Safety Considerations for Research Reactors in Extended Shutdown

By International Atomic Energy Agency

According to the IAEA Research Reactor Database, 258 research reactors that no longer operate are in some form of shutdown. Many others are facing problems of obsolescence of equipment, lack of experimental programmes, lack of funding for operation and maintenance, loss of expertise and equipment, and the ageing and retirement of staff. The unclear future of these facilities gives rise to safety concerns. The objective of this publication is to state the problem of extended shutdown and its safety implications, including staff issues; review the implications of extended shutdown on reactor components and systems; provide guidance aimed at assisting operating organizations in planning and implementing extended shutdown, and especially the maintenance or replacement of affected systems; assist the regulatory body in determining the requirements that are to be satisfied by an organization that is responsible for a reactor in extended shutdown and for the relicensing of a reactor previously in extended shutdown, and provide guidance for decision makers to assist in the determination of the future of the reactor.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9201001045
• ISBN13: 9789201001047
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: International Atomic Energy Agency
• Length: 277 Pages