This publication explores the implications of decommissioning in the light of unexpected events and the trade-off between activities to reduce them and factors militating against any such extra work. It classifies and sets out some instances where unexpected findings in a decommissioning programme led to a need to either stop, or reconsider the work, re-think the options, or move forward on a different path. It provides practical guidance in planning and management of decommissioning taking into account unexpected events. This guidance includes an evaluation of the experience and lessons learned in tackling decommissioning that is often neglected. Thus it will enable future decommissioning teams to adopt the relevant lessons to reduce additional costs, time delays and radiation exposures.

This publication is concerned with radioactive waste that requires geological disposal. It discusses the partnership arrangements necessary for the development of a multinational repository for disposal of this waste, but it also emphasizes that countries should not rely solely on a multinational solution and should in addition have coherent national plans for disposal (a dual track strategy). The publication focuses on multinational approaches based on the IAEA scenario for cooperation among countries in joint projects for the establishment of a shared geological repository. It describes the phased approach that would be needed, indicating the decision processes to be undertaken by partners in the multinational project, both within a national context and in the scope of the joint endeavour. It highlights a wide range of legal and institutional aspects, including the contractual obligations among partners, the economic and financial arrangements, liabilities, nuclear security, regulatory and legislative aspects, waste transportation arrangements, and social issues. It also addresses the uncertainties and risks involved in the implementation of a multinational repository.

Assessing nuclear energy transition scenarios requires appropriate modelling tools. The IAEA tool, Model for Energy Supply System Alternatives and their General Environmental Impacts (MESSAGE), is described in this publication. The tool simulates the development of a complete energy system and provides a convenient platform for modelling and analysing nuclear energy systems (NESs), as it can efficiently model nuclear technologies with their specific features. Among other things, the tool can help produce a description of an entire NES with time dependent parameters for long-term planning; confirm the feasibility of a NES through correlation and consistency of all NES components, taking into account all constraints and boundary conditions imposed on the system; and balance fissile material in a closed fuel cycle and determine fuel cycle requirements. In addition, it assists the user in the choice of alternatives by comparison of different options relating to fuel requirements and volume and toxicity of waste. The publication provides a detailed guidance on how to build mathematical models representing complex nuclear energy systems within the framework of the MESSAGE tool.

</br>This report is an update of <a style="color:#0074FF;" href="http://www-pub.iaea.org/books/IAEABooks/5321/Assessment-and-Management-…;, Assessment and Management of Ageing of Major Nuclear Power Plant Components Important to Safety: Concrete Containment Buildings, published in 1998. </br>
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This publication is one in a series of reports on the assessment and management of ageing of major nuclear power plant components. Current practices for assessment of safety margins (fitness for service) and inspection, monitoring and mitigation of ageing related degradation of selected concrete structures related to NPPs are documented. Implications for and differences in new reactor designs are discussed. This information is intended to help all involved directly and indirectly in ensuring the safe operation of NPPs, and also to provide a common technical basis for dialogue between plant operators and regulators when dealing with age related licensing issues.
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Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are gaining increased attention worldwide for application in nuclear power plant (NPP) instrumentation and control (I&C) systems, particularly for safety and safety related applications, but also for non-safety ones. NPP operators and equipment suppliers see potential advantages of FPGA based digital I&C systems as compared to microprocessor based applications. This is because FPGA based systems can be made simpler, more testable and less reliant on complex software (e.g. operating systems), and are easier to qualify for safety and safety related applications. This publication results from IAEA consultancy meetings covering the various aspects, including design, qualification, implementation, licensing, and operation, of FPGA based I&C systems in NPPs.

INPRO is an international project to help ensure that nuclear energy is available to contribute in a sustainable manner to meeting the energy needs of the 21st century. A basic principle of INPRO in the area of environmental impact from depletion of resources is that a nuclear energy system will be capable of contributing to the energy needs in the 21st century while making efficient use of non-renewable resources needed for construction, operation and decommissioning. Recognizing that a national nuclear energy programme in a given country may be based both on indigenous resources and resources purchased from abroad, this publication provides background materials and summarizes the results of international global resource availability studies that could contribute to the corresponding national assessments.

The implementation of a process based management system is challenging for many organizations accustomed to traditional, non-integrated, non-process based approaches to management systems. This publication provides practical guidance to nuclear organizations that are planning to implement a management system to comply with IAEA Safety Standards Series No.GS-R-3. It will also be beneficial for newcomer countries, since a vendor-provided “management system” delivered with a nuclear power plant to ensure safe operation is often a quality management system for operations and maintenance, which may integrate aspects related to safety and environmental protection. These quality assurance systems have to undergo a transition to a process based management system to ensure that the processes of the owner/operator will be tailored to achieve the goals and objectives for safe operation.

Considering the scale of nuclear power aspirations, the number of planned nuclear new builds and the prospects of a number of countries constructing their first nuclear power plants, there is a need to assess the broader context of nuclear energy programmes in areas of macro-and socioeconomic conditions, energy systems and nuclear power, and the environment. It is important to assess the degree to which introduction or expansion of nuclear power is beneficial under these specific circumstances. This publication provides a set of indicators for nuclear power development that can serve as a tool to help explore these issues. The indicators are meant to provide a first order assessment of the situation and identify the issues that present the benefits and challenges in a balanced and objective manner and thereby help guide more detailed evaluations in the next stage of planning and preparations. Methodology sheets are provided to help users in data collection, quantification and interpretation of the indicators. The application of the indicators set is flexible. Users can select a subset of indicators that are most relevant for the questions they wish to explore in a given study or decision making process.

With the modernization of existing analogue instrumentation and control (I&C) systems in nuclear power plants through digital I&C technology, and the implementation of digital I&C systems in new plants, the industry is faced with significant challenges. These challenges appear in the form of difficulties in managing the necessarily incremental transition, highly integrated (and interdependent) architectures, the flexible configurability enabled by digital technology, and uncertainty and inconsistency in licensing digital I&C systems and equipment in the different Member States. This publication discusses 17 major issues that utilities, developers, suppliers and regulatory stakeholders need to consider, so that the industry can capture and benefit from shared experience, recent technological developments, and emerging best practices.

Pools or ponds are usually an integrated part of a more complex nuclear facility, but in some particular cases pools may be considered as a separate nuclear facility with a specific license. A number of nuclear installations utilize pools for the cooling of spent fuel, or the shielding of research reactor cores or irradiator sources. Over a service lifetime that can span decades, nuclear pools may become contaminated as a result of the deposition of radioactive substances. Relevant aspects of pool decommissioning covered in this publication include project planning and management, health and safety, and the management of resulting waste.

The development and implementation of an appropriate infrastructure to support the successful introduction of nuclear power and its safe, secure, peaceful and sustainable application is an issue of central concern, especially for countries that are considering and planning their first nuclear power plant. In preparing the necessary nuclear infrastructure, there are several activities that need to be completed. These activities can be split into three progressive phases of development. This publication provides a description of the conditions expected to be achieved by the end of each phase to assist with the best use of resources. ‘Milestones’ refer to the conditions necessary to demonstrate that the phase has been successfully completed.

In order to decrease costs and increase competitiveness, nuclear utilities use more challenging operational conditions, longer fuel cycles and higher burnups, which require modifications in fuel designs and materials. Different aspects of quality assurance and control, as well as analysis of fuel performance have been considered in a number of specialized publications. The present publication provides a concise but comprehensive overview of all interconnected quality and reliability issues in fuel fabrication, design and operation. It jointly tackles technical, safety and organizational aspects, and contains examples of state of the art developments and good practices of coordinated work of fuel designers, vendors and reactor operators.