites as well as an overview of the various nuclear research facilities in the four participating countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.
The purpose of the work has been to identify, compile and exchange information on facilities and on methodologies for cost calculation with the aim of achieving an 80 % level of confidence.
The scope has been as follows:
• to establish a Nordic network
• to compile dedicated guidance documents on radiological surveying, technical planning and financial risk identification and assessment
• to compile and describe techniques for precise cost calculations at early stages
• to compile plant and other relevant data
A separate section is devoted in the report to good practice for the specific purpose of early but precise cost calculations for research facilities, and a separate section is devoted to techniques for assessment of cost.
Examples are provided for each of the countries of relevant projects. They are as follows:
• Research reactor DR1 in Denmark
• The TRIGA research reactor in Finland
• The uranium reprocessing plant in Norway
• Research reactor R1 in Sweden
The following conclusions were made:
• IAEA and OECD/NEA documents provide invaluable advice for pertinent approaches.
• Adequate radiological surveying is needed before precise cost calculations can be made.
• The same can be said about technical planning including selection of techniques to be used.
• It is proposed that separate analyses be made regarding the probabilities for conceivable features and events which could lead to significantly higher costs than expected.
• It is expected that the need for precise cost estimates will dictate the pace of the radiological surveying and technical planning, at least in the early stages.
• It is important that the validity structure for early cost estimates with regard to type of facility be fully appreciated. E g, the precision is usually less for research facilities.
• The summation method is treacherous and leads to systematical underestimations in early stages unless compensation is made for the fact that not all items are included.
• Comparison between different facilities can be made when there is access to information from plants at different stages of planning and when accommodation can be made with regard to differences in features.
• A simple approach is presented for “calibration” of a cost estimate against one or more completed projects.
• Information exchange and co-operations between different plant owners is highly desirable. | | Keywords: | Decommissioning; cost calculations; nuclear; research facilities; fund; nordic | | Publication date: | 01 Jul 2008 | | ISBN: | ISBN: 978-87-7893-230-3 | | Number of downloads: | 1602 | | Download: |  NKS-165.pdf |
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