By virtue of the plant operating licence, ageing plant structures must have sufficient integrity to meet all safety requirements during the latter stages of plant life. However, the impact on the structures from decommissioning operations must also be assessed prior to decommissioning. For example, in the case of the containment, there may be a need to erect another structure to meet the required containment safety function.

In the decommissioning of ageing plants, structural integrity of vital components cannot be expected to meet the present day standards. In this case, the adequacy of the components will need to be considered against ALARP principles.