Page 63 - Beyond Decommissioning

44 Beyond Decommissioning

Given the timescales involved and the vast amounts of data required for D&ER, it is
essential to structure KM in a very long time perspective. Not having complete and
accurate information and knowledge at the moment of taking decisions and executing
D&ER projects might dramatically increase related costs and risks.
A crucial part of KM is a thorough and robust approach to planning. This requires
the involvement and commitment of all parties, especially, but not limited to, the
knowledge owners, operating organizations and users. It is particularly important
to always consider the interdependencies of the three elements—people, processes,
and tools—at work within an information-based environment. KM is not simply con-
cerned with making information available, but it is about the skills, qualifications, and
confidence to make information convertible into awareness—for example, about
remaining hazardous materials onsite that could cause serious impacts on the general
public and the environment. Knowing of hazardous materials cannot be decoupled
from knowing how to keep them at bay.
The Safety Glossary of the IAEA (2016) provides the following definition of KM:
“Knowledge Management is an integrated, systematic approach to identifying, man-
aging and sharing an organization’s knowledge and enabling groups of people to cre-
ate new knowledge collectively to help in achieving the organization’s objectives. In
the context of management systems, knowledge management helps an organization to
gain insight and understanding from its own experience. Specific activities in knowl-
edge management help the organization to better acquire, record, store and utilize
knowledge.”
The focus in this definition is the “organization,” which primarily refers to the
“operating organization”(a.k.a. operator, licensee) responsible for the planning and
implementation of plant operations and eventual D&ER activities. However, the
acquisition and preservation of knowledge is a necessary and aimed-at component
of other organizations, which are given in this book the generic name of
“stakeholders.” These include the regulatory body, the government, international bod-
ies, local communities, etc. The influence of the stakeholders on a D&ER project is
large; therefore, KM fully applies to stakeholders, although their source of informa-
tion is primarily the operating organization. Moreover, within the circular economy
established by continuous redevelopment (Fig. 4.1), the site will be owned by a
sequence of owners/operators, and these principles will apply to each of them.
The long lasting nature of D&ER might cause the disappearance of existing knowl-
edge. The kind of knowledge needed can be very different between countries and pro-
jects, leading to the question of what kind of knowledge must be preserved.
Stakeholders may have different concerns, and their desire for knowledge may take
different directions. The operators of nuclear facilities often possess limited expertise
in decommissioning: this also includes KM policies and training programs for the
plant staff and contractors involved in various phases of decommissioning and
beyond. In case of old legacy sites, nuclear knowledge is simply nowhere to be found
and should be reconstructed anew.
As stated repeatedly in this book, reuse/redevelopment is a part and continuation of
D&ER. Consideration of post-decommissioning redevelopment implies that KM
should be maintained for the redeveloped site much longer than for the duration of