Decommissioning. Actions taken at the end of the useful lief of a nuclear facility in retireing it from service with adequate reagrd for the health and safety of workers and members of the public and protection of the environment. The ulitmate goal of decommissioning is unrestricted release or use of the site. The time period to achieve this goal may range from a few to several hundred years. Subject to national legal and regulatory requirements, a nuclear facility or its remaining parts may also be considered decommissioned if it is incorporated into a new or exisitng facility, or even if the site in which it is located is still under regulatory or institutional control. This definition does not apply to some nuclear facilities used for mining and milling of radioactive materials or the disposal of radioactive waste. Source: International Atomic Energy Agency, The Principles of Radioactive Waste Management, Safety Series No. 111-F, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, 1995, p.17 |
