Research and development: 1980s, 1990s

Abstract

Experience gained in the 1970s has provided enough evidence that extensive R&D programs were urgently needed to upgrade the decommissioning techniques from small scale applications (mostly research reactors) to large scale projects (nuclear power plants, reprocessing plants etc.). It was already clear that several NPPs and other commercial facilities were in line for forthcoming decommissioning. To sustain the challenges that were lying ahead the major national and international organizations launched massive R&D programs, which lasted for almost two decades. This chapter highlights the evolution of R&D programs carried out over the 1980s and 1990s until the technologies reached a satisfactory maturity around the year 2000.