Page 138 - Beyond Decommissioning

Relevant factors for redevelopment 119

In many cases, interim use is helpful to demonstrate the viability of the reuse vision,
generate income to support further redevelopment of the site, and avoid sites sitting
idle during delays.
Temporary uses may include any of the following: craft markets and workshops,
festival space, retail, charity and “pop-up” shops, exhibition spaces, information
stalls, art studios, exhibitions, performances, storage and filming, trailer offices, or
short-term housing. However, risk issues apply to interim use as well as end use
(though for shorter periods) and risk assessments are required in either approach.
Problems have occurred where temporary renting (before final remediation) did
not allow for adequate access for remediation and/or characterization activities.
Interim land-use controls (land-use restrictions prohibiting sensitive uses such as res-
idential, day care, or schools) may have to be adjusted to allow portions of the site to
be developed. Conditions and limitations for temporary use need to be clearly
established at the onset and rights and responsibilities specified and understood by
all parties. For example, the duration of a short-term residential contract should be
fixed and enforced; and safety and environmental requirements should be established
to ensure that short-term uses will not compromise long-term options. In Melbourne,
Australia, the River Studios project offers provides affordable studio spaces for artists
and craftspeople through a low-impact, fixed-term adaptation of an empty warehouse.
Reuses can also have a built-in “sunset” clause, enabling the building to be returned
to an earlier state or its use reconsidered as circumstances change. For example,
Melbourne’s Goods Shed North is currently being reused as office premises. This
involved dividing the very long shed in two parts, which was not ideal, but a contrac-
tual clause stated that the dividing wall might be removed should a suitable use for the
whole site be identified (Heritage Council of Victoria, 2013).
Stakeholders may consider it more practical to allow for the least intrusive devel-
opment (industrial/commercial) to take place first since immediate residential reuse
brings about the potential for exposure to contaminants during cleanup activities from
other parts of the site (SMARTe.org, 2010).
For nuclear facilities, a specific advantage is that a delay between interim and final
end state can enable less stringent cleanup criteria due to radioactive decay of short-
lived radionuclides. If the interim cleanup, followed by radioactive decay, is not
enough, then a later cleanup may be required. A case in question is the recently dis-
mantled Thetis research reactor, Ghent, Belgium. Following dismantling, the final
radiological survey in order to free release the reactor building (except the reactor
pool) was performed in 2015. One contaminated area had been detected in a former
building laboratory. After removal of this contamination the reactor building was free
released. The declassification from Class I to Class II installation was granted by the
end of 2015. The bottom plate of the reactor pool will remain under regulatory control
until the concrete activation levels are lower than the limits for free release
(Cortenbosch et al., 2016).
In any case it is important to emphasize that any interim cleanup activities or
interim phases should not abdicate any future end state/redevelopment options or
result in the de facto end state by inertia (OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, 2014).