Radioactive Waste Management, Decommissioning and Dismantling

Safely managing the lifespan of a nuclear facility and its fuel

Short and long-term management of radioactive material is a major part of the nuclear power industry. It is filled with complex and demanding challenges throughout the facility operation, decommissioning, and dismantling stages.

Areas of operational radiation safety support

We at AFRY have the expertise required to provide you with the best possible solutions to these challenges through our decades of experience in the management of operational waste; waste from decommissioning; and spent fuel. We also maintain a very comprehensive understanding of the complex issues associated with the decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear facilities.

We support our clients in the areas of:

Concept development
Engineering, licensing, procedures and techniques
Classification and inventory of materials and radioactive wastes
Radiology and free release
Safety and dose assessments
Interim and final storage facilities

Decommissioning and dismantling services

Our technical specialists have handled the specific challenges of decommissioning redundant nuclear facilities for many years, and are fully conversant with the regulatory and operational requirements for decommissioning works. We are able to offer our clients support in all decommissioning tasks from post operational conditions through to Green Field Site.

Our services include:

Decommissioning and dismantling studies (sequence, methods, pre-conditions, physical health, protection)
Nuclear hazards evaluation
Radioactive inventory assessment
Radiological measuring
Waste treatment studies (classification, packaging, conditioning, disposal options)
Site monitoring / supervision
Review of dismantling and waste treatment procedures
Safety assessment with regard to nuclear safeguards (environmental impact, radiation protection, internal and external hazards)
Licensing support (operation, decommissioning, site clearance).

Radioactive waste management in deep geological repositories

AFRY covers all aspects of deep geological disposal from case studies to public relations. We have supported national organizations worldwide with the management of radioactive waste in matters concerning the deep geological disposal since the 1980's conducting anything from small case studies to analyse, e.g. a particular petrophysical process, to all-encompassing scenario analyses for entire repositories.

In addition to doing scientific work, we support the organizations in the challenging tasks of public relations and licensing. As of today, our clients are domiciled in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland.

Our services for long-term storage:

Definition of features, events and processes and scenario development for geological radioactive waste repositories
Geological and hydrogeological site characterization
Numerical radiological safety analysis for nearfield release, geosphere transport and dose calculation
Surveys on scientific, socio-economic and legal issues of radioactive waste disposal
Studies on chemo-toxic waste compatibility
Safety analyses for deep geological repositories in clay, salt and granite formations
Numerical modelling of the release and transport of radionuclides and chemical contaminants.