Decommissioning and dismantling of the Siemens fuel cycle facilities

Four Siemens-owned German fuel cycle facilities are being decommissioned at the Hanau and Karlstein sites. Decommissioning of one of these facilities has already been completed. The facilities comprise three fuel fabrication plants and a facility for post-irradiation investigations of fuel assemblies. In each case the actual decommissioning phase was preceded by cleanout. Extensive preparatory investigations and planning, including licensing procedures, had been necessary. In some cases new measuring techniques and systems had to be developed and waste processing systems erected. In addition to providing a general survey of the different conditions and procedures involved, the MOX facility is used in this paper as an example for presenting these activities in greater detail. This includes the concept of immediate conditioning of radwaste for maintenance-free long-term interim storage (storage for several decades until a repository is available) in such a way as to also meet the requirements for shipment and final disposal without any need for further actions. A number of lessons have been learned and recommendations derived from the many years of decommissioning work at the four facilities.