Caorso, the ERSBA2 facility is authorised for operation
02 November 2023
SSogin has obtained the
authorisation for commissioning of the temporary storage facility for radioactive waste from the Caorso nuclear power plant, known as
ERSBA2, from the Italian National Inspectorate for
Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ISIN) in its capacity as a regulatory body.
This is an important achievement for the advancement of the decommissioning programme and the safe management of radioactive waste at the Piacenza plant since, with the availability of ERSBA2, it will be possible to return and store the manufactured items produced by the treatment of radioactive resins and sludge abroad, and to start dismantling activities for the systems and components of the reactor building.
The ERSBA2 (Low-level waste Buildings 2) storage facility is part of the project to bring the temporary storage facilities at the Caorso power plant up to new safety standards, which required their demolition and reconstruction.
Demolition activities, which started in December 2020, covered all systems, structures and components within the facility. At the end, the civil works were rebuilt (foundation, structures in elevation and roof), the installation of new overhead cranes, necessary for the mechanical handling of the manufactured items to be stored in the two bays of the facility, and all the internal and external systems. Implementation activities were completed in the first half of this year.
The commissioning authorisation obtained follows the positive outcome of the tests carried out last August under the supervision of the Regulatory Body.