Page 164 - Beyond Decommissioning

Experience and lessons learned 145

around 8000 apartments. It will also house a multifunctional shopping center and
2
almost 100,000 m of retail, hotel, and industrial spaces. The area includes schools
and a new hospital and medical research center. Milanosesto is also home to a sports
stadium, to be used both recreationally by members of the community and for profes-
sional sporting events. The area is largely green, with 10,000 trees and 20 km reserved
to pedestrians.
Main hindrances to the redevelopment were found in the poor efficiency of the
local administration and scarce political support. Initially during the social turmoil
caused by the Falck steel plant closure, attention and response by the public authorities
were promptly available. Following the fading of the emergency, collaboration
between different bodies became more difficult, especially between local develop-
ment agencies and local administrators.
Details of Sesto San Giovanni city and the redevelopment project are given in Sesto
San Giovanni (2011)

6.1.10 Release of UK’s nuclear sites (WNN, 2012a,b)

The following illustrates a few examples of portions of UK’s nuclear sites de-licensed
and released to new owners and for new purposes. In general, the decommissioning
program in the UK foresees long periods of safe enclosure; and care and maintenance
of remaining structures and systems. However, the strategy of the body in charge of
the overall strategy (the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, NDA) is to sell or lease
portions of nuclear sites that have remained unaffected by previous nuclear opera-
tions. This is an effective way of partly offsetting the large expenses incurred by
the national decommissioning program.
In June 2011, following detailed ground surveys and building testing, 35 ha (half of
the original Oldbury NPP site) had been delicensed by the UK Office of Nuclear
Regulation (ONR): it was then officially stated that the land, having no radiological
hazard, was suitable for any form of reuse. This land includes a nature trail and a long-
standing visitor center.
Part of the delicensed land was to be used by Horizon Nuclear Power which
planned to construct a new NPP onsite. The 36 ha left under nuclear license contain
the two 217-MW Magnox reactors and plant infrastructure.
At Berkeley 11 ha—out of a total 38 ha—were being marketed for use as a business
park after the nuclear use was revoked. The delicensed area comprises offices, ware-
houses, laboratories, engineering workshops, a coffee bar, a lecture hall, and meeting
rooms. Many of the site buildings had had no radiological use, while others—e.g.,
radiochemistry labs and waste management installations—were decontaminated
and dismantled (NDR, 2012).
Research reactors and other research facilities at Harwell were constructed
1946–60. Nuclear activities continued until the early 1990s, when it was decided there
was no further need for research work at Harwell. The ’de-designation’ of the land
follows on its delicensing by the ONR.
In 2012, 6 ha of land at the Harwell nuclear research site were delicensed. This land
could then be aggregated to the broader Harwell Oxford campus, which includes a