Page 371 - Beyond Decommissioning

Glossary 347

Characterization Determination of the nature and activity of radionuclides and other contam-
inants present in a specified place. For example, characterization is the determination of
the radionuclides present … in an area contaminated with radioactive material (e.g., as a
first step in planning remediation).
Clearance Removal of regulatory control by the regulatory body from radioactive material or
radioactive objects within notified or authorized facilities and activities.
Clearance level (or clearance criteria) A value established by a regulatory body and
expressed in terms of activity concentration and/or total activity, at or below which reg-
ulatory control may be removed from a source of radiation.
Commodification The transformation of goods, services, ideas, and people into commodities
(i.e., products that can be bought and sold) (definition by this book).
Contamination Radioactive and other hazardous substances on surfaces or within solids,
liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is unintended or
undesirable, or the process giving rise to their presence in such places.
Context*** Any relationship between a place and other places, relevant to the values of that
place.
Cost-benefit analysis A systematic technical and economic evaluation of the positive effects
(benefits) and negative effects (dis-benefits, including monetary costs) of undertaking an
action.
Cultural heritage*** Inherited assets which people identify and value as a reflection and
expression of their evolving knowledge, beliefs, and traditions, and of their understand-
ing of the beliefs and traditions of others.
Decommissioning Administrative and technical actions taken to allow the removal of some or
all of the regulatory controls from a facility. Decommissioning typically includes dis-
mantling of the facility (or part thereof ) to reduce the associated radiation risks, but in the
IAEA’s usage this needs not be the case. A facility could, for example, be decommissioned
without dismantling and the existing structures subsequently put to another use (after
decontamination).
Deindustrialization The process by which a country or area depends less and less on industry
to provide most of its work or income (Cambridge Dictionary).
Demolition* Clearance and removal of a structure in order to achieve greenfield or carry out
the redevelopment plan.
Decontamination The complete or partial removal of contamination by a deliberate physical,
chemical, or biological process. This definition is intended to include a wide range of
processes for removing contamination from people, equipment, and buildings, but to
exclude the removal of radionuclides from within the human body or the removal of
radionuclides by natural weathering or migration processes, which are not considered to be
decontamination. See Remediation.
Dismantling The taking apart, disassembling, and tearing down of the structures, systems and
components of a facility for the purposes of decommissioning.
Disposal Emplacement of waste in an appropriate facility without the intention of retrieval.
Disposition Transfer to the care or possession of another (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
End state A predetermined criterion defining the point at which a specific task or process is to
be considered completed. Used in relation to decommissioning activities such as the final
state of decommissioning of a facility; and used in relation to remediation such as the
final status of a site at the end of activities for decommissioning and/or remediation,
including approval of the radiological and physical conditions of the site and remaining
structures.