Initial analysis for the decommissioning of Vandellòs I reactor

The Vandellòs I Nuclear Facility has been in the Latency phase since the completion of Level 2 dismantling in 2003. After 20 years, in parallel to the engineering works corresponding to the Latencia, several studies have been carried out for the design of the dismantling of the graphite core, its support structures and the reactor box, in addition to the participation in European projects together with operators of graphite-moderated reactors, to address joint analyses.

International references on the decommissioning of graphite-moderated reactors are scarce, and in some aspects are not representative of Vandellòs I, Latina, Chinon A2 or Ignalina. The decommissioning of these reactors will require the following Dismantling Systems whose complexity of design, installation and operation goes beyond those that can be found in PWR or BWR reactors. Thus, the analysis of alternatives for decommissioning and subsequent design and planning are extremely complex, and also evolving as the results of the collaborative projects are being obtained.

The detailed analysis of international experience in the decommissioning of this type of reactors, as well as the review of the strategies of the rest of the European plants in Latencia, have allowed to carry out studies of alternatives and comparative analysis between strategies. dry y underwater for Vandellòs I, as well as to go deeper into aspects related to the general configuration and design criteria of the Dismantling System and the elements that are specific to it: deployment equipment, tool handling equipment and the dismantling tools themselves. It is worth noting that the way in which graphite will be managed as waste in Spain will condition both the strategy for dismantling the pile and its subsequent processing.