Status Report - Summary

Following the result of a popular referendum held in November 1987 on energy related matters, and following the related decisions of Italian Government and Parliament, the four NPPs existing in Italy (Caorso, Trino Vercellese, Latina and Garigliano) are at various stages under decommissioning.

All related activities are conducted by a newly established State-owned company named SOGIN (Società Gestione Impianti Nucleari). Sogin has been operational since 1 November 1999; its shares are held by the Ministry of Economics & Finance, and the Company will operate under guidelines issued by the Ministry of Industry.

The mission of Sogin covers :
  • The decommissioning of nuclear power plants in Italy. Sogin has been allowed to act with joint ventures, consortia or similar co-operative initiatives in order to dismantle any other nuclear related structures in Italy
  • The management of the back end of the fuel related cycle
  • The valuation of the assets such as sites, components, resources
  • Providing engineering services in the nuclear field within the domestic and the international market.

Nuclear industry and major waste producers

  • Following government policy, the Italian nuclear sector is now limited to the decommissioning of NPPs conducted by SOGIN. Also the existing facilities for fuel cycle are no longer operational and are scheduled for decommissioning. Research and other support activities that were undertaken by ENEA (Italian energy research organisation) are winding down if they are partially still ongoing.
    Other research reactors are operated (or are now shutdown) under the responsibility of ENEA and of European Commission at the Ispra Joint Research Centre.
  • The Nuclear Division of Ansaldo Energia is still operating in the worldwide market of nuclear plants, components, facilities and services, while ENEA and six Italian Universities are working in the research and development field. A result of these activities is the MARS inherently safe reactor project.
  • Italy's radioactive waste comes from the following sources:
    • The disposal of operational waste produced during the life of Nuclear Power Plants
    • The disposal of decommissioning waste from all nuclear related facilities; the majority will, of course, derive from decommissioning activities for Nuclear Power Plants
    • The disposal of wastes originating from hospitals, industry, research institutes and universities.
    • The disposal of operational wastes produced by the other facilities.

National strategy

On 14 December 1999 and on 7 May 2001, the Italian Ministry of Industry outlined its strategic choices and plans to manage the problems connected with the closure of all nuclear activities within the country.

The statement outlines three main goals.
  • Within a 10-year period, the treatment and conditioning of all liquid and solid radwaste currently in onsite storage, mostly resulting 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 waste, also within a decade. The same site would be used for temporary storage of high level, long lived waste, especially spent fuel and waste resulting from reprocessing.
  • In the next 20 years, decommissioning of the nuclear plants (nuclear power plants as well as other nuclear facilities) with a long-term view of returning all sites to unrestricted use.

Public information

Since public opinion is strongly concerned by nuclear activities, all future activities, especially the localisation and building of the final repository for radioactive wastes, can only be performed if a wide consensus can be reached. This requires efforts towards communication and transparency. Moreover, this consensus will only be achieved as a result of efforts and strong co-operation between national and local authorities and the technical and political worlds.

Two kinds of initiative are being carried on in Italy.
  • Government has defined an agreement with regional Authorities in order to speed up a common progress towards the location of a final repository and to ensure the necessary transparency to the general public. the Ministry of Industry has set up a 'national table' with a similar purpose.
  • Since its first day of activity, Sogin has organised meetings with local authorities in the plants (a sort of "open doors" day) in order to inform them about the main strategies. Similar initiatives will follow.

Last Updated : February 2002