EnBW Kernkraft GmbH submits applications for the decommissioning and demolition of sections of the Neckarwestheim I and Philippsburg 1 plants

Neckarwestheim/Philippsburg. Today EnBW Kernkraft GmbH (EnKK) filed applications with the Baden-Wuerttemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Energy Industry for decommissioning and initial demolition permits for the Neckarwestheim I (GKN I) and Philippsburg 1 (KKP 1) blocks.

In the summer of 2012 EnKK adopted the strategy of deconstruction of all of its facilities, deciding in the process on direct deconstruction. In recent months the course of action within this strategy has been further specified and, based on this, applications have been prepared for the granting of permits for decommissioning and initial demolition (1st DDP) of GKN I and KKP 1.

The two blocks GKN I and KKP 1 have been operating in the so-called post-operational phase since they were taken out of service in 2011. Today's applications file, among other things, for the final and permanent decommissioning of both blocks – this is a precondition for the demolition of sections of the GKN I and KKP 1 plants.

Initial permits for the demolition of GKN I and KKP 1 also have been applied for in addition to those for decommissioning. As well as creating an overview of the fundamental approach to the overall demolition scheme, these permit applications also determine the scope of the initial demolition phase. The detailed application documents required for the initial demolition permits will be submitted once they are completed, most likely before the end of the year. Alongside the specific scopes of the demolition, further measures required for it will also be described. This also includes the preparation of infrastructures for the treatment and storage of materials at the locations arising from their demolition, such as e.g. residual material treatment centers and on-site waste storage facilities. These will be subject to separate authorization procedures. Also, further demolition applications will be made in the coming years until the entire demolition is complete.

The framework of the procedure for the 1st DDP foresees the participation of the public and the ordering of environmental impact assessments: the environmental impact assessment evaluates the effect that the demolition procedure might have on the environment. The results of these assessments will be taken into consideration when the permits are to be granted. EnKK will make the process transparent above and beyond the obligatory participation of the public and will continue to provide comprehensive information in addition to that provided for by the formal procedure.

Sections of GKN I and KKP 1 are designated to be demolished completely or in part within the scope of the permits for decommissioning and initial demolition. Separate permit applications have been submitted for GKN I and KKP 1 that take into consideration their location- and plant-specific framework conditions, such as the fact that GKN I is a pressurized-water reactor whereas KKP 1 is a boiling water reactor. Alterations to the plants GKN I and KKP 1 subject to nuclear energy legislation are also a subject of the applications.

The overall scheme for the decommissioning and demolition of sections of the plants are also laid out in the authorization procedure for the 1st DDP. Proceedings for the participation of the public and an environmental impact assessment will also be carried out within the framework of the 1st DDP. The environmental impact assessment evaluates the effect that the demolition procedure could have on the environment. The application documentation therefore will also contain documents and environmental information required for this assessment.

EnKK already has been able to utilize, for GKN I and KKP 1, the experience it gained from the permit procedure for and the demolition work carried out on the Obrigheim nuclear power plant, which has been in the process of being demolished since 2008. Among other things, this has meant that the application for the 1st DDP is of greater scope than was that for Obrigheim. The 1st DDP for GKN I and KKP 1 includes components that are in the non-nuclear as well as the nuclear sections. This allows the demolition of the plants to be organized continuously and efficiently on a greater scale. The intended scope of the demolition includes the deconstruction of sections of the plant both in the conventional (non-nuclear) and nuclear sections.

The systems and auxiliary facilities still required such as ventilation and heating will continue to be operated on the basis of the existing operating licenses once the decommissioning and initial demolition permits have been granted.

The designated demolition of sections of the plants can only begin once the nuclear regulatory authority has granted the permits now applied for.

The residual material and waste arising from the demolition were also taken into consideration with respect to their treatment and storage when the documentation was being prepared. The demolition will produce both radioactive and non-radioactive residual materials and waste. They must be treated and radioactive waste must temporarily be stored until it can be transported to a radioactive waste repository. In recent months studies also have been carried out on the handling of these materials and of the disposal of residual materials and waste. The necessary steps for the creation of the facilities required can now be taken on the basis of these studies.

All demolished plant sections resulting from the deconstruction will be – as far as necessary – broken down and sorted. The majority of these materials can be returned to the recovered substance cycle without requiring further treatment and after radiological decontrolling measurement. The radiological decontrolling measurement tests the materials for radioactivity and documents the material flow. An appropriate procedure will be worked out on the basis of the applicable statutory framework and the provisions laid down by the appropriate regulatory authority and will be accompanied by expert's reports.

A further portion will be introduced to the residual material treatment center at each respective location. These centers treat residual materials such that they can, for the most part, be reentered into the recovered substance cycle. Here again the radiological decontrolling measurement represents the completion of the residual waste treatment.

Materials that cannot be returned to the recovered substance cycle will also be treated in the residual material treatment center. The aim here is to further reduce the volume of the wastes. These wastes will be packaged as prescribed by the applicable statutory requirements and stored in an on-site waste storage facility until they are transported to the final waste repository for low- and medium-active radioactive wastes. A few materials will be subjected to special volume-reducing treatment procedures such as e.g. smelting down or incineration in existing third-party facilities. Once successfully treated they will be returned to their location of origin.

A limited quantity of large components such as steam generators will be broken down in the residual material treatment center. The establishment at both locations of the required infrastructure is not a reasonable approach as only a few components are affected. The decision has been taken to use Neckarwestheim as the majority of such large components will result from the two pressurized water reactors at this location.

The top priority is the safe, prompt and efficient demolition of the plants.

The preparation and filing of the application documentation that will also contain the documents and information required for the respective environmental impact assessments will be handed in before the end of the year subsequent to today's submission of applications for the decommissioning and initial demolition permits.

At the same time, the applications required for the residual material treatment center in Neckarwestheim and for the on-site waste storage facilities at both locations will be prepared. The infrastructure measures are not the subject of the applications for the 1st DDP but rather will be applied for in separate authorization procedures. The residual material treatment center for KKP 1 is an exception: the specifics of this plant allow existing structures such as the turbine house to be used. The permit for the modifications required with respect to equipment and construction were applied for in the 1st DDP for KKP 1.

In the coming years applications for one or more demolition phases and the preparation of applications for the decommissioning and demolition of the second blocks (GKN II und KKP 2) will subsequently be made.

The participation of the public will take place within the framework of the application submission for the 1st DDP taking into account the regulatory framework laid down by the appropriate regulatory authority. The application and further documentation will be made available publicly; any objections will be discussed in a hearing on the matter.

EnKK will provide comprehensive reports on further developments in the demolition process and offer to enter into dialog with the public in addition to the formal public participation procedure. The open days for the general public in Philippsburg and Neckarwestheim were a beginning; further offers of dialog will follow.

• Buffer storage spaces

To ensure continuous and effective capacity utilization in the treatment stages downstream of the demolition process (incl. the residual material treatment center), sorted materials will be stored in buffer storage spaces until they can be further treated. Available spaces in existing buildings and on the plant premises for which a change of use must be applied for within the framework of the 1st DDP will be used as buffer storage spaces.

• Residual material treatment center

The pre-sorted materials will be further broken down and separated into two material flows in the residual material treatment center. The first material flow comprises the so-called residual materials. Here the residual materials are cleaned of any radioactive particles that continue to stick to them using a suitable procedure such as e.g. cleaning, sand blasting or treatment in an ultrasonic bath. These materials can be returned to the recovered substance cycle after a final radiological decontrolling measurement.

The second material flow cannot be returned to the recovered substance cycle but rather must be disposed of as radioactive waste. Such waste is e.g. pressed or dried in the residual material treatment center in order to reduce its extent as much as possible. It is then packaged as prescribed by the applicable statutory requirements for transport to a radioactive waste repository for low- and medium-active radioactive wastes.

• On-site waste storage facilities

The existing on-site storage capacities are insufficient to receive all of the low- and medium-active radioactive wastes that will result from the operation of the second blocks (GKN II and KKP 2) and from the demolition until such a time as they can be transported to a radioactive waste repository. In order nevertheless to ensure a swift and continuous demolition, an additional, temporary waste repository must be created on-site. EnKK thereby will meet its obligations under the Radiation Protection Ordinance on the temporary storage of low- and medium-active radioactive wastes until a radioactive waste repository can be put into operation.

• On-site temporary storage facilities

As opposed to the on-site waste storage facilities the on-site temporary storage facilities already in use are used only to store fuel assemblies in appropriate containers (castor).

• Post-operational phase

Blocks GKN I and KKP 1 have been operating in the so-called post-operational phase since they were taken out of service in 2011. This phase will continue until the 1st DDP is granted. It already contains preparatory work for the demolition: wastes from plant operation, for example, that are still in the plant will be disposed of and returned to the primary cycle in GKN or will undergo system decontamination in KKP. All of this work remains subject to monitoring by the nuclear regulatory authority and will be accompanied by expert's reports.

• The plants

Block 1 of the Philippsburg nuclear power plant is a boiling water reactor commissioned in 1979. Block I of the Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant is a pressurized-water reactor commissioned in 1976. The power operation of both blocks was discontinued in March of 2011 as a consequence of the modifications to the Atomic Energy Act passed by the federal government within the framework of the energy turnaround (thirteenth act on the modification of the Atomic Energy Act). Since this time the plants have been running in the so-called post-operational phase.