Mustafa Sajih, a Consultant at Galson Sciences Limited, presented a poster at the 13th International Symposium on Nuclear and Environmental Radiochemical Analysis held in Cambridge in September 2018. The subject matter was ‘Achieving the End State of a Nuclear Licensed Site’ and a brief synopsis can be found below:
End State (ES) refers to the condition of a nuclear licensed site (or part thereof) following all physical decommissioning and clean-up activities required to make the site (or part thereof) available for its next use. To reach the ES, a site must be released from radioactive substances regulation (RSR). Site operators must apply to the environment agencies for agreement for a site to be released from RSR. The release of the site will only be granted when all disposals of radioactive waste have ended and the site is in a state that will ensure a satisfactory standard of protection for people and the environment. A guidance document, known as the “GRR”, on the release of nuclear sites from RSR was published in July 2018. A site-specific assessment of the benefits and detriments of clean-up and radioactive waste disposal options must be carried out as a requirement of the GRR. This involves identification of potential disposal options, assessment and comparison of options with stakeholder engagement, and optimisation of the preferred option if any waste is to be left on site. As part of the assessment of waste disposal options, the GRR requires that operators assess potential consequences of inadvertent future human intrusion into the site and aqueous releases from features on the site after the ES has been reached. Calculations of potential impacts from human intrusion and aqueous release scenarios are carried out and compared against guidance levels specified in the GRR.
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