Laser Dismantling Environmental and Safety Assessment

ended

The aim of NFRP-2019-2020-09 call is to capitalise existing technologies for characterisation and risk assessment, dismantling, on-site waste management and environmental remediation in order to gain needed efficiencies in the decommissioning of nuclear power reactors. One very challenging dismantling task in the focus of the industry is the segmentation of the reactor pressure vessel and internals. Limitations are known for all conventional cutting techniques currently used including mechanical cutting, plasma arc cutting or abrasive water jet cutting. In this context, the laser cutting technology for nuclear dismantling, an adaptation from the manufacturing industry developed by over a decade of R&D efforts, is identified in Europe and elsewhere in the world as a promising alternative. The objective of the LD-SAFE project is to validate the laser cutting technology for the dismantling of the most challenging components of power nuclear reactors in air and underwater. LD-SAFE project will remove the last barriers to enable the replacement of conventional cutting techniques and prove by 4 specific objectives that the technology is mature (TRL7): - Objectives 1: Demonstration of the capabilities of a versatile laser cutting solution to address the key technical challenges in decommissioning of large nuclear facilities - Objectives 2: Environmental and safety assessment of the implementation of laser cutting for nuclear reactor decommissioning - Objectives 3: Technical validation of the laser cutting prototype in operational environment (TRL7) - Objectives 4: Demonstration of the economic advantage of using the laser cutting technology for the forthcoming reactor decommissioning market LD-SAFE consortium is a strong partnership of 4 leading industrials and 2 European research centres having extensive track-records in the field of dismantling of nuclear facilities; environment and people protection; safety assessment; and associated domains.