SERR 2018: Sogin illustrates the "new life" of the materials produced by the dismantling of nuclear facilities
20 November 2018
Circular economy for nuclear
decommissioning was the theme of the event that took place last Tuesday
at the Garigliano (Caserta) Nuclear Power Plant. The meeting has been
organized by Sogin on the occasion of the X edition of the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR). The purpose was to illustrate how the
decommissioning of nuclear installations can be engineered and
accomplished in order to allow recovery and recycling of the resulting
materials.
The meeting started with a speech of
Sogin’s CEO, Luca Desiata, who described the strategy implemented for
reducing the environmental impact of nuclear decommissioning, which is
based on three guidelines: minimization of the amount of radioactive
waste; separation, reuse and recycling of materials and implementation
of policies aimed at improving the environmental performance.
All the material derived from the
dismantling of rotor and alternator will be moved from the site. 96% of
the 400 tons dismantled will be transferred to recovery and processing
centers, for instance to metal foundries, in order to be returned to the
production cycle.
These activities, started in 2016, are
a part of the program for dismantling the turbine, which is the
heaviest thermal cycle component of the Garigliano plant with a total
weight of 1,800 tons.
“Sogin joins the European Week for
Waste Reduction – said Luca Desiata, CEO of Sogin – with the
aim of enhancing its commitment to reduce the environmental impact of
nuclear plants decommissioning. In the collective imagination these
activities are often associated with the sole production of radioactive
waste. As in the case of the Garigliano turbine, most of the dismantled
material is recovered and recycled. An example of circular economy –
Desiata concluded - that Sogin is integrating in the planning of
all the decommissioning activities”.
Transport of rotor-alternator materials for recycling
Rotor-alternator dismantling