Iraq Decommissioning Project - Nucleus Documents/Meetings/3r… · •Adaya . LEGACY SITES IN IRAQ...

Eric K. Howell

Decommissioning and Remediation Unit

Waste and Environmental Safety Section

Department of Nuclear Safety and Security

OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITIES AT LEGACY

SITES INVOLVED IN THE

IRAQ DECOMMISSIONING PROJECT

BACKGROUND

• During the 1980’s, Iraq developed infrastructure for a nuclear weapons programme (facilities for mining,

refinement, and enrichment, and weaponisation of uranium).

• In 1991, Coalition Forces bombed and destroyed most of Iraq’s nuclear facilities.

BEFORE AFTER

BACKGROUND

• The bombings as well as subsequent looting and neglect has led to the dispersal of radioactive material.

• The dispersal of radioactive material has led to environmental safety and public health concerns.

BACKGROUND

• Many sites have been characterised and require significant efforts dedicated to decommissioning and

remediation.

BACKGROUND

• Iraq petitioned the IAEA in 2004 for assistance in cleaning up the damaged nuclear facilities and managing

radioactive wastes including the support and assistance in:

• Development of legal and regulatory infrastructure

• Assessment and characterisation of the facilities’ current state

• Development of decommissioning and waste management strategies

• Implementation of the overall decommissioning and remediation plans

BACKGROUND

• There has been significant support from the international community both technically and fiscally: European

Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom,

and United States of America.

IAEA’S ROLE

• To facilitate the activities petitioned by the Government of Iraq by coordinating with

internal and external stakeholders.

• Internal: Technical Cooperation, Waste and Environmental Safety Section, Regulatory Infrastructure

and Transportation Safety Section, Office of Legal Affairs, Waste Technology Section, Radiation

Safety and Monitoring Section, and Seibersdorf Laboratories.

• External: Iraqi Ministries of Science and Technology, Environment, Health, and Higher Education,

international governments (USA, EC, Ukraine, Spain, France, Germany, Russian Federation, Italy, UK,

South Africa, etc.) and organizations (Texas Tech University, Sandia National Laboratories, US

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, International Radioecology Laboratory, etc.).

IAEA’S ROLE

• Organization of technical progress and planning meetings

• Assistance with procurements

• Fellowship placement

• Provide extensive training in program management, legal and regulatory development,

waste management, as well as technical training in laboratory techniques, radiation

control and safety, and quality management.

• Organization of site visits (waste disposal facilities, uranium ore and refining facilities, and

nuclear emergency response sites)

LEGACY SITES IN IRAQ

• Three types of legacies:

• Uranium mining and ore processing legacies

• Abu Skhair, Akashat, Al Qa’im, Geo-Pilot

• Nuclear technology site and application legacies including results of accidents on

those sites

• Al Tuwaitha, Al Jesira, Djerf al Naddah, Rashidiya, Al Furat, Tarmiya, Al Atheer,

Ash Sharqat, Taji

• Accident legacy sites remote from the site of the accident

• Adaya


• Uranium mining – Abu Skhair and Akashat

Dwellings near uranium mine at Akashat

Akashat uranium mine

/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Phosphate_plant_in_Akashat.jpg/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Villiage_of_Sikak_in_Akashat,_Iraq.jpg


• Ore processing – Al Qa’im

Uncontrolled barrel of yellowcake

Uranium ore processing for the production of yellowcake


• Ore processing – GeoPilot

Decommissioning activities

Uranium refinement facility in downtown Baghdad


• Nuclear Technology Sites and Application Legacies – Al Tuwaitha

Destroyed Tammuz-2 reactor

Destroyed IRT-5000 reactor


• Nuclear Technology Sites and Application Legacies – Al Jesira

Temporary waste storage tank

Destroyed UCl4 conversion facility


• Nuclear Technology Sites and Application Legacies – Djerf al Naddah

Storage area for spent fuel rods


• Nuclear Technology Sites and Application Legacies – Rashidiya

Centrifuge design and testing


• Nuclear Technology Sites and Application Legacies – Al Furat

Centrifuge design,

assembly, and test

facility


• Nuclear Technology Sites and Application Legacies – Tarmiya

Compromised structural integrity

Destroyed EMIS facility


• Nuclear Technology Sites and Application Legacies – Al Atheer

Destroyed weapons assembly and testing facility


• Accident Legacy Sites – Adaya


• Accident Legacy Sites – Adaya

The site is made up of large mounds of rubble on a sloping terrain

Yellowcake has been found on the surface as well as in buried barrels

LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

• At the commencement of the project in 2006, there were two regulatory bodies in Iraq:

• The Radiation Protection Centre (RPC) as part of the Ministry of Environment was established under

Law 99 (1980) with the objective of licensing radiation sources, regulating worker exposure, and

undertaking environmental monitoring.

• The Iraq Radioactive Sources Regulatory Authority (IRSRA), reporting to the Office of the Prime

Minister, was established in 2004 under Coalition Provisional Authority Order 72 (CPA 72) with the

objective of securing the regulation and control of sealed sources within Iraq.

• There were gaps and overlap in the scope of their regulatory roles. However, neither

body had any involvement or experience in regulation.


• The Ionising Radiation Control Law – IRCL

• IAEA and international experts assisted Iraq in drafting a new law to replace the

existing laws which would establish a new regulatory body and create a system of

licensing and control for all nuclear facilities and radiation sources within Iraq.

• Current Status:

• The law is currently undergoing final approvals before being enacted by the Iraqi

Parliament.

• Decommissioning planning and implementation has been ongoing since 2008.


• A comprehensive set of regulations were drafted with the assistance of IAEA and USNRC

from 2006-2008.

• The chapters drafted were as follows:

• General Requirements: Radiation Protection and Licensing

• Decommissioning

• Waste Management

• Waste Disposal

• Transport of Radioactive Materials

• Security


• The implementation of regulatory oversight has proven challenging for a number of reasons.

• Iraq has no history of regulatory oversight

• There was no single regulatory body

• The facilities had no existing licenses

• No existing safety cases

• No regulatory capacity

• Operator had no culture of responding to regulatory requirements

• The law establishing a regulatory framework has not been enacted

• From 2007, agreement for “shadow working”

• RPC has been designated by the Council of Ministers as the regulator for decommissioning activities thus far

REGULATORY ENHANCEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

• Building Decommissioning Capacity

• Meetings presenting key IAEA documentation early in the project

• Site visits (waste disposal facilities, uranium ore and refining facilities, and nuclear

emergency response sites) from 2007 to present to give practical demonstration of

other countries’ experiences

• Consultations with international experts on decommissioning strategies and plans as

well as their respective regulatory components

• Emphasis on the need for proper planning and quality assurance as well as the

establishment of safety assessments of the proposed activities and regulatory review

of the proposals


• Development of a Radiation Protection Department

• Ensuring radiation worker safety as well as public and environmental safety

• Surveillance and recording under the control of RPC

• TLDs, electronic dosimeters, air and soil sampling, contamination surveys,

physical and biological examinations

• Provide adequate instrumentation including maintenance and calibration

• Provide appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment

• Coordination with a Safety Department over structural safety


• Development of a Radiation Protection Programme

• Documentation supporting activities applicable to a range of applications and projects:

• Radiation protection organization and responsibilities

• Radiation protection officer training and qualification

• Radiation protection zoning of areas

• Access and egress control

• Material and waste receipt and release

• Workplace monitoring and control

• Dose limitation and reference levels

• Dosimetry

• Clearance of materials and release of sites

• Task assessment and authorization

• Worker training, medical surveillance and administration

• Radiation protection event management

• Effluent and discharge management

• Transportation

• Optimization principle application


• A Technical Meeting in November 2010 focused on regulatory inspections

• Rights of access to sites for inspections (even unannounced)

• Knowledge of activities and development of plans for inspections

• Priority of safety component

• Necessity of corrective actions

• Focus on compliance with license and procedures

• Operator quality assurance management system

• Inspection of operator’s quality assurance records and inspections


• Many other meetings and fellowships have been provided to the regulatory agency

addressing:

• Legal and regulatory framework for inspections

• Basic fundamentals of inspections

• Types of inspections for decommissioning and waste management facilities and transportation

• Competencies needed to conduct inspections

• Preparation of general procedures and guides for conducting inspections

• Planning and organizing inspections

• Inspection reports and findings: identifying, documenting, and resolution of problems

• Development, management, and enforcement of corrective actions

• Inspection and enforcement assessments

• Oversight and objectivity


• Regulatory Oversight of LAMA Decommissioning

• RPC contracted inspectors from the Iraq International Centre for Science and

Industry (IICSI) who requested:

• The decommissioning organization structure and the responsibilities of key personnel in the

project

• A list of procedures to be used in Stage 1

• Medical examination certificates of the workers

• Instrument calibration and related procedures

• RPC authorised LAMA Stage 2 decommissioning in May 2009


• Regulatory Oversight of LAMA Decommissioning

• RPC presented a review of regulatory activities during LAMA decommissioning in

May 2010

• Regulatory inspections in Stages 1 and 2

• Regulatory process for Stages 3 and 4

• IAEA Safety Standards being applied for licensing

• List of relevant safety requirements

• Occupational dose limits

• Public dose limits

• Clearance levels for sites

• Release levels for sites


• Lessons learned from LAMA decommissioning

• There has been a gradual growth in regulatory competence

• The interaction between the operators and regulators has improved

• There is work to do in developing regulatory processes in line with international

standards

• Instrumentation detection limits

• Detection needs for specific radionuclides unknown

• Standards of documentation including properly developed safety cases

• Competence in document review and inspection


• Decommissioning of the Geopilot facility was successfully planned, implemented, and

cleared by the regulatory authority

• Decommissioning of the Italian Isotope facility is ongoing

• Lessons learned from these activities include:

• Need for approach in control and measurement of internal occupational exposure

• Need for properly structured decommissioning plans supported by safety

cases/reports

• Need for standard operating procedures

• Need for more rigorous regulatory scrutiny

• Need for equipment with appropriate detection limits


• Phase 2 Decommissioning

• Tammuz-2

• IRT-5000

• Adaya

• Fuel Fabrication Facility

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

BEFORE AFTER

Completion of LAMA Decommissioning

Iraq Decommissioning Project - Nucleus Documents/Meetings/3r… · •Adaya . LEGACY SITES IN IRAQ...

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