Decommissioning and Decontamination of Chornobyl NPP Units 1&2

Period: 1999-2001

Customer: Department of Energy (DOE), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), USA

Beneficiary: Chornobyl NPP

It was a comprehensive project targeted at providing support to the Chornobyl NPP Units 1&2 shutdown.

Within the framework of the project:

• the Comprehensive Engineering and Radiation Surveys (CERS) of the Units were completed including:
  • engineering survey of equipment and systems that brought about a significant bulk of information, which is sufficient to plan the Units decommissioning activities;
  • engineering survey of constructions, buildings, structures and premises with the objective to determine residual lifetime of the engineering structures;
  • radiation survey of equipment, premises, buildings and Unit site;
  • calculation of induced activity of equipment and reactor structural elements.
• seismic stability of the Units engineering structures and auxiliary buildings was assessed;
• INFODEC database containing data on engineering and radiation status of the Units required for planning the decommissioning activities was developed;
• risks posed by decommissioning activities at Unit 2 were preliminary assessed.

The methods of carrying out a comprehensive engineering and radiation survey do not depend on a type of a power unit reactor facility. Therefore, the experience gained while performing the comprehensive engineering and radiation survey of Chornobyl NPP Units 1&2 may be applied for accomplishing similar surveys at other Units both in Ukraine and in other countries.

Over 500 reports have been developed and agreed on with concerned authorities in the course of the project completion. The deliverables included regulatory and technical documents that regulate the power units decommissioning. For example:

• Program of Chornobyl NPP Unit 1 Shutdown;
• Plan for Researching Characteristics of The Chornobyl NPP Cooling Pond, As a Source of Radiation Risks, with The Objective to Collect The Data Required to Substantiate The Pond Decommissioning Activities;
• Quality Assurance Plan for The Chornobyl NPP Power Units Shutdown Stage;
• Guidelines for Performing Comprehensive Engineering and Radiation Survey;
• Reports on The Results of Comprehensive Engineering and Radiation Survey of Units 1&2;
• Classifier of ChNPP Unit 2 Systems and Elements;
• Technical Specifications for Unit 2 Operation at the Final Shutdown Stage;
• Assessment of Consequences of Possible Accidents Caused by The Activities Performed at Unit 2 during The Final Shutdown Stage.

Contact:

Head of Decommissioning Department
Vasyl R. Rylov
Tel. +38 04579 2 27 48
Fax +38 04579 2 81 44
vrylov@chornobyl.net