Selection of Decommissioning Strategies

The objective of this publication is to identify key issues and to provide recommendations to Member States to promote actions in support of good decommissioning practice.

---

When selecting a proper decommissioning strategy in a specific facility, a range of general and site specific factors needs to be considered. These factors include cost, health and safety issues and environmental (HSE) impact, availability of resources, stakeholder involvement, etc. In some cases the lack of a single key resource could result in the elimination of some decommissioning strategies. Good practice may not always be achieved in Member States due to constraints or overruling factors such as a lack of funds or a lack of waste management infrastructure. Constraints or overruling factors are often attributable to inadequate decommissioning planning. This in turn may be due to inadequate legal and regulatory frameworks. Some relevant constraints and conditions have been evaluated. The objective of the evaluation is to identify key issues and to provide recommendations to Member States in which these constraints and factors prevail, to promote actions in support of good decommissioning practice.