Reactor dismantling
Status: in progress
Duration: 2000-2025
The heart of the plant, where energy production took place, is called the nuclear island.
It is the most complex part to dismantle, as it contains the bulk of the plant's residual radioactivity.
The nuclear island of the power plant consists of the containment sphere of the reactor building which houses the fuel pond, the vessel (a cylindrical container enclosing the nuclear reactor), the secondary steam generators , the cylindrical casing and all the accessories, systems and components required to enable the nuclear reaction and the removal of thermal energy through the steam that is then sent from the reactor to the turbine. In fact, the turbine building housing the turbo generator and all the thermal cycle components is connected to the nuclear island.
The first operations after the plant shutdown in 1982, were the draining of the reactor's hydraulic circuits, the removal of fuel elements and the emptying of the pond in which they were contained.
In 1996-1998, radioactive resins used to treat the water in the thermal cycle of the Garigliano plant were conditioned during its operation.
The first operations carried out by Sogin, which acquired ownership of the power plant in 1999, involved the removal of asbestos from the reactor and turbine. These operations were carried out between 2008 and 2010 and produced asbestos-containing waste, which was treated by super-compaction and stored in the plant's temporary storage facilities.
Between 2016 and 2020, activities were carried out to restore the auxiliary systems of the reactor building in preparation for the subsequent dismantling activities.
The vessel is located inside the reactor building and is the container in which the nuclear reaction took place during operation. The dismantling project has a very high degree of complexity, due to the level of radioactivity present in the components and the logistical constraints of the operations. Some operations will take place under water to ensure an effective barrier against ionising radiation. The work will be divided into several phases:
- Removal of materials from the reactor channel and the upper part of the vessel housing (Areas L34 and L42).
- Restoration work on the equipment, linings and flooding system of the vessel and the reactor channel.
- Opening of the vessel and removal of contaminated materials and equipment used during operation, present in the upper part of the vessel head.
- Removal and dismantling of lower internals under water.
- Dismantling of the vessel and primary circuit.
As far as preliminary activities are concerned, the opening of the reactor channel room and the removal of the biological screen for access to the vessel were carried out as of June 2018. This made it possible to complete the recovery of all equipment and materials deposited in rooms L34 and L42 during the passive protective custody activities in the first half of the 1990s.
The next activities concern the restoration of the flooding systems for the pond and the reactor channel, with testing activities to be carried out by 2023, which will be needed to perform the flooding operations.