| 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
4. Nuclear power industry
4.1. Supply of Nuclear Power Plants
Due to the historical development of nuclear technology in Italy, it was not possible to develop separate organizations for the roles of architect engineer and nuclear steam systems supplier. For PUN, it was foreseen that ENEL would have covered the role of architect engineering, and ANSALDO would have been the nuclear supplier. For the other reactors, both activities were performed mainly by foreign companies. For example, for Caorso nuclear power plant the supplier was a joint venture of ANSALDO and G.E. (AMN/GETS), while the architect engineering services were provided by Gibbs & Hill of the U.S.
At present, ANSALDO participates in a joint venture with AECL for construction of five
CANDU reactors in Cernovoda, Romania.
Sogin is also present in the international market offering mainly engineering and consultancy services for refurbishing of power plants, for on site assistance programmes and for decommissioning activities. At present, Sogin is participating in PHARE and TACIS programmes: it is since 1997 leader in the On Site Assistance project of the Medzamor plant (Armenia); as a partner of EDF it is operating for safety improvements of Aktau (Kazakistan) and Beloyarsk (Russia) fast breeder reactors; other services have been granted in other eastern countries and in the field of training.
4.2. Operation of Nuclear Power Plants
Since 1962, ENEL has been the only utility owning and operating nuclear power reactors.
ENEL has also acted as a maintenance company with several other private or state-owned companies (ANSALDO, Carlo Gavazzi, Fochi, Belleli, FIAT, etc.). For instance, half of the outage services at Caorso NPP are performed by the plant personnel and other half by external contractors. For training nuclear operators, ENEL established, in the 1980’s, a training centre in Piacenza equipped with a full scale BWR simulator.
Now Sogin cares about post operation activities of NPPs to be decommissioned
4.3. Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Service Supply
4.3.1. Uranium enrichment and fuel fabrication
In Italy, there are no facilities for enriching Uranium. Several installations have the capability to manufacture fuel elements. However, at the present time all are closed.
4.3.2. Fuel transportation
Radioactive material can be transported only by authorized carriers. The authority responsible for issuing freight licences is the Ministry of Industry, after ANPA (Agenzia Nazionale per la Protezione dell’Ambiente, see section 5.1) has given its technical assessment. The rules regulating transport of radioactive material come from IAEA’s Safety Series No. 6, and are in accordance with international regulations enacted by ICAO, ADR, RID and IMO.
4.3.3. Spent fuel disposal and storage
Some irradiated fuel removed from ENEL power plants has been reprocessed in the United
Kingdom. The remainder is stored at ENEL and at Avogadro (Saluggia- Fiat Avio )storage.
In the middle of the 90ties, Enel has decided to terminate nuclear fuel reprocessing, on the basis of an economical and technical evaluation, and to proceed with interim dry storage of the remaining spent fuel of light water reactors. It was in fact recognized that, in the light of the Italian situation, reprocessing would not have brought important advantages in term of final disposal, since VHLW would have to be disposed anyway together with other reprocessing generated wastes; moreover, the waste form would not have implied specific advantages in term of final disposal, where only geological barriers could be credited.
For the temporary on site storage of irradiated fuel, among the various available technologies, the dry storage, inside dual-purpose metallic containers (“cask”), has been chosen. Sogin is actively carrying on a project for an interim storage facility on the sites of Trino and Caorso NPPs where residual spent fuel of these plants can be kept safely for several decades pending the governmental decision on final disposal.
4.3.4. Waste management and disposal
The sources of radioactive waste in Italy include the power plants formerly operated by ENEL, the fuel cycle plants: operated by Fabbricazioni Nucleari S.p.A., ENEA research laboratories and experimental facilities, and non-energy applications (e.g., biomedical and other uses).
It is a governmental commitment the definition of guidelines and of a regulatory framework for the management of radioactive wastes: in this view a National Operator is to be created and appointed for the management of all existing and future wastes; in the meantime, a procedure has been initiated by the government in order to select the site for the final repository for the second category wastes (see below): the repository is at present scheduled to be operating early in 2009. A specific task force of ENEA is now working on the siting of the repository. Waiting for the constitution of the national operator, Sogin and ENEA have provided strategies for the temporary storage on their sites of the produced wastes; NUCLECO (an ENI and ENEA joint company, established in 1981) has the responsibility for non-energy applications produced wastes. ANPA is responsible for licensing aspects.
Since 1996 ENEA is undertaking a Task Force for the investigation of the appropriate strategies and technologies to be adopted for the radioactive waste disposal. An Engineered Near Surface LLW Disposal Facility is considered by ENEA and they are currently involved in site selection criteria definition in order to start with a screening in the Italian territory.
The general safety objectives and criteria of a pre-conceptual design of the LLW repository, prepared by the ENEA Task Force, is currently under evaluation by ANPA.
On the institutional side, an Expert Group was set up on January 2000 by the relevant Ministries and Regional Authorities with the main objective to identify and propose a procedure for the site selection with the required level of consensus from the public and local authorities. The Group presented preliminary conclusions on September 2001. In July 2002 the Government issued a project of law that foresses the procedures for the establishment of the body that will care the siting, the construction and the operation of the repository. The law is not approved yet.
The criteria applicable to the classification, treatment and disposal of radioactive waste are set forth in ENEA/DISP’s Technical Guide No. 26, issued in May 1988 and updated in 1997. These rules allow above ground disposal of treated low-level waste (Categories I and 11) and prescribe suitable final disposal solutions (such as deep disposal) for high-level waste (Category III).
As for categories I and II, solid low-level waste is to be super-compacted and cemented. Liquid low-level waste is to be cemented in containers suitable for above ground storage.
At the present time, high-level and most low-level waste is stored at production sites (Sogin power plants and ENEA facilities). The quantities of energy related waste currently stored in Italy are the follows: - about 5,300 cubic meters solid and 40 cubic meters liquid low level waste (Categories I and II);
- cubic meters solid high-level waste (Category III). This figure includes alpha-emitting waste, 120 cubic meters liquid waste. About 290 tHM of spent fuel have to be added.
Vitrification and cementation treatments are under consideration for liquid high-level waste, and cementation for solid high-level waste in category III containers for deep storage.
4.4. Research and Development Activities
Nuclear research is conducted by several agencies, institutions and universities. Every three years two governmental bodies (Consiglio Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia and CIPE) issue the “Triennial Research Plan” in order to co-ordinate the whole research sector. The leading agency for applied nuclear research is ENEA with its Energy Research Centre (CRE) at Casaccia, near Rome.
To a lesser extent, research activities are also performed by ENEL. Theoretical research in the nuclear field is performed mainly under the aegis of CNR (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche = Italian National Research Council) and INFN (Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare = Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics) in its four main laboratories - Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnano, Laboratori Nazionali del Sud and the new Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso.
In nuclear engineering, the universities with degree programmes are the Università di Roma (power plant engineering), the Università di Pisa (safety assessments), and the Politecnico di Milano (plant engineering and probabilistic safety studies).
Some research activities, experiments and studies, mainly in connection with the above
universities and agencies, are still performed at the facilities equipped with research reactors.
4.5. International Co-operation in the Field of Nuclear Power Development and Implementation
Italy participates in several international co-operative projects developed under the aegis of the European Community, NEA/OECD and the International Atomic Energy Agency. In this setting two important research centres must be pointed out: the Joint Research Centre of Ispra and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, a branch of IAEA. ANPA is participating in the PHARE and TACIS programmes of assistance to Central Europe and CIS countries. Sogin is also deeply involved in these programmes.
In the area of nuclear safety and environmental protection, bilateral agreements have been
signed with NRC (USA), NII (UK), CSN (Spain), N.N.S.A.(China), and D.S.I.N (France).
Some noteworthy activities in progress are: nuclear fuel research conducted with the Halden reactor; participation in the international EPRI-DOE programme on new generation reactors; and, in nuclear fusion field, participation in the Joint European Torus project.
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