How we decommission

D anish Decommissioning is to dismantle the nuclear installations on Risø by removing all radioactive parts. The buildings themselves do not need to be demolished if measurements show that they are free of radioactive contamination. Decommissioning must be carried out in a safe, environmentally sound and economically optimal way.

We anticipate that decommissioning will be completed around 2029. The work encompasses planning, analysis, and demolition, as well as minimization, characterization, and packaging of radioactive waste. (Furthermore, we are required to store all radioactive waste until at least 2073, by which time a long-term solution must be established.) The dismantling of the facilities is a unique process, allowing us to continuously gain experience. Throughout this process, we develop new tools, and specialized facilities are constructed when specific challenges necessitate them.

As we are the only company in Denmark that decommissions nuclear facilities, there is a frequent exchange of experience with colleagues in other countries, who are in similar situations. This is typically done through international networking groups, conferences, workshops and company visits. In some cases, our employees undergo further training abroad.

Nuclear regulatory authorities continuously control our planning as well as work execution. The requirements for documentation are high. Among other things, we have a Waste Documentation System, which documents where the radioactive waste is located, from where it originates, what it consists of, etc. Thus, the waste can at any time be accounted for.

At the end of each decommissioning project, two final reports - one technical and one health physical - must be prepared and the release of an area or building etc. must be applied for at the nuclear regulatory authorities. The Danish Building and Property Agency, which has overall responsibility for the Risø area and its buildings, decides what will happen to the released unit.