RD&D-Programme 2004 - SKB

24 Decommissioning
The facilities covered by SKB’s RD&D-programmes are the Swedish nuclear power plants and
SKB’s own facilities. When it comes to radioactive waste management, the programmes also
include the waste from Studsvik, the Fuel Factory in Västerås, Ranstad, and, last but not least,
the Ågesta reactor. The costs for management and disposal of radioactive waste from these
suppliers are not covered by the funds allocated to the Nuclear Waste Fund, but are funded
and paid separately. SKB’s work for decommissioning of the Swedish nuclear power plants
in Oskarshamn, Barsebäck, Ringhals and Forsmark is discussed in the following.
24.1 Planning
The timetable for decommissioning of the nuclear power plants has not been finalized. The
power companies estimate that the operating time of the reactors could end up being 60 years
or more. SKB’s planning and cost estimates in Plan 2004 are based on the assumption that the
power plants are operated for about 40 years and are then decommissioned as soon as possible.
The final planning for construction, operation and decommissioning of SKB’s facilities is based
on the planning at the NPPs. Other facilities are decommissioned so that they fit in chronologically
with these plans. They are financed outside of the Financing Act, and not by the Nuclear
Waste Fund.
The cost of decommissioning a nuclear power plant is updated annually based on the knowledge
and experience gained from our own studies and from following international development
efforts. A detailed estimate of the decommissioning costs is presented in SKB’s annual Plan
report /24-1/.
Current situation
Owners of nuclear installations are obliged to ensure that the installations are decontaminated
and dismantled to a sufficient extent when they have been taken out of service. There are no
specific regulations governing this in Sweden today; judgements are made by the regulatory
authorities (SSI and SKI) from case to case. There have not yet been any large-scale decommissioning
projects in Sweden. As of the closure of Barsebäck unit 1 in 1999, however, planning
for a future decommissioning has assumed more concrete forms.
The division of responsibility between SKB and its owner companies is such that SKB
carries out general decommissioning studies and ensures that the necessary technology and
competence exists and that the costs are estimated correctly. The nuclear power utilities take
responsibility for the planning, licensing and execution of decommissioning of their own
facilities. Management of the waste is coordinated with SKB. SKB keeps track of international
developments in the decommissioning field by participating in the decommissioning studies
undertaken by international organizations, but also by direct contact with various decommissioning
projects that may be of value for planning in Sweden.
The experience we have of decommissioning in Sweden today is limited to small research
plants that have been decommissioned. The biggest one is the R1 research reactor on Drottning
Kristinas väg near KTH in Stockholm. Decontamination and dismantling of the ACL (Active
Central Laboratory) in Studsvik is under way, and SKB is learning from this experience.
Decommissioning logistics
The Swedish NPPs were commissioned during a relatively short span of time. The oldest is
from 1972 and the youngest from 1985. Assuming that the service lives of the NPPs are equally
long, they will be taken out of service over a 13-year period. An exception is Barsebäck 1,
which was shut down in 1999, long before the end of its technical lifetime.
RD&D-Programme 2004 323