DECOMMISSIONING RESEARCH REACTORS: A CASE OF A REFERENCE ACCIDENT SCENARIO

The paper reports on an assessment conducted on a hypothetical radiological accident during the ongoing project to decommission the VVR-S nuclear research reactor at 'Horia Hulubei' National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, IFIN-HH, Bucharest. The reference accident scenario assumed a fire-driven radioactive release to the atmosphere, of the material resulting from disassembling reactor's graphite column. Two versions were pursued: (i) an entrainment in the fire resulting from a plane crash demolishing the entire reactor hall, of the radioactive graphite debris; and (ii) a direct graphite fire due to electric cables under voltage load falling accidentally over the stock of waste graphite. The specificity in addressing issues relating to the safety and health- and environmental impact of zero-power reactors decommissioning is emphasized.