ICOND 2022 | CONFERENCE REPORT ICOND in Aachen All the latest in best practice approaches to


decommissioning and decontamination were explored in Aachen in the autumn during the most recent ICOND event


event, Lefhalm’s speech focused on innovations for efficient dismantling of nuclear installations. After he outlined the current status of the decommissioning progress across the RWE fleet, he explained the optimisation potential for increasing efficiency on concrete projects, he also set out his analysis of the particular challenges of implementing these optimisations in the industrial nuclear environment. Lefhalm was followed by Peter Berben, Head of ENGIES´s Decision for Decommissioning and Management of Radioactive Waste, who gave a status update on the Belgian decommissioning programme. The day also heard from Dr. Luc Schlömer and Dr. Sascha Klappert of GNS mbH who spoke about multipurpose casks for decommissioning before Dr. Ralf Versemann and Stefan Züll of Hochtemperatur-Kernkraftwerk GmbH gave their experience of more than 20 years of safe enclosure operation from decommissioning of the Thorium High- Temperature Reactor (THTR). The final presentation of the day came from Dr. Susanne


Above: Dates for this year’s ICOND have already been announced


THE CLOSURE AND DECOMMISSIONING OF nuclear installations remains a significant field of endeavour. Indeed, some 200 reactors are expected to begin the decommissioning process in the coming years. It is in this context that the latest annual International


Conference on Nuclear Decommissioning (ICOND) was held in Aachen, Germany. First launched in 2011, this three day conference explores all aspects of the decommissioning process from regulatory approvals, through to dismantling, decontamination and disposal. The conference programme is designed to enable


participants to explore the practical challenges of decommissioning and develop optimised decommissioning strategies. The latest ICOND was the biggest yet with more than 460 participants and 51 companies presenting their products and services at the accompanying exhibition.


A packed three-day conference programme The pre-conference workshop was dedicated to innovative methods and technologies. Participants heard a presentation on mobile decommissioning equipment from Framatome’s Dr. Hauke Grages. They also heard from Markus Brotsack of Impact Innovations Gmbh on the subject of cold gas spraying. He outlined one of the more modern coating processes that allows corrosion and wear resistant coatings to be applied with high final density and high thermal and electrical conductivity. The conference itself began the next day with a keynote


presentation from Dr. Cord-Heinrich Lefhalm, Head of Decommissioning Management at RWE Nuclear GmbH. First to speak in the Strategies & Market Development session and picking up on a strong theme running through the


Pudollek of the Nationale Genossenschaft für die Lagerung radioaktiver Abfälle (Nagra) who discussed waste logistics for the deep geological repository in Switzerland. Delegates then moved on to the gala dinner, sponsored by ENGIE and EQUANS and held at the nearby Schloss Rahe. The second day of conference presentations came under the theme Decommissioning technologies. Presentations began with Renée Engert of Kerntechnische Entsorgung Karlsruhe GmbH (KTE) who spoke about decommissioning the hot cell facility at Karlsruhe. Delegates then heard from Frederic Weigert of ORANO GmbH and Ronald Strysewske of EWN GmbH who discussed a disassembly procedure for RPV internals and who were immediately followed by Günter Cramer of TRAWEMA GmbH who talked about a cold-cutting method for dismantling elements of a plant reactor. The afternoon session was held under the Site & Waste


Characterization banner. Here delegates heard a paper from Syscade’s Thierry Delvigne concerning a combined X-ray and radiologic characterization approach for a better evaluation of radioactivity content in nuclear waste drums. This conference session ended with a presentation from Giacomo Mangiagalli of CAEN SpA, which looked at low-cost in-situ characterisation of nuclear waste via a spectroscopic radiation measurement and UHF RFID tagging. The third and final day came under the banners of


Competence & Training followed by Residue Management & Clearance and heard from Wouter Broeckx of SCK CEN on the subject of Decommissioning of the BR3 Biological Shield, and VKTA’s Matthias Bothe on efforts to standardise clearance and disposal. Dates for this year’s ICOND have already been announced. It will be held in Aarchen on 13-16 November for more opportunities to learn the latest best practice in nuclear decommissioning and decontamination. ■


www.neimagazine.com | March 2023 | 39


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