Decommissioning cost estimation considering the activities facilitation due remote-controlled equipment

Abstract

The decommissioning is a complex, costly and hazard process which should be performed in the end of the operational life of a nuclear power plant aiming to reduce the risks offered due to its operation to the environment and public at large. Several kinds of activities are required, with the decontamination and dismantling comprising some of the most important. Several tasks of these activities should be performed in places submitted to high radiation activity, increasing the exposure risks to the labors and costs since more labors and additional time are required aiming to reduce the risks. Despite of it, several of the equipment often used during the plant’s operation have some automation degree, which allow to control it remotely. This technology could be used during the decommissioning, as it is done nowadays in several projects around the world. In the present work, the influence of the adoption of this technology to perform decontamination and dismantling activities would be evaluated regarding the cost reduction. A hypothetical plant would be considered as case of study, to which some idealized assumptions was made. The results demonstrates that to this limit case the cost of the project could be reduced by more than 50%, indicating the potential which the adoption of this technology could have in the project.