Legal framework for the decommissioning

The post-operation begins immediately after the final shut down. However, it requires establishing certain technical measures beforehand. After establishing the post-operation lasts until the decommissioning order takes effect. It is covered by the operation license and comprises the activities required to ensure that the systems and overall plant can still operate safely as required after the final shutdown. In addition to this it also includes measures for shutting down systems which are no longer required as well as the work to prepare the dismantling.

The legal framework is governed by Swiss legislation.

The decommissioning obligations mean that the plant owner must submit a project for the planned decommissioning to the permitting authority, which sets out the phases and time schedule for the decommissioning, the individual steps of dismantling and demolition, the personnel requirements and the organisation, the disposal of the radioactive waste and the total costs, as well as the provision of financing from the operator. Based on the decommissioning project, the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications sets out the decommissioning work via a decommissioning order and determines which work requires approval from the regulatory authorities.

The decommissioning is completed once the decommissioning work has been carried out correctly and the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications has establisht that the plant presents no further radiological hazard and therefore is no longer subject to nuclear legislation.

Source: “First decommissioning of a commercial nuclear power plant in Switzerland”; von Gunten (BKW) et al., Kontec 2015, 12. International symposium “Conditioning of radioactive operational and decommissioning waste”, Dresden, 25th–27th March 2015
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