Roadmap for Technology and Infrastructure to Support CANDU Decommissioning and Long Term Waste Management

Abstract

As part of its Strategic R&D Program, the CANDU Owners Group (COG) has commissioned a study to develop a roadmap for technology and infrastructure in support of the CANDU specific decommissioning and long term waste management (DLTWM) goals set by CANDU’s Senior Nuclear Executive:. (1). Reducing waste costs by 50% over the next 5-10 years and 75% over the next 10-25 years, and (2) Reducing waste volumes by 25% over the next 5-10 years and 40% over the next 10-25y by providing “faster, better, cheaper” technologies and strategies.Beginning with an extensive review and categorization of recent decommissioning literature, 7 High-Tier topical areas were identified: I: Planning, management and control software, II: Remotely operated platform and manipulators, III: Characterization of activation/contamination and identification of special wastes, IVa: Out of reactor waste sequence, IVb: Waste recycle and improved package development, IVc: Remediation processes for H-3 and C-14 contaminated materials, and V: Site and infrastructure.Brief state-of-the-art reports (“mini-SOTARS”) were prepared for each Topical Area and gaps in knowledge and technology were identified and rolled up to create a Roadmap. Eighteen innovative proposals were selected for the first year of this program totaling about 1.5 M$ CAD. This paper will present an overview of the effort needed to produce the Roadmap.