Jülich disposal company for nuclear plants
| JEN Jülicher Entsorgungsgesellschaft für Nuklearanlagen mbH | |
|---|---|
| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 2015 |
| Seat | Jülich , Germany |
| management | Rudolf Printz (Technical Director)
Ulrich Schäffler (Commercial Director) |
| Number of employees | 340 (mid 2016) |
| Branch | Waste management |
| Website | www.jen-juelich.de |
The Jülich disposal company for nuclear facilities (JEN) deals with the dismantling of the nuclear facilities at the Jülich site. It is part of the Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN), which also includes locations in Lubmin and Karlsruhe.
history
The JEN was created on September 1, 2015 by merging the nuclear service of Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchs-Reaktor (AVR) GmbH , of which it is the legal successor. Its aim is to dismantle the nuclear facilities at the Jülich location to the point of "green field". The new company draws on the nuclear decommissioning, dismantling and disposal experience that has been gathered in Jülich over the past five decades. The Versuchsreaktor GmbH working group was founded on February 3, 1959. The aim was to build and operate a high-temperature reactor . AVR GmbH was owned by a consortium of 15 municipal electricity companies. The AVR experimental reactor was commissioned after the laying of the foundation stone on November 9, 1961 in August 1969 and ran until December 31, 1988.
In the years that followed, the decommissioning concept was changed from “safe enclosure” to “gutting” to “complete dismantling”. For this purpose, the AVR was integrated into the federally owned company Energiewerke Nord (EWN) in 2003, which has specialized in the dismantling of nuclear power plants. EWN is a federal company that dismantles nuclear facilities and dismantles, treats and temporarily stores the radioactive waste and residues that arise in order to send them to a federal repository in the long term. JEN has also been working under the umbrella of EWN since it was founded.
financing
The new company is financed by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research and the Ministry for Innovation, Science and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Tasks and projects
The main task of the company is the dismantling of the nuclear facilities listed below. In addition, areas of nuclear waste disposal, the storage of low and medium-level substances and the fuel elements of the AVR high-temperature reactor are also part of the company's area of responsibility.
AVR high temperature reactor
After the pebble bed reactor had been in operation for 21 years, it was initially planned to “safely contain” the plant. For this purpose, plant components that were no longer required were dismantled and the spherical fuel assemblies removed immediately after receiving the permit. With the takeover of AVR GmbH by EWN GmbH, the project objective was changed. In an administrative agreement between the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, instead of the "safe enclosure", the "complete dismantling" of the system to the "green field" was agreed.
To do this, the 26-meter-high, 7.6-meter-wide and 1,930-tonne reactor vessel had to be removed from the plant. Since the transfer to a repository was not possible for radiological reasons, all that remained was to relocate the container to a suitable interim storage facility . After several years of testing, on November 4, 2008, a special aerated lightweight concrete mixture was pumped into the reactor vessel. On May 23, 2015, after months of preparatory work, the container was transported by a transport vehicle to the interim storage facility on the Jülich campus about 600 meters away. Until its final dismantling - this can only take place after a suitable repository is available - the container will spend the next decades here.
Based on the current status, the completion of all necessary work on the reactor is expected by the end of 2022. JEN will then hand over the site to the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for unrestricted use.
Chemistry cells
The chemical cells were put into operation in 1973 and were used to test the individual phases of reprocessing processes, experiments on waste treatment, the extraction of nuclides and the refabrication of uranium from irradiated nuclear fuels. In December 2009 the last experimental work was carried out in the chemical cells and the plant was decommissioned.
Research reactor FRJ-1 (MERLIN)
The light water research reactor FRJ-1 (MERLIN) was put into operation in 1962 and used for various irradiation experiments, especially in the field of materials research. It was last operated with 10 megawatts of thermal output and finally shut down in 1985 after 23 years of operation.
After relocating the fuel assemblies and dismantling most of the experimental facilities, the reactor facility was initially in a ten-year standstill. In 1995 the facility was decommissioned. The end of the dismantling activities was in winter 2009. With their completion, a research reactor of the megawatt class was dismantled for the first time in Germany to the "green field".
Research reactor FRJ-2 (DIDO)
The FRJ-2 was a research reactor in which heavy water (D 2 O) in a closed tank was used as moderator and for cooling . In November 1962 it was put into operation with an output of 10 megawatts. The output was increased in two stages to a total of 23 megawatts.
In the first two decades, the FRJ-2 was mainly used to further develop reactor materials and to optimize reactor safety. Later, the focus of its use as a beam tube reactor was in basic scientific research to investigate the structure of matter.
The approval notice for the decommissioning and dismantling of the FRJ-2 reactor facility was issued on September 20, 2012 by the competent licensing authority in North Rhine-Westphalia. On May 2, 2006, it was shut down for good. All fuel elements and most of the heavy water were disposed of. The 17 experimental facilities last used for neutron scattering have been dismantled. Seven of these facilities were put back into operation at the newly established “Jülich Center for Neutron Science” at the FRM II research reactor in Garching.
Big hot cells
The large hot cells were put into operation in 1968. With their three rows of cells, they were originally used for the material analysis of irradiated nuclear fuels and reactor components, for conditioning and temporary storage of the AVR fuel elements, and for the repair and dismantling of heavily activated and contaminated reactor components. In 2002 it was decided to gradually decommission the large hot cells.
Residue treatment and waste conditioning
The residual materials and waste from the dismantling of the nuclear facilities must be properly conditioned and disposed of. JEN has various treatment and disposal facilities available for these tasks.
These include:
- Decontamination system
- Steel shot blasting machine
- Crusher
- High pressure press
- Incinerator
- Large evaporator
- Melting furnace
- Measuring devices
If decontaminated materials do not meet the criteria for unrestricted release after treatment, there are various storage facilities for low-level (LAW) or medium-level (MAW) waste in sufficient quantities. If the transfer to a repository, such as the Konrad mine, is planned, an appropriate system is available for this task, with which the processing of the waste is guaranteed in accordance with the repository.
In addition to the treatment of substances from its own nuclear facilities, JEN also offers services such as decontamination, conditioning, post-conditioning of old containers and analytical tests for third parties.
Interim storage
The intermediate storage facilities on the premises of Forschungszentrum Jülich receive the low- and medium-level radioactive raw waste, intermediate products and conditioned waste from the dismantling projects at the site. A repository for both low and medium level waste as well as for heat-generating (high level) waste is not yet in operation and has not yet been found for high level waste.
Intermediate storage for low-level (LAW) or medium-level (MAW) waste
Approved storage capacities for negligible heat-generating waste from the dismantling projects are available on the JEN site.
Interim storage facility for the spent AVR fuel elements
In an interim storage facility of JEN mbH in Jülich, 288,161 spherical fuel elements are stored in 152 castors. The AVR fuel elements come from the AVR test reactor that was shut down in 1988.
Intermediate storage of the reactor vessel
In the course of the dismantling of the AVR test reactor, the reactor cask was transported to an interim storage facility about 600 meters away on the Jülich campus in May 2015. Until its final dismantling - this can only take place after a suitable repository is available - the container will spend the next decades here.
Because of its low proportion of nuclear fuel, the container in the new interim storage facility is no longer subject to ministerial nuclear supervision as before, but to the supervision of the Cologne district government .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Company portrait. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Entries on Unternehmensregister.de
- ^ The projects at the Jülich site. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ What was the AVR? (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ News. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Company portrait. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ The projects at the Jülich site. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ What was the AVR? (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Jülich reactor casks arrived in the new interim storage facility - WELT. In: THE WORLD. Retrieved October 13, 2016 .
- ↑ News. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Reactor dismantling - AVR fuel elements. (No longer available online.) In: avr-brennelemente.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ chemistry cells. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The dismantling of the chemical cells. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Research reactor FRJ-1. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Research reactor FRJ-2. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The dismantling of the FRJ-2. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Residue treatment. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Interim storage. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Jülich reactor casks arrived in the new interim storage facility - WELT. In: THE WORLD. Retrieved October 13, 2016 .
- ↑ News. (No longer available online.) In: www.ewn-gmbh.de. Archived from the original on October 14, 2016 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
