Danish Decommissioning

Man. Director: Ole Kastbjerg Nielsen

DD is a state enterprise established in 2003, which is now under the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.

Our main tasks are:

To dismantle the six original nuclear facilities at Risø. The decommissioning must be done in a safe, environmentally sound and economically optimal way.

To receive, treat and store radioactive waste from Danish users of radioactive isotopes.

To participate in the process, which by 2073 must have led to a permanent solution for the radioactive waste. Until then, Danish Decommissioning must store the waste.

Links

Our activities are determined through:

Parliamentary resolution B 48 (2003)

Parliamentary resolution B 90 (2018)

Circular No 9261 (2022)

Conditions for operation & settlement (2022)

We are subject to supervision by The Danish Health Authority, Radiation Protection and by The Danish Emergency Management Agency. We have also established an external whistleblowing scheme where staff and regular partners can submit information on illegal or objectionable matters without fear of negative consequences.

The approximately 90 employees perform a variety of different and in some cases highly specialized tasks: decommissioning planning, plant dismantling, waste management, operation and maintenance, radiation protection of employees and surroundings, administration, etc. Some of the employees know the nuclear facilities from when they were in operation.

DD is organized into nine units and a staff function. See the organizational chart here and more details below.

More about us

We are divided into nine units plus a staff function

Executive board

Director: Ole Kastbjerg Nielsen, Director of Radiation Protection: Mikkel Øberg and Technical Director: Kirsten Hjerrild Nielsen.
The latter, who is an engineer specializing in reactor technology and has practical experience from when Risø's reactors were in operation, also serves as DD's nuclear expert.

Quality Management & Regulatory Collaboration

The staff function "Quality Management & Authority Collaboration" reports to the CEO and is responsible for maintaining the quality management system and ensuring compliance with the requirements for authority-related communication.

Quality
The quality management system includes the legal and regulatory requirements that apply to Danish Decommissioning. Danish Decommissioning is certified/accredited in relation to three standards:

ISO 9001
ISO 17025, which allows Danish Decommissioning to measure and release waste in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements
KLS - relating to electricity safety

Regulatory cooperation
The person responsible for regulatory cooperation ensures that the documents sent between DD and the nuclear regulatory authorities meet the requirements for such documents. Both in terms of structure, content and quality assurance and subsequent case processing internally in DD, including journaling. In addition, it is also ensured that DD lives up to its obligations for reporting to the nuclear regulatory authorities.

Management Secretariat

Manager: Anja Kraag. This unit supports the entire management/organisation and solves cross-organisational tasks of a strategic nature:

Drive forward the process of final disposal of radioactive waste together with other organisations directly involved
Handle waste tasks of a long-term strategic nature, related to final disposal
Contribute to other political processes and decisions related to DD tasks
Assist in law, HR, organisational development and communication
Conduct strategic tenders

Finance, IT & Service

Manager: Betina Lykke Nielsen. Supports the entire the organisation by handling the following main tasks:

Strategic financial management
IT
Information security
Operation/maintenance and adaptation of buildings
Procurement
Administrative operations

Radiation protection

Manager: Mikkel Øberg. Supports the entire organisation by carrying out the following main tasks:

Radiation protection: advice, training, control/monitoring and health physical preparedness
Waste characterisation (radiological and physical-chemical) and continuous updating of our total waste inventory
Documentation and regulatory correspondence, including safety assessments and analyses
Contribute to identifying the need for research and development activities in relation to a final repository
Maintain our ISO 17025:2017 accreditation for waste release

Laboratories

Manager: João Silva. Supports the entire organisation by performing the following main tasks:

Radiation protection: monitoring, assistance and surveillance, including radiation protection preparedness
Operation of four laboratories, including waste characterisation
Responsibility for sources in laboratories
Contribution to tasks in the field of safeguards of nuclear materials

Development & Strategic Waste Planning

Chief: Charlotte Hjorth. Handles technical development tasks related to new waste roads, upgraded storage facilities and new reception and handling facilities as well as tasks related to final final disposal and preparation of the waste for landfill:

The ongoing project to build a new, upgraded storage facility in collaboration with our advisors
Design/development of new facilities including waste management equipment
Strategic planning of waste processes towards final disposal, including characterisation, conditioning and volume reduction
Waste documentation
Documentation and regulatory correspondence related to the team's tasks

Decommissioning & Waste Planning

Manager: Bjarne Hindborg Rasmussen. Carries out the planning, coordination, documentation of and regulatory correspondence related to the remaining decommissioning tasks:

DR 3
Hot Cells
The waste treatment plant and storage facilities

In addition, the unit is responsible for the coordination of waste reception, the handling facility and technical drawing machines.

Operations & Waste Management

Manager: Kenn-Ulrik Brix Sørensen. Handles the executive tasks related to operations and waste treatment:

Technical guard function
Waste handling
Maintenance of equipment and facilities
Waste packaging

Performing Decommissioning

Manager: Niels Ebbesen. Handles the executive tasks related to the decommissioning tasks:

Practical decommissioning work
Drawings, work schedules, etc.
Electrical tasks
Waste packaging

Danish Decommissioning values

We base our work on three fundamental values

Defensibility

Weset high safety and quality standards. We are aware that we work with radioactive materials and in areas where radiation can occur, and the working environment must be in order. We focus on acting responsibly in relation to the rest of society through safe handling of radioactive waste.

Development

Newtasks require new solutions. We continuously develop our employees' skills so that we have the best possible prerequisites for solving tasks responsibly. We continuously develop processes, methods, tools and facilities, and we learn from the best international experiences and share our own experiences.

Involvement

Wewant to be as open as possible about our tasks, both internally and externally. We are conscious of involving all relevant competencies in the task solution. We want to involve all relevant stakeholders in an active dialog process in connection with the development of a final repository solution for the radioactive waste.