Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities

Course abbreviation: P_VJZPB
Course code: B0588A110001
Course duration: 3 years

Degree Course Characteristics

The decommissioning of nuclear installations is a process based on a body of knowledge of several fields, the linking and applications of which are a major intellectual challenge demanding innovational and engineering decisions. The decommissioning process needs highly qualified experts intimately familiar with the nuclear installations as such (i.e. their structure and function) but also being versed in chemistry, radioactive waste treatment , legislation, economy, planning, and safety issues, and even in radiation protection. The latter expects an understanding of the negative biological effects of ionizing radiation and interaction with matter, as well as of the latest legislation. Decommissioning covers also other places of work using sources of ionizing radiation, which must be decommissioned according to the legislation in force.

The Bachelor Course is based on general courses in fundamentals of mathematics, physics, and chemistry, supplemented with courses on atomic and quantum physics, physics of ionizing radiation, nuclear chemistry, and detection and dosimetry of ionizing radiation. This goes hand in hand with practical training in laboratories and visits to places of work concerned with decommissioning of nuclear installations. Courses in two foreign languages open careers in international or foreign projects. Graduates are also trained to obtain a special professional qualification based on an examination accredited by the State Office for Nuclear Safety (SÚJB). The lectures, practical and laboratory sessions of each academic year are designed in such a way that the degree course structure is continuous, consistent and complementary. The degree course takes into consideration the latest trends and findings in the respective fields and reflects them in the course curriculum, and, therefore, students can incorporate them into the bachelor project often implemented in some renown institution, eg. ÚJV Řež pcl. (ÚJV Řež, a.s)., DIAMO, s.p.( DIAMO, state enterprise), CEZ Group, pcl (ČEZ, a.s.) Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SÚRAO), National Radiation Protection Institute, p.r.i. (SÚRO, v.v.i.), NUVIA, pcl (NUVIA , a.s.), National Institute for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection, p.r.i. ( Státní ústav chemické, biologické a jaderné ochrany v.v.i.).

The aim of the degree course is to educate experts qualified for safe decommissioning of nuclear installations and safe handling of sources of ionizing radiation. Graduates are also competent to do research, fill positions in industry, or use their skills in state administration. Their physical, mathematical, and chemical competences plus knowledge of dosimetry qualifies them for entering a higher degree course ,e.g. Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations, a new degree course to be opened at the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering.

Graduate´s Profile

Knowledge:
Graduates will have obtained quite extensive foundations of mathematics and physics to build on and add a package of knew knowledge of nuclear and quantum physics, physics of ionizing radiation, nuclear chemistry, and issues on detection and dosimetry, and radiation protection. However, the key course is concerned with the decommissioning of nuclear installations. The Bachelor Degree in this course is a prerequisite for entering the more advanced Continuation Master Course in Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations.

Skills:
The graduates are trained to prepare, perform physical and dosimetry measurements and to process and analyse the data obtained. A very specific skill of the graduates is safe manipulation of sources of ionizing radiation, including open emitters. Graduates can also use their knowledge of legislation and economics in planning decommissioning projects. Next to technical skills gained through class attendance, typical assets of graduates comprise adaptability and orientation in interdisciplinary issues, being skilled in analysing and processing problems computationally, in synthetizing data and and being skilled in good written communication. With regard to the engineering character of the degree course, the mathematics, nuclear physics, and chemistry courses equip graduates with good analytical and technical thinking and practical skills which they need to perform successfully measurements, work in a chemical laboratory and solve practical issues with an interdisciplinary overview.

Competency:
The body of knowledge and skills gained plus analytical and systematic approach to work make graduates ready for careers in institutions using nuclear technologies, ionizing radiation, or radionuclides, and, first of all, in institutions decommissioning nuclear installations, solving ecological burdens, and providing radiation protection of individuals and of the environment. Foundations of radiation protection and legislation mastered as part of the degree course, make graduates eligible for carers in supervisory bodies and national or state institutions like the State Office for Nuclear Safety (SÚJB), Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SÚRAO), National Radiation Protection Institute (SÚRO) , and others. Having passed an examination in Radiation Protection, students can take an SÚJB- accredited examination to gain an expert qualification. Also, graduates´ competences in two foreign languages opens up opportunities to seek jobs abroad. The Bachelor Degree qualifies them for entering a higher degree course specializing in nuclear engineering, at best The Decommissioning of Nuclear Installationsdegre course offered by the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering.

Final State Examination

• Fundamentals of nuclear physics and chemistry
• Theory of decommissioning nuclear installations

Details on the examination and its parts are subject to valid legislation and internal regulations and rules and are available at Study Programmes and Regulations.