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 expect dismantling to be completed around 2029. The work includes planning, analysis and demolition, as well as minimisation, characterisation and packaging of the radioactive waste. (In addition, we need to store all radioactive waste until 2073 at the latest, when a long-term solution must be in place.) Dismantling the facilities is a unique process, so we are gaining experience on an ongoing basis. Along the way, new working tools are developed and special facilities are built when specific challenges require it.

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.