Formed just a year ago, the International Decommissioning Network (IDN) is changing the way knowledge, expertise and information are shared between Member States.
What began as a way for Member States with proven decommissioning expertise to pass this know-how on to those facing the challenge for the first time, or whose programmes are constrained by funding, the IDN, after one year, has seen expertise moving the other way as well - from developing countries to the highly developed ones.
"Many developing member states have become sources of very specific technical expertise," says Paul Dinner of the IAEA´s Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology. "It´s a change in roles, with many countries saying, ´Wait a minute, I have something to offer´. Recently Ukraine, Greece, and the Russian Federation all said, ´We´d like to offer our facilities and our expertise.´ So this is a significant step forward for us."
Described as a network of networks, the IDN brings experts in nuclear power plant decommissioning together so they can share ideas and learn from each other.
"We´ve had a number of developing Member States that have had to adapt the technologies that are used in the bigger and wealthier countries, and have done it safely and more simply with fewer financial resources. The result is that countries that originally developed some of this technology, get very interested in this new approach spearheaded by a developing country because it would be cheaper for them. So they are seeing the people who have learned and adapted these techniques as experts in their own right," says Mr. Dinner.
Decommissioning a nuclear facility is a complicated and costly process. It involves facilities being cleared of industrial and radioactive contamination so that they may safely be used for other purposes. The more than 350 nuclear installations around the world to be decommissioned is not the only issue. The IAEA anticipates that there could be "a four-fold increase in the number of technical cooperation projects in 2009-2011 focused on the introduction of nuclear power", according to Director General Mohamed ElBaradei.
A recommendation from the Athens Conference on Decommissioning urged that lessons learned from decommissioning to date should be used as an input in the design, operation and maintenance of all new nuclear facilities.
Mr. Dinner also highlights why the IDN was relevant a year ago when it was formed, and why it continues to do pivotal work. "Especially in the nuclear energy area there are a lot of countries that need assistance because they want to develop nuclear power. And in many cases they still have legacy issues that go back decades - shut down reactors, or disused facilities, some of them for experimental purposes. We all share the responsibility to deal with that before we move on aggressively in the next generation of the nuclear renaissance."
During 2008, Belgium and Spain, two member states with advanced decommissioning programmes, hosted and funded hands-on workshops providing detailed insights into their technology to groups of IDN participants.
A collaborative initiative between the IAEA Departments of Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Safety and Security, and Technical Cooperation, the IDN is open to all Members States engaged in, or actively planning, decommissioning. IDN allows better inter-departmental cooperation within the IAEA, and better collaboration between the Agency, governments, and companies focused on decommissioning.
The IDN provides hands-on experience in nuclear installations that are currently being decommissioned. As well as workshops and small group discussion between experts, the Decommissioning Network is also promoting knowledge transfer through its quarterly e-newsletters, video tutorials and teleconferencing. Mr. Dinner says, "You have groups around the world who are at a similar stage, and if you can bring them together to talk about their problems, you can have a much more effective way of sharing information."