Decommissioning of a Nuclear Facility With Sodium‐Cooled Fast Reactor as a Final Stage of Its Life Cycle: Overview of Current Projects

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Abstract
The nuclear power industry preferably aims to a closed nuclear fuel cycle and a transition to a two‐component structure based on the joint operation of thermal and fast neutron reactors. This approach makes it possible to significantly reduce the volume of radioactive waste and increase the efficiency of using uranium fuel. Sodium fast neutron reactors currently demonstrate the highest technical readiness for commercial operation. This status has been achieved through the accumulation of operational experience from research reactors to pilot demonstration projects. Many of these reactors are currently in the process of decommissioning. Decommissioning of sodium fast neutron reactor facilities is associated with serious intellectual, material, and technological difficulties. There is still no overall experience in the world of completing the decommissioning of such facilities. Nevertheless, it is believed that the experience and competencies accumulated in these activities are key to forming a strategy for decommissioning of the future nuclear power plants with fast neutron reactors as an important final stage of the life cycle of such nuclear facilities. This is very important because decommissioning is a complex process that requires careful planning and coordination to ensure the safety of personnel, the public, and the environment in the future. In this regard, this review is devoted to an overview of the current progress in decommissioning various experimental sodium fast neutron reactor facilities. The accumulated experience, existing problems, and prospects for further work have been analyzed.
Funding Information
  • Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (BR24993118)

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