Ambient office = 94 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 129 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 129 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 105 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 84 nanosieverts per hour

Dover Sole from Central = 115 nanosieverts per hour

     Thirty-one disused sealed radioactive sources (DSRSs) have been transported from Chile to a recycling facility in Europe as part of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) multi-regional project to improve nuclear security and radiation safety.
     Most radioactive waste generated by nuclear applications consists of DSRS. Radioactive materials are used in different devices in medical, industrial, and agricultural facilities. They have to be carefully accounted for. When they are no longer usable, they have to be recovered, stored and, in some cases, prepared for transportation. The DSRSs recovered from Chile have been in temporary storage since the end of their use in 1992. They are mostly cobalt sources used in cancer treatment.
     The IAEA said that the recovered DSRs “represent about half of the radioactive material received yearly in waste management facilities from different activities around the country.”
     Luis Huerta Torchio is the director of the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission (CCHEN). He said, “The removal of these sources has multiple benefits for the CCHEN and the whole country, and it is in line with the circular economy objectives, in terms of recycling and reuse. The removal has significantly reduced the risk for any type of incident associated with these disused sources. In addition, it freed up to 30 per cent of space in the national storage facility used for disused radioactive sources, and subsequently extended the possibility of its use for about ten more years.”
     Olena Mykolaichuk is the director of the IAEA’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology division. She said, “The IAEA technically oversaw the removal of the sources from Chile to ensure that it was performed safely and securely. An operation of this scale cannot succeed without the dedicated efforts of organisations like CCHEN, skilled contractors, and the regulatory bodies involved – the experience gained is invaluable and represents a model that can be applied for future projects in other countries.”
     The three-year IAEA Multi-Regional Project on Sustainable Management of Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources began in 2019 funded by Canad. Eleven Latin American, African and Pacific countries were included in the first phase of the IAEA project.
     Hildegarde Vandenhove is the director of the IAEA’s Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety. She said, “The increase in the number of participating countries indicates the success of the first phase of the project, the global interest in the safe and secure handling of DSRSs and, at the same time, the amount of work that remains to be done in this field.”
     The operational plan for Chile was agreed upon in December of 2021. It involved the verification of the radioactive sources, appropriate packaging for safe transportation, and shipment to the recycling facility. The first of seventeen DSRs were exported in October of 2022. Fourteen more were sent in July of this year.
     Most discussion of and funding for dealing with radioactive waste is focused on the spent nuclear fuel rods from operating nuclear reactors. However, there are also many radioactive materials from other sources that must be dealt with.

Ambient office = 83 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 143 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 151 nanosieverts per hour

Tomato from Central Market = 102 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 73 nanosieverts per hour

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     Globally, decommissioning costs for nuclear power plants range from one billion to one and a half billion dollars per one gigawatt plant. The cost of dismantling nuclear facilities associated with the fuel cycle, research reactors, and nuclear laboratories also needs consideration.
     Furthermore, environmental challenges emerge when it is planned to either restore decommissioned nuclear sites to their original state or prepare them for future use. There is a considerable risk of the release of harmful nuclear materials and other pollutants in the event of any minor accidents. The ecological response must be assessed carefully and balanced with the imperative to maintain the site’s functionality and manage risk. These risks include the possibility of catastrophic collapse.
     Recently there has been a great deal of progress on robotic technologies and artificial intelligence. Experts are increasingly focused on extending the autonomous operations of robots into more intricate yet harsh environments. There was a recent article in the journal Robotics that discussed special robots which are now being developed to perform complex tasks during nuclear decommissioning.
     Handling objects in nuclear environments poses two primary challenges. One is dealing with unknown objects and ensuring their safe manipulation without breaking or dropping them. Haptic intelligence and leveraging tactile sense in contemporary robotics have enhanced the safety of grasping before and during object manipulation.
     Recently, a novel approach employing fiber-optic tactile sensors for detecting surface cracks has been developed. This technique offers distinct advantages, designed with nuclear decommissioning in mind. It is intended for use with remotely operated robots. Fiber optics is advantageous because it is not affected by gamma radiation. This provides a potential alternative to electrical cables for nuclear power plant applications.
     C-Tech is a company registered in the U.K. It has been carrying out research studies for the past ten years to develop an innovative electrochemical nuclear decontamination system that is much less expensive the current methods.
     The first technological innovation announced by the company was its advanced electrolytically assisted surface decontamination (EASD) system. This technology offers controlled, rapid, and cost-effective methods for dissolving surfaces with the use of nitric acid as the medium.
     This technology facilitates the removal of radioactivity from contaminated metal by leveraging accelerated electrolytic dissolution of the contaminated metal surface. The resulting radioactive dissolved metal is transferred into the nitric acid effluent. The result of this technique is processed downstream using conventional methods.
     Electrochemical Nuclear Decontamination (ELENDES) technology is poised to revolutionize the removal of contaminated organic matter from the aqueous effluent before downstream processing.
     ELENDES consists of electrochemically oxidating insoluble organic waste materials at nuclear sites. This effectively eliminates the organic matter that contains radioactive content from the waste material. This advanced electrochemical nuclear decontamination solution provides a safe and efficient means of removing contaminated organic from nuclear waste.
     Several challenges still face the process of nuclear decommissioning. The complex planning and safe execution of this process is a major hurdle. The recent technological advancements in robotics and industrial equipment ensure that nuclear decommissioning will become safer and less expensive as time progresses.

Ambient office = 69 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 111 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 110 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 103 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 82 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 73 nanosieverts per hour

Part 1 of 2 Parts
     Nuclear power plants generate electricity in some countries. Operational restrictions mandate that a nuclear power plant’s life is about thirty-five to forty-five years. At the end of their life cycle, nuclear power plants are decommissioned. Decommissioning is a very complex process that requires years, if not decades, of planning and execution.
     The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defines the process of nuclear decommissioning as the combination of two operational tasks that must be performed simultaneously. These consist of administrative and technical activities. As a result of these activities, radioactive resources and waste generated by the operation of the plant must be thoroughly cleaned up. This is done in order for the plant site to be repurposed so it can be used for other purposes.
     The first part of the complete process of nuclear decommissioning involves meticulous planning for ceasing operations, the radiological characterization of materials by experts, and the development of an efficient decontamination strategy for the nuclear site. The second part of the process is the safe dismantling of the facility structures, and the management of waste materials as dictated by rules and regulations. This comprehensive approach ensures the safe, efficient, and effective transition of the land under the plant for other uses in the future.
     In the field of nuclear sciences, the safe decommissioning of facilities is considered an essential part of the whole life cycle management of nuclear power sites. Field experts are hired to devise relevant strategies for the closing and cleanup of nuclear sites.
     The complex nuclear decommissioning process incorporates years of data gathering. The plan for the nuclear decommissioning of any facility is initiated along with the operational authorization of the facility. The plan must be economically and functionally viable. It must cover all associated financial costs. This early planning ensures that the nuclear waste is managed safely without causing any harm to the environment.
     A detailed decommissioning plan is created upon final shutdown, outlining the strategy for safely dismantling the nuclear facility. It describes the steps required to ensure radiation protection for workers and the public, addresses significant environmental impacts, outlines the proper management of radioactive and non-radioactive materials, and details the termination process for regulatory authorization regarding the nuclear facility and its site.
     Various technical, environmental, and social challenges threatened the decommissioning of existing nuclear power facilities and future energy infrastructure. It is critical to understand these challenges and devise sustainable solutions.
     A research article recently published in the journal Energy Policy has highlighted several important challenges faced during the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The statistics indicate that after mid-2020, only three percent of nuclear reactors have been fully decommissioned.
     Decommissioning existing nuclear energy infrastructure faces technical challenges in safely managing radioactive, toxic, and hazardous materials. Correct handling, transportation, reusing, recycling, and disposing of standardized recycling policies and regulations for end-of-life waste management increases these challenges.
     The economic implications of nuclear decommissioning are expected to be substantial and will increase as more nuclear facilities reach the end of their licensed life. Public funds often finance most nuclear decommissioning in Europe. Inadequate reserves by nuclear power plant operators means that taxpayers will probably bear the future decommissioning costs.
Please read Part 2 next