Italy, UK enhance cooperation on decommissioning

The MoU was signed by Gian Luca Artizzu, CEO of Societa Gestione Impianti Nucleari SpA (Sogin) - the Italian state-owned company responsible for decommissioning the country's nuclear power plants - and David Peattie, CEO of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the UK public body tasked with cleaning up and decommissioning the UK's nuclear facilities.

The five-year agreement responds to the NDA's desire to explore issues related to the decommissioning of an irradiated graphite reactor and provides Sogin with an opportunity to share and expand its experience in planning the decommissioning of Magnox-type reactors, such as the one at the Latina nuclear power plant.

Sogin said the MoU includes three strategic objectives. The first involves sharing experiences and promoting the exchange of know-how on decommissioning techniques for a graphite-moderated nuclear reactor, through a structured schedule of meetings and visits between the teams of the two companies. The second aims to strengthen the skills of the respective technical staff, including through specific training programs. This, with the third and further goal of paving the way for new and potential future collaborations.​

Early collaboration between Sogin and NDA subsidiary Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) under the MoU is expected to focus on: large component and steam generator dismantling; lessons from dismantling design and delivery, including the use of advanced cutting techniques; and technical and strategic approaches shaping decommissioning decisions in different national contexts.

"As government-owned organisations managing long-term nuclear legacies on behalf of the public, both the NDA group and Sogin operate in highly regulated environments where safety, transparency and value for money are essential," the NDA said. "Our shared focus on decommissioning creates strong alignment."

​The agreement follows those signed in recent weeks with the Italian company Graphicore and Japan Atomic Power Company and is part of Sogin's commitment to expand and strengthen its collaboration with the leading international partners in the sector. Through a shared approach, Sogin aims to tackle the dismantling of the nuclear island at the Latina power plant.

"Collaborating on methods and technologies for civil nuclear operations reflects the high level of sophistication the sector has achieved in Europe and around the world," Artizzu said. "Being able to share best practices with similar companies within the International Atomic Energy Agency framework represents a true virtuous cycle, an indispensable asset within our industrial sector."

The Latina plant, comprising a single 210 MWe Magnox graphite gas-cooled reactor, began operating in January 1964. It was permanently shut in December 1987 as a result of the Italian referendum on nuclear power that followed the April 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Sogin took over ownership of the site in November 1999.

The UK constructed a fleet of 26 Magnox power reactors, which began operating between 1956 and 1971. The last Magnox reactor in Britain to shut down was Reactor 1 in Wylfa in 2015.