Various international decommissioning projects have shown that there are substantial variations in cost estimates for individual installations. Studies to understand the reasons for these differences have been somewhat hampered by the fact that different types of cost estimation methods are used, having different data requirements. Although some uncertainty is inevitable in any costing method, an understanding of the costing methods used in particular projects is useful to avoid key uncertainties. Difficulties of understanding can be encountered and invalid conclusions drawn in making cost comparisons without regard to the context in which the various cost estimates were made.
The above-mentioned difficulties are partly due to the lack of a standardised or generally agreed-upon costing method that includes well structured and defined cost items and an established estimation method. Such a structure and method would be useful not only for project cost comparisons, but would also be a tool for a more effective cost management.
The OECD/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the European Commission (EC) have ongoing activities addressing various aspects of decommissioning and decommissioning costs. Based on these concurrent activities and common objectives, and on the advantages of standardised cost item definitions, the three organisations agreed to jointly prepare and to publish a standardised list of cost items and related cost definitions, for decommissioning projects. The work was carried out by Belgoprocess (Belgium) in the framework of a shared-cost contract with the European Commission (Nuclear Fission Safety Programme 1994–1998). This paper presents the results of the co-operative work.
CONCLUSIONIt has been shown that from the theoretical point of view neither technical nor financial problems of decommissioning to be seen yet. In realizing decommissioning and the connected use of the possible options to plants which are reaching, or have reached, the end of their working life, the useable options are limited. On balance of all opportunities and of all facts -technical, economical and ecological -only restricted procedures are pass i b le as specific key issues have not been solved so far, partly because the governments didn't make the necessary decisions.Nevertheless from operators' view no fundamental "key issues"supposed the "de minimis" concept will be practicable -are recognizable which will jeopardize the feasibilitiy of decommissioning of a nuclear power plant neither at present nor in future. The current facts apparently confronting the detail plannings are not contradictory to this statement. These current facts necessitate however to consider the possibilities accurately and to accommodate the procedures to the realities planning decommissioning works today. But exact technical plannings and cost calculations have to be done at every time and operators are well acquainted with this method.
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