Link to the study - European Parliament - Europa

Nuclear Decommissioning: Management of Costs and Risks
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Figure 28: Employed workforce at EWN over time
Source: (EWN 2012a)
As can be seen three quarters of the workforce employed during operation of the reactors were not
necessary in the decommissioning phase. Note that the curve spans more than 20 years, so that at
least half of the employees reached their retirement age and were replaced with newly hired and
trained personnel.
3.4.8. Overall characteristics of the example
The following can be concluded in respect to current best practice of decommissioning:
A relevant factor in this case was the fact that EWN was constituted as a company and a clear
attribution of all operative responsibilities to the management was made. The funder’s role
(BMF) was to control the strategic decisions of the management and to keep control over
commercial account management (due diligence).
A major factor in this case was the early introduction and consistent application of project
management methods and of the associated tools (PMIS). The short time needed to streamline
management and organisation towards the new task was one of the most relevant factors.
Project management was not only applied as a selective add-on with a limited applicability and
scope, but all major planning aspects were integrated and covered, including aspects such as
decision trees or job qualification planning.
Managing the risks, that are associated with decommissioning projects in general, in a systematic
manner and avoiding a selective, more intuitive risk identification and evaluation contributed
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