Thursday November 14, 2024

The Latina plant, consisting of a single 210 MWe gas-cooled Magnox graphite reactor, began operating in January 1964. It was permanently closed in December 1987 following the Italian referendum on nuclear energy which followed the Chernobyl disaster in April 1986. Sogin, the Italian state-owned company responsible for dismantling the country’s nuclear power plants, took over ownership of the site in November 1999.

In operation, the steam generators (also called boilers) – positioned outside the reactor building – transferred heat from carbon dioxide to the water, thus producing the steam necessary for the operation of the turbines and the production of ‘electricity.

Sogin described the dismantling of steam generators as “a particularly complex activity because it involves components positioned at high altitude and large dimensions.” Each measures 24 meters high, 6 meters in diameter and weighs 3,700 tonnes.

“Work is currently underway to construct containment structures that will isolate and keep areas affected by boiler cutting and materials handling activities safe from the external environment for the duration of the operations. operations,” Sogin said.

The project involves the subsequent cutting of each boiler into nine cylindrical parts each weighing approximately 90 tonnes, proceeding gradually from top to bottom. The technique adopted will be diamond wire cutting, which simultaneously allows the internal components of the steam generator to be cut (tie rods, spacers, brackets, sheets, etc.).

The cylindrical parts will be lowered to the ground using a special crane and then transferred to the materials processing station, already built, where the tube bundles will be removed, the outer casing will be cut into smaller parts and decontaminated with high quality water. water under pressure. Most operations will be carried out using high-tech robotic systems.

The metal materials from the cutting of the casing will be released and sent for recycling, while the tube bundles will be processed by melting by a qualified operator, in line with Sogin’s circular economy strategy based on the minimization of radioactive waste.

The Italian Ministry of Economic Development issued a decree in 2020 authorizing Sogin to begin the initial phase of dismantling the Latina plant. The main activities planned during this first phase concern the dismantling of the six boilers and lowering the height of the reactor building from 53 to 38 meters. Buildings and ancillary systems will also be dismantled. These operations are in addition to those already carried out or in progress at the factory.

At the end of this phase, all radioactive waste generated by the operation of the plant or that produced by the dismantling of plant structures, systems and components will be safely stored on site. This waste will be stored both in a new temporary storage facility and in specifically adapted premises in the reactor building. This first phase of dismantling the Latina power plant should be completed in 2027 and cost 270 million euros ($284 million).

With the availability of a planned national repository, it will be possible to start the second and final phase of decommissioning of the plant with the dismantling of the gas graphite reactor. Once all radioactive waste has been transferred to storage and the temporary storage facilities have been demolished, the site will be vacated, without radiological restrictions, and returned to the community for reuse.