RAD300 Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation

This is introduction course that provides students with the fundamental concepts for planning, managing, and implementing decommissioning and environmental remediation (D&ER) projects in a multidisciplinary context. It is intended to be open to students with a wide educational background, to give them the general competence needed for tackling an MSc in the area of D&ER. Contents cover:

1. Basics of Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation (D&ER): Historical perspective of D&ER; General legal and regulatory requirements; Principles of radiation protection as applied to D&ER exposure situations (planned/existing, dose limits, reference levels); Integrated approach for D&ER; Stakeholder involvement and communication; Sustainability and Circular Economy Approaches.
2. Decommissioning: Objectives of decommissioning; Facilities that need decommissioning; Life cycle of the facility; Decommissioning results; Policies and strategies for decommissioning; Decommissioning planning; Site characterisation; Future use of the site and final state of the site; Case studies.
3. Environmental Remediation (ER): Basic objectives of environmental remediation; Conceptual site model; Policy and strategy for environmental remediation; Basic steps of the environmental remediation process; End state determinations and future use; Long-term management and institutional control; Case studies: Sites contaminated by residual radioactive material from past and/or existing activities (e.g., uranium mining and milling) and areas affected by nuclear or radiological accidents.

Knowledge: Students will understand the situations in which Decommissioning and Environmental Remediation (D&ER) apply. Students will understand the different stages of D&ER projects, including the objectives, technical challenges, project planning and management, key regulatory guidance, as well as the links to broader issues such as sustainability, stakeholder involvement and communication.

Skills: The students will be able to define and enunciate the critical steps of D&ER projects such as site characterization, the definition of future use and final state of the site and demonstrating conformance with legal and regulatory requirements. They will be able to frame and D&ER situations with basic radioprotection principles and exposure situations (e.g., planned, existing). Through analysis of real-life case studies, students will be able to synthesize relevant information and apply the knowledge learnt to practical applications.

General Competence: The students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of decommissioning and environmental remediation in a multidisciplinary context. They will learn how to apply critical thinking to the evaluation of case-studies, building on lessons learned from past experience. They will also achieve experience in presenting and discussing technical and scientific work, orally and in writing.