Maksym Protsenko, Head of the Engineering Centre at the Chornobyl NPP, has returned from a large-scale international intensive course on modern approaches and technologies for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The training was organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in collaboration with the Slovak Government (JAVYS).

The global nuclear industry is constantly evolving, and the number of nuclear facilities entering the decommissioning phase is growing. For the Chornobyl NPP, this process is a reality that requires the use of state-of-the-art technologies and the highest level of expertise among staff.

The training lasted two weeks and consisted of two modules: a theoretical module at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna (Austria) and a practical module in Trnava at operational sites in Slovakia.

What did they study and practise?

• Innovations in planning: the use of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods to select the safest and most cost-effective decommissioning scenarios.
• Cost estimation: Calculation of decommissioning project budgets in accordance with the International Standardised Decommissioning Costing (ISDC) framework and using specialised IAEA tools (PREDECO, as a classification system or matrix of criteria for assessing risks and safety during dismantling operations).
• Equipment dismantling: Particular attention was paid to analysing the unique experience of our Slovak colleagues in the decontamination and fragmentation of large-scale equipment – in particular, steam generators at the Bohunice NPP units.
• Waste management: Leading European approaches to the characterisation, packaging, transport and disposal of radioactive waste, as well as procedures for the final release of sites from regulatory control.

Participants also had the opportunity to practise their radiation monitoring skills at the IAEA laboratories in Seibersdorf and undertook technical visits to the Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant and the National Radioactive Waste Repository in Mokhovce.

"International experience, particularly regarding the safe dismantling of non-standard, large-scale equipment and the financial modelling of processes, is extremely relevant to our organisation. The theoretical knowledge gained, as well as the practical experience (in particular that of JAVYS) acquired during technical visits to the IAEA laboratories in Seibersdorf, to the Bohunice NPP site and to the National Radioactive Waste Repository in Mokhovce, will enable us in future to effectively adapt international practices to optimise the decommissioning processes for Units 1, 2 and 3 of the Chornobyl NPP. “Continuous development and international cooperation are the key to the safe and effective fulfilment of our strategic objectives,” said Maksym Protsenko.