N04: Decommissioning, Radioactively Contaminated Land & Environmental Management
This unit aims to:
To introduce and develop expertise in technical, environmental, and policy dimensions concerning nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste end-states including radioactively contaminated land in the UK, including the development of theoretical, conceptual, and analytical competencies in nuclear environmental science.
To develop subject matter understanding in real clean-up case studies relevant to UK decommissioning and radioactive waste end-states including radioactively contaminated land. Through nuclear environmental chemistry understanding and case study examples, develop theoretical, conceptual, and analytical environmental science capabilities in nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste end-states.
Brief description of the unit
The course unit explores nuclear decommissioning processes and how technical, environmental, and policy dimensions contribute to decisions on nuclear site end states. It clarifies the principles governing nuclear decommissioning and radioactively contaminated land management challenges, outlines decontamination and clean-up procedures at nuclear sites, and emphasizes the environmental principles that inform radioactive waste end-states in the context of site decommissioning and radioactively contaminated land.
This in person unit will be delivered through lectures / seminars along with industry guest lectures and lab sessions:
- Underpinning scientific understanding of radionuclides and their environmental behaviour in site decommissioning and disposal.
- Case study examples, e.g. clean-up of radioactively contaminated land at Sellafield, site decommissioning.
- Environmental chemistry laboratory skills for research in radioactively contaminated land, in the National Nuclear User Facility Radioactive Waste Disposal and Environmental Remediation Laboratories.
- Decommissioning practices on nuclear sites, case study example (e.g. GE Healthcare, Amersham), introduction to strategic environmental assessments.
- Radioactively contaminated land monitoring, remediation and end states.
Intended Learning Outcomes
| Demonstrate a logical approach to evaluating and emphasizing the significance of scientific, environmental, and socio-political issues related to the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. |
| Critically consider and evaluate the overall nuclear environmental chemistry principles applicable to plant decommissioning, nuclear waste end states, and radioactively contaminated land. |
| Demonstrate the practical environmental chemistry techniques required for nuclear decommissioning of radioactively contaminated land challenges. |
| Critically consider and evaluate the environmental impacts of radioactive legacy waste and decommissioning. |
| Analyse the key practical aspects inherent in a decommissioning project by employing an experimental methodology. |