PECL is committed to the safe decommissioning of Taiwan's nuclear fleet
Taiwan's fleet of nuclear power plants is reaching the end of their operating license and in line with its longstanding Nuclear Free Homeland, Taiwan is planning to shutter all three of its Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) by 2025. In fact, the Chinshan NPP operating license expired in 2019 and has been in permanent shutdown since then. The decommissioning of a nuclear power plant is a major undertaking. It is estimated 25 years is needed for each NPP to complete its decommissioning work, which includes demolition and site restoration. One of the precursor activities to allow demolition to commence is to remove the spent fuel from the reactors and spent-fuel pools. Therefore, during the preparation stage, a spent fuel dry storage facility should be completed so that the spent fuels can be removed from the reactors and spent fuel pools.
The PECL difference
Since its inception, PECL has provided a wide range of technical and design services to the Taiwan nuclear industry to support the construction and subsequently to ensure the sustainable, stable and safe operation of the island's nuclear power plants.
As a subsidiary of Bechtel, PECL's highly trained, bi-lingual (English and Chinese) engineers have had numerous opportunities to work on nuclear power plant projects around the world. Such experience and accumulation of technical expertise from working on other NPPs are essential to the successful decommissioning of the Chinshan NPP. The successful decommissioning of the Chinshan NPP will serve as a model for the decommissioning practices of the Kuosheng and Maanshan NPP.
The Project
PECL has a long history with Chinshan and is responsible for the spent fuel dry storage projects of the Chinshan NPP, including the outdoor dry storage facility of the first phase and the indoor dry storage facility of the second phase, which when completed will provide suitable storage for the removal of spent fuels from the reactors and spent fuel pools. Demolition operations will only be carried out once all spent fuels are moved to the dry storage facility.
PECL was INER's subcontractor for the Chinshan Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Permit Application and Decommissioning Operation Planning Work. PECL was responsible for preparation of 3 crucial chapters of the Chinshan decommissioning plan: (i) Chapter 2, "The Facility and Site Environment Description"; (ii) Chapter 12, "Organization and Personnel Training"; and (iii) Chapter 17, "Plant and Land Reuse Planning".
PECL was also responsible for the preparation of the following reports:
- Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Stakeholder Communication Plan
- Procedure for the Estimation of the Quantity of the Hazardous Waste Generated by the Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning
- Preliminary Investigation and Estimation of the Quantity of the Hazardous Waste Generated by the Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning
- Planning and Conceptual Design of the Chinshan's Decommissioned Low-Level Radioactive Waste On-Site Storage Facility
- Planning and Conceptual Design of the Dumping Yard for the Demolition Waste: Soil and Rock Generated by the Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning
- Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Spent Fuel Reprocessing Planning Report
- Spent Fuel Retrievability Evaluation Report for Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant
- Human Resources Requirement Analysis, Organization Adjustment Planning and Training Report for Decommissioning of Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant
- Report on the Restoration and Reuse of the Plant and Land after the Decommissioning of Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant
- Cost Estimates for Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning and Evaluation of Foreign Decommissioning Cost Estimation Information
- Preparation of the Budget for Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning and Cost Estimation Manual
- Quantity Estimation of the Non-radioactive Waste Generated by Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning
- Water Resources Planning for Chinshan Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning
- New On-Site Low-Level Radioactive Waste Storage Facility Concept Design Report
PECL oversaw the crucial Environmental Impact Assessment covering all stages of the decommissioning process, which was approved by Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration on May 15, 2019. The Atomic Energy Council granted the decommissioning permit for Chinshan NPP on July 12, 2019.
Most recently PECL produced: (i) the simple soil and water conservation plan and (ii) the construction site runoff wastewater pollution reduction plan for the demolition of the existing structures located on the site area of the indoor spent fuel dry storage facility. The approval of the New Taipei City Government has been obtained, which will facilitate the promotion of the indoor spent fuel dry storage project.
PECL is proud of its nuclear power heritage and engagement on the Taiwan NPPs since its inception over 40 years ago. We are grateful that we can apply our skills and experiences gained from working on domestic and international NPPs to support the Government in the safe, sustainable and efficient decommissioning of the Chinshan NPP.