NND has two main tasks: we will decommission the Norwegian nuclear facilities and we will handle the radioactive waste. The clean-up is calculated to take around 20-25 years and NND works according to the generational principle. It is we who are alive now who have a responsibility to clean up historical conditions.
Demolition of the Norwegian nuclear facilities and handling of the radioactive waste will cost a lot of money and NND will find good, safe and cost-effective solutions. In due course, NND will take over the facilities from the Department of Energy Engineering (IFE), but IFE and NND have already started a close cooperation in a number of areas. We prepare the facilities and areas for the upcoming decommissioning and ensure the safe operation of the facilities in a closed state. We work with planning and investigations to help us find the best solutions. NND works according to the state project model for quality assurance of large state investments.
The highly active spent reactor fuel and heavy water have now been removed from the reactors and the necessary concessions (permits) are in place. Now we are ready to start with the practical decommissioning in earnest. Decommissioning the facilities includes removing radioactive sources, dismantling equipment and systems, demolishing structures and buildings, and transferring radioactive material to a facility approved for reception and storage.
The purpose of the decommissioning is to ensure that there are no longer any traces of nuclear activity, so that the plant sites can be free-classed and taken out of regulatory control. That is, all nuclear material and pollutants above the established limit values must be removed from the sites. The areas are reset to an environment similar to what was before the reactors were built and the site is approved for other uses.
One of NND's main tasks is to establish new infrastructure for handling and permanent storage of radioactive waste. NND's interpretation of the thesis implies that the agency plans to establish landfill capacity for essentially historic waste. That is, spent nuclear fuel from IFE's research reactors as well as waste from the decommissioning of the nuclear facilities. In addition, NND will provide landfill solutions for radioactive sources from medicine, research and industry. The plant is to be operational for 100 years with supervisory duties for 300 years.
The Department of Energy Engineering (IFE) is currently licensed to own and operate the nuclear research reactors in Norway, located at Kjeller, in Himdalen and in Halden.
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