I.A.E.A. - Country Nuclear Power Profile -
Italy Report
( 2002 Edition - It updates the country information, in general, to the
end of 2001)
(This is the fourth edition of the Country Nuclear Power Profiles)
Narrative overview of nuclear power development in Italy
1 - General
information
2 -
Electricity sector
3 -
Nuclear power situation
4 -
Nuclear power industry
5 -
Regulatory framework
3. Nuclear power situation
3.1. Historical Development
Italy was among the first countries in the world to use nuclear
technology for civil power
generation purposes only. The Italian history of nuclear technology
development can be split into three major periods:
A) pioneering period from 1946 to 1965 during which the private industry
played a fundamental role;
B) planning period from 1966 to 1987, during which the Government
planned nuclear development;
C) post referenda period from 1988 onward, which is characterized by
the efforts to abandon nuclear
energy production.
3.1.1. Pioneering Period
In November 1946, CISE (Centro Informazioni, Studi ed Esperienze) was
founded, with the
participation of the elite post-war Italian industries (Edison,
Montecatini, FIAT) and some of the most
prominent Italian nuclear scientists. Early on, the purpose of CISE was
to lay down the foundations of
civil nuclear engineering and, later on, to design a natural uranium
fuelled, heavy water moderated test
nuclear reactor.
In June 1952, the Government established CNRN (Comitato Nazionale per le
Ricerche
Nucleari), an agency in charge of developing and promoting nuclear
technology. In August 1960, the
agency was reorganized and renamed CNEN (Comitato Nazionale per I'Energia
Nucleare).
In October 1958, the construction of the country’s first nuclear power
plant, Latina, began. This
200 MW(e) gas-graphite reactor (Magnox, from magnesium alloy used in the
fuel cans) was connected
to the electric grid in May 1963. It was ordered by SIMEA, an ENI (Ente
Nazionale Idrocarburi = Italian Hydrocarbons Board)
subsidiary, and contracted from the Nuclear Power Plant Company (NPPC)
of the UK. The United
Kingdom’s Atomic Energy Authority was to offer support for the safety
aspects.
In November 1959, construction work for the Garigliano nuclear power
plant began. A Boiling
Water Reactor prototype was ordered by SENN (Societa Elettro Nucleare
Nazionale) from the
International General Electric. In January 1964, Garigliano 150 MW(e)
reactor started operation.
The Trino Vercellese nuclear power plant, a Westinghouse PWR with two
separate turbine
systems, was ordered by SELNI (Societa Elettro Nucleare Italiana), a
subsidiary of the Edison group.
Construction for the 260 MW(e) Trino Vercellese began in August 1961. It
entered commercial
operation in October 1964.
A general rule, Law 1860, to regulate peaceful use of atomic energy was
issued for the first time
in December 1962. This law assigned CNEN the role of the nuclear
Regulatory Body and foresaw the
issuance of a subsequent law for radioactive protection of population
and workers.
In February 1964, the Italian Government issued a complete set of
Regulations (D.P.R. 230) to
cover into details the different aspects of nuclear safety and radiation
protection. CNEN was
confirmed as the official Regulatory Body. However, this responsibility
created an inherent conflict of
interests between its role as a public promoter of nuclear technology
and as a Regulator. The safety
criteria during the period were adopted from countries exporting nuclear
technology (mainly the UK
and the USA).
In 1962, after a long political struggle, the electric sector was
nationalized and ENEL was
established as the sole utility. In 1964, the ownership of Latina
nuclear power plant was transferred to
ENEL, and, in 1966, also the Garigliano and Trino units were transferred
to ENEL, hence closing the
first period of the Italian nuclear history.
3.1.2. Planning Period
In December 1966, ENEL announced a huge nuclear programme forecasting
12,000 MW of
nuclear power by 1980. A year later, in 1967, CIPE (Comitato
Interministeriale per la
Programmazione Economica = Interministerial Committee for Economic
Planning) - a Committee in charge of co-ordinating the
activities of Ministries
involved in the country’s economic planning and of defining the nuclear
programme of ENEL -
reorganized the nuclear sector. Among the most important actors (all
state-owned companies) were:
i) ENEL, which maintained its position as the sole utility;
ii) ENI, which was in charge of nuclear fuel;
iii) ANSALDO, which was in charge of collaborating with foreign supplier(s)
and later became the
Italian nuclear components supplier.
In 1967, an agreement was signed by CNEN and ENEL for developing an
Italian version of the
Canadian CANDU. This reactor type, called CIRENE, was designed to use
heavy water as moderator
and boiling water as coolant. In 1972, ANSALDO got an order to build a
40 MW(e) prototype close to
the Latina nuclear power plant. CISE actively participated in the design
and construction of the
CIRENE reactor, which, however, never became operational due to
technical problems and the lack of
economic resources. Its construction was finalized only in 1988.
In 1969, ENEL decided to build a BWR (G.E. BWR 4, Mark 2) on the site of
Caorso; one year
later ANSALDO, in a joint venture with G.E., officially received the
order. The Caorso site
construction began in 1970. After several delays in implementing
improvements in the suppression
pool and bolstering thermal fuel performance, this 860 MW(e) unit
finally started commercial
operation in 1981.
In 1974, following the Yom Kippur War and the consequent oil crisis, the
Ministry of Industry,
Commerce and Crafts (hereafter referred to as Ministry of Industry)
approved a National Energy Plan
that foresaw the construction of 20 nuclear power plants in order to
reduce the contribution of oil on
the Italian energy balance. The main effort during that period was to
achieve a certain level of
technological independence from the American licenser(s). Political
indecision led the industry to
spread technical and economic resources over five different reactor
types; namely, the BWR of
General Electric, the PWR of Westinghouse and Babcock types, the CANDU
of AECL, and the
indigenous CIRENE.
To attain the goals of the new energy plan, the Italian government in
1973, joined the
EURODIF consortium. AGIP Nucleare, a subsidiary of ENI, and CNEN were in
charge of providing
the country with enriched uranium for fuel fabrication. Meanwhile, in
1972, ANSALDO -in a joint
venture with G.E.- completed the Fabbricazioni Nucleari (Bosco Marengo)
to manufacture the fuel
elements for the future BWR’s. The plant can produce 100 tons of fuel
annually. It entered in
operation in 1976 and has produced more than 500 tons of fuel for the
Italian nuclear power stations
and Leibstadt nuclear power station in Switzerland.
Later, in December 1973, three major European utilities signed an
agreement to build a
Superphenix, 1200 MW(e) fast breeder reactor in France. A second smaller
station was planned in
Federal Republic of Germany. The three original partners were
Electricité de France (EdF), ENEL and
Rheinisch Westfalisches Elektrizitätswerk (RWE). Subsequently RWE was
substituted by Schnell -
Bruter Kernkraftwerkgesellschaft (SBK), a joint enterprise of RWE,
Belgian and Dutch utilities and,
to a lesser extent, the British Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB).
Under the terms of this
agreement the NERSA company was created in 1974 to undertake the
construction of the Creys-
Malville station. EdF’s share of NERSA was 51%, ENEL had 33% and SBK
16%. Preliminary work
on the Creys-Malville site started in December 1974. The fist concrete
was laid in December 1976.
The reactor began operation in January 1986. Earlier, in 1983,
construction had began for PEC (Prova
Elementi di Combustible) for testing fast breeder fuel elements. This
was intended to strengthen Italy’s
participation in the Superphenix venture.
In 1976, Montalto di Castro was selected as the site for two new BWR’s (G.E.
BWR 4, Mark 3).
The site permit was issued in 1979, exactly one month before the Three
Mile Island incident. This
along with the active opposition of the environmental movements, delayed
the implementation of the
energy plan. Moreover, ENEL faced increasing difficulties with its
nuclear power stations and
conventional power plants with the construction of transmission system.
During the 1980’s, the
nuclear option became one of the major political issues, almost
completely halting all nuclear
activities, despite the commitments of several energy plans.
The new National Energy Plan of 1982 reflected mixed attitudes. It
called for two nuclear units
at Montalto di Castro and six other units on three different sites
(Piemonte, Lombardia and Puglia).
The plan also identified the development of the so-called PUN (Progetto
Unificato Nazionale = Standard Nuclear Plant Project.), a
Westinghouse pressurized water reactor as the final reactor type for the
country. The most important
characteristic of PUN design was to standardize nuclear plant design and
construction. ENEA (Ente
Nazionale per la ricerca e lo sviluppo dell'energia nucleare e delle
Energie Alternative = Italian Commission for research and Development of
Nuclear and Alternative Energy Resources, set up under
Act No. 84 of 5 March 1982 to reorganise CNEN.), formerly
CNEN, was split into two major branches: ENEA responsible for research
and promotion of nuclear
technology; and, ENEA/DISP (=Directorate for Nuclear Safety and Health
Protection), an independently acting nuclear Regulatory
Body.
In 1986, a few months before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, CIPE
reaffirmed its commitment
for the two BWR units at Montalto di Castro and for the six PUN type
pressurized water reactors.
However, the impact of the Chernobyl disaster on public opinion was
enormous and a general debate
on the implications of the use of nuclear energy inflamed the contest in
the political arena. In
November 1987, three referenda were passed essentially stopping any
activity in the nuclear sector.
3.1.3. Disengagement Period
In December 1987, CIPE halted construction of the Montalto di Castro and
Piemonte plants.
These were the only two sites where construction work was effectively in
progress. A nuclear
moratorium period of five years became effective.
In June 1988, the Government, by Decree Nos. 230 and 324, ended all
nuclear construction. The
Caorso reactor, which was shut down in October 1986 for the annual
refuelling remained in cold shut
down for a complete safety review and assessment. In 1989, an OSART (Operational
Safety
Assessment Review Team, under the aegis of IAEA) inspection of the
Caorso plant was conducted;
but, despite of positive results of both reviews, CIPE decided, in July
1990, to close down the plant. At
the same time Trino nuclear power plant was closed. The remaining units
of Garigliano and Latina had
already been closed down in August 1978 and November 1986, respectively.
At the same time ENEA decided to close down a number of facilities
relevant to the fuel cycle:
IFEC (Impianto di Fabbricazione Elementi di Combustibile), EUREX (Enriched
Uranium Extraction),
ITREC (Impianto di Trattamento e Rifabbricazione Elementi di
Combustibile) and the plutonium plant
at its Casaccia Centre. In effect, Italy is currently inactive in the
nuclear energy sector.
In the context of the privatization and of the liberalization of the
electric energy market, and
accordingly to a legislative Decree (Decreto legislativo n° 79 , 16
March 1999) all Enel’s liabilities
and assets (and all capabilities and resources) connected to nuclear
power have been assigned to a
newly established company, named SO.G.I.N. (Società Gestione Impianti
Nucleari, hereafter Sogin);
Sogin is operational since November 1st, 1999; its shares have been
transferred in 2000 to the Ministry
of Treasure (now Ministry of Economy and Finance); nevertheless, Sogin
will act accordingly to
guidelines issued by the Ministry of Industry (now Ministry of
Productive Activities).
The mission of Sogin covers:
- the decommissioning of the NPPs in Italy: as it is well known, all
nuclear generation plants in
Italy have been definitely shutdown; furthermore, Sogin has been allowed
to act with joint
ventures or similar co-operative initiatives in order to dismantle any
other nuclear related structure
in Italy: for this reason on 12 December 2000, Sogin entered into a
Consortium with ENEA and
Fabbricazioni nucleari (FN). The aim of the Consortium is to dismantle
all plants related to the
fuel cycle (fabrication and research plants: no installation for the
back end of the cycle exist in
Italy), which are property of ENEA and FN;
- the management of the back end of the related fuel cycle;
- the valorization of the assets such as sites, components, resources;
- providing engineering and consultancy services in the nuclear field
within the domestic and the
international market.
3.2. Status and Trends of Nuclear Power
3.3. Current Policy Issues
The future of the nuclear sector remains uncertain pending development
and acceptance of the
new generation of enhanced safety reactors.
Main nuclear policy issues relate to the decommissioning and waste
disposal facilities. The
ultimate strategic goal, for the former, is unrestricted site release.
On 14 December 1999, the Italian Government, with an announcement of the
Ministry of
Industry, has outlined strategic choices and plans to manage the
problems connected with the closure
of all nuclear activities in the country. These guidelines have been
submitted to the Parliament, even if
a wide consensus both on political and technical bodies has raised and a
high level of confidence about
their confirmation should be considered.
The ministry statement outlines three main goals:
- treatment and conditioning, within a 10 year period, of all liquid and
solid radwaste currently in
on-site storage, mostly issued from the operation of the plants, with a
view to subsequent transport
to a national waste repository;
- Site selection and construction of a national repository for low and
intermediate level wastes, also
within 10 years; the same site would be used for temporary storage of
high level long lived wastes,
particularly spent fuel and wastes resulting from reprocessing: the
final selection of a site for
waste disposal facilities has not been made yet;
- Decommissioning of the nuclear plants in about 20 years, proceeding
directly to the dismantling
stage in order to reach the site release with no radiological
constraints.
It is worth mentioning that this announcement brings a new approach for
the decommissioning:
in fact, also as a consequence of the National Conference on Energy and
Environment in the autumn
of 1998, the deferred decommissioning strategy (Safe Store) was up to
this moment the adopted and
agreed strategy by Enel with the Government.
Nevertheless, during 1999 also representatives of ANPA (the Safety
National Authority) have
asked for the possibility of an acceleration, considering “prompt
decommissioning” option to be
preferred, as well taking into account dose constraints as the need of
taking advantage of the reactor
operational staff still available on the nuclear sites.
The policy for an immediate dismantling was confirmed with a decree of
the Ministry of
Industry on 2001, May 7th; this decree confirmed also the main
objectives outlined in 1999 and stated
the opportunity that Sogin would collaborate, under a specific
convention, with the Ministry for
specific items of Ministerial responsibility concerning siting and
construction of the low level
radioactive wastes repository.
Sogin has defined the decommissioning program according to the new
guidelines of the government.
As mentioned before, the target is to reach the complete radiological
release of the site within 20 years
from now.
The general programme for all plants has been in principle divided into
three phases:
- The first phase will be devoted to all activities that are somewhat
independent on the choosen
strategy and on the availability of the national repository. Fuel
storage and dismantling of BOP,
of conventional buildings and lower contamination components are
scheduled. In addition, all
operating wastes will be conditioned. The general licensing procedure
will be executed. This
phase should be completed in mid 2005
- The second phase will consider all preparatory activities and mock up
realisation for the final
dismantling. It will start after the beginning of the realisation of the
national repository; we
consider that this phase should finish in 2008-2009.
- The third phase will be devoted to the dismantling of nuclear islands,
to the transport off all
wastes to the repository and to the site restoration. We consider that
by the end of 2020 all sites
should be released..
Of course, the objectives of this programme can be reached only if the
construction of a national
repository will be achieved in the due time.
For all plants, during 2001 a special effort was devoted to application
for the dismantling and others
licensing issue, such as EIA. In addition, many detailed projects were
presented to the Safety National
Authority, namely for the decontamination of primary circuits of Caorso
and Trino. Main activities
already performed on each plant are hereby summarised.
Garigliano (160MW BWR, operated from 1963 to 1978): the global
decommissioning plan with the
new strategy has been presented to initiate the decommissioning
licensing procedure on august, 2001.
The plant was near to reach the safestore condition when the change of
strategy occurred. The reactor
is defuelled and no fuel is now on the site. The radiological
characterisation has been completed. All
operating wastes have been treated; no more necessary radwaste tanks
have been dismantled and
decontaminated.
Latina (160 MW GCR, operated since 1962 up to 1987): the global
decommissioning plan for
initiating the licensing procedure has been presented in Feb. 2002.
The plant has been totally defuelled; the primary circuit has been
filled with dry air and blowers and
portion of primary circuit outside the reactor building have been
dismantled; first activities for the
removal of asbestos from the turbine building were initiated.
Trino, (260 MW PWR, operated from 1965 to 1987): the global
decommissioning plan with the new
strategy has been presented to initiate the decommissioning licensing
procedure in Dec. 2001; .the
reactor has been defuelled and part of the fuel is now stored in the
pool of the plant. An On site
Interim storage will be realised by 2003. No major decommissioning
activities have been performed,
while removal of asbestos and components from the turbine building are
initiated.
Caorso (850 MW BWR, operated from 1981 to 1986): the reactor has been
defuelled and the fuel is
now stored in the pool of the plant. An On site Interim Storage will be
realised by 2004. On August 4,
2000 the Ministry of Industry issued a Decree authorising specific
decommissioning activities (dry
storage of irradiated fuel, dismantling of the turbine and Off-Gas,
dismantling of the RHR towers,
decontamination of the main circuit, treatment of previously produced
waste). For other activities the
global decommissioning plan has been presented on august 3rd, 2001.
Removal of asbestos and non contaminated components from the turbine
building (mainly the
generator) are initiated.
Planning activities together with on-site preparatory activities have
continued, mainly operational
wastes treatment and conditioning and the revision of the radiological
inventory of the turbine.
Recently Sogin carried out a deep re-examination of the NPPs
decommissioning costs estimates, also
with qualified assistance of international advisors. First assessments
indicate a total amount of about2600 MEURO for the total decommissioning of the 4 NPPs (constant money
2001, including fuel and
wastes management and disposal costs)
As for funding the decommissioning, in the ’80, even if there were no
precise law disposition in this
specific matter, Enel has created a fund for the plants decommissioning
and a fund for the irradiated
fuel management. A setting aside pluriannual plan has been defined and
cumulated funds were
transferred to Sogin at the date of its constitution. This amount was
adequate to complete
decommissioning activities within the Safe Store strategy.
Following the separation of Sogin from Enel, a funding mechanism has
been defined to provide
resources for additional costs deriving from the different economic
conditions (new discount rate and
taxes), from the management costs for the new company, and from the
change in strategy (from Safe
Store to DECON.
A Decree of the Ministry of the Industry issued on 2000, January 26th,
states that above mentioned
extra costs for Sogin shall be financed on a levy on the price of the
sold kWh. Every year Sogin shall
present the program of future activities, with associated costs: on this
basis, the national Authority for
Electric energy and Gas (the National body which defines tariff politics
) shall re-evaluate the levy on
kWh due to Sogin for next three years; this re-evaluation will take into
account economic efficiency
criteria.
The same procedure is foreseen by the Decree in order to finance the
dismantling of nuclear
installation now property of ENEA and co-ordinated by the above
mentioned Consortium.
3.4. Organizational Chart(s)
In the framework of Decommissioning and Radioactive Waste management in
Italy, the
competent national bodies are the following:
- Ministry for Productive Activities
The Ministry for Productive Activities (formerly of Industry) is the
authority that issues the operating
licence for all nuclear and radioactive installations, after the
positive technical advice of ANPA. For
installations related to radioactive waste storage and disposal, the
concerted agreement of the
Ministries of Environment, Internal Affairs, Welfare, and Health is also
required.
- ANPA (National Agency for Environmental Protection)
ANPA is responsible for the regulation and supervision (by inspection)
of nuclear installations in
matters of nuclear safety and radiation protection. Any licence granted
by the Ministry for Productive
Activities incorporate the corresponding preceptive and legally binding
report of ANPA. It is a body
governed by public law with administrative and financial autonomy, under
the supervision of the
Ministry of the Environment.
- Technical Commission for Nuclear Safety and Health Protection from
Ionizing Radiations
This Commission is composed of experts from ENEA, ANPA, and from various
Ministries, and gives
technical advice concerning the granting of licences for nuclear
installations.
Regulatory function
Authorization is formally granted by the Ministry for Productive
Activities based on ANPA technical
judgements and prescriptions.
The main tasks of ANPA to fulfil the obligations of the Legislative
Decree no. 241/2000 are:
- controls and inspections on existing nuclear installations,
- licensing on new nuclear installations,
- controls and inspections on possession, commerce, transportation,
utilisation, dismission of
radioactive material,
- controls and inspections on radioactive waste management,
- radioprotection of workers, public, environment,
- nuclear emergency preparedness,
- fulfilment of International Agreements on control and surveillance of
nuclear materials (e.g.:
Safeguards regime, Additional Protocol),
- promotion of international co-operation in the field of nuclear safety
and radiation protection,
- promotion of actions aimed at maintaining and improving the national
know-how and the national
safety culture in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection.
In addition to these duties, ANPA has also to:
- support the State Administrations to issue specific decrees for the
implementation of the fundamental
nuclear laws, specific technical guides,
- realize a National Database on all nuclear applications.
ANPA responsibilities for the licensing process of nuclear installations
include:
- assessment of the safety analysis carried out by the operating
organisation
- inspection of equipment and materials during the design, construction
and operational phases for the
systematic verification of facility operation safety
- enforcement action to remedy any failure to meet both the licensing
conditions and any safety
operation criteria
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