Nuclear Decommissioning, Waste Management, and Environmental Site Remediation

2003 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Site Remediation ◽  
Nuclear Decommissioning

UKAEA, Dounreay: LLW Long Term Strategy — Developing the Options

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Broughton
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Corporate Strategy ◽  
Radioactive Waste Management ◽  
External Stakeholder ◽  
Nuclear Decommissioning ◽  
Site Restoration ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Scottish Executive

UKAEA’s mission at its Dounreay establishment in the north of Scotland is to restore the site so that it can be used for other purposes, with a minimal effect on the environment and requiring minimal attention by future generations. A Dounreay Site Restoration Plan (DSRP) has been produced. It sets out the decommissioning and radioactive waste management activities to restore the site within the next 60 years. Management of solid low level radioactive waste (LLW) that already exists, and that which will be produced as the DSRP progresses is an essential site restoration activity. Altogether around 150,000m3 (5.3Mft3) of untreated LLW could arise. This will then need to be treated, packaged and managed, the resulting volume being around 200,000m3 (7Mft3). A project to develop a long term strategy for managing all Dounreay’s existing and future LLW was initiated in 1999. The identification of complete solutions for management of LLW arising from the site restoration of Dounreay, an integrated reactor and reprocessing site, is novel in the UK. The full range of LLW will be encountered. UKAEA is progressing this specific project during a period when both responsibility and policy for UK decommissioning and radioactive waste management are evolving in the UK. At present, for most UK nuclear operators, there are no recognised routes for disposing of significant volumes of decommissioning LLW that has either lower or higher radioactivity than the levels set by BNFL for disposal at the UK national LLW disposal site at Drigg. A large project such as this has the potential to affect the environmental and social conditions that prevail in the area where it is implemented. Local society therefore has an interest in a project of this scale and scope, particularly as there could be a number of feasible solutions. UKAEA is progressing the project by following UK established practice of undertaking a Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) study. UKAEA has no preconceptions of the outcome and is diligently not prejudging issues prematurely. The BPEO process draws experts and non-experts alike into the discussions and facilitates a structured analysis of the options. However to permit meaningful debate those options have to be at first generated, and secondly investigated. This has taken UKAEA two and a half years in technical assessment of options at a cost of around £23/4M. The options and issues have been investigated to the depth necessary for comparisons and valid judgements to be made within the context of the BPEO study. Further technical evaluation will be required on those options that eventually emerge as the BPEO. UKAEA corporate strategy for stakeholder participation in BPEO studies is laid out in “Restoring our Environment”, published in October 2002. This was developed by a joint approach between project managers, Corporate Communications, and discussion with the regulators, government departments and Scottish Executive. An Internal Stakeholder Panel was held in March 2003. The Panel was independently facilitated and recorded. Eight Panel members attended who provided a representative cross-section of people working on site. Two External Stakeholder Panels were held in Thurso at the end of May 2003. A Youth Stakeholder Panel was held at which three sixth form students from local High Schools gave their views on the options for managing Dounreay’s LLW. The agenda was arranged to maximise interactive discussion on those options and issues that the young people themselves considered important. The second External Stakeholder Panel was based on the Dounreay Local Liaison Committee. Additional participants were invited in acknowledgement of the wider issues involved. As the use of Drigg is an option two representatives from the Cumbrian local district committee attended. From all the knowledge and information acquired from both the technical and stakeholder programmes UKAEA will build up the objective line of argument that leads to the BPEO emerging. This will be the completion of this first stage of the project and is planned for achievement in March 2004. Once the BPEO has been identified the next stage will be to work up the applications for the authorisations that will be necessary to allow implementation of the BPEO. Any facilities needed will require planning permission from the appropriate planning authority. The planning application could be called in by a Minister of State or a planning inquiry convened. During this next stage attention will be paid to ensure all reports and submissions are consistent and compliant with regulations and possible future legal processes. Stakeholder dialogue will continue throughout this next stage moving on from disussion of options to the actual developments. The objective will be to resolve as many issues stakeholders might raise prior to the submissions of applications and prior to the regulators’ formal consultation procedures. This will allow early attention to those areas of concern. Beyond the submission of applications for authorisations it is unwise to speculate as nuclear decommissioning will be then organised in the UK in a different way. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will most probably be in overall control and, particularly for Dounreay, the Scottish Executive may have developed its policy for radioactive waste management in Scotland.

Exploiting Synergies Between the UK and Japanese Geological Disposal Programmes

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie Scourse ◽  
Hideki Kawamura ◽  
Ian G. McKinley
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Geological Disposal ◽  
Nuclear Decommissioning ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Deep Geological Disposal ◽  
Safety Assessments ◽  
Site Characterisation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
High Level

The early ’80s UK programme for deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste was advanced and at the stage of characterising potential sites. When this project was put on hold in the mid ’80s, much expertise in this field was lost. In Japan R&D in the ’80s resulted in major generic safety assessments to demonstrate feasibility in the ’90s. This led to the establishment of NUMO (Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan) and the initiation of siting based on volunteerism. This novel approach required more flexible methodology and tools for site characterisation, repository design and safety assessment. NUMO and supporting R&D organisations in Japan have invested much time and effort preparing for volunteers but, unfortunately, no discussions with potential host communities have yet developed to the point where technical work is initiated. Presently, the UK is moving forward; with the NDA RWMD (Nuclear Decommissioning Agency Radioactive Waste Management Directorate) adopting a NUMO-style volunteering approach and a flexible design catalogue. Communities have already shown interest in volunteering. The situation is thus ideal for collaboration. The paper will expand on the opportunities for the UK and Japan to benefit from an active collaboration and discuss how this can be most efficiently implemented.

An introduction to geosphere research studies for the UK geological disposal programme

2012 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 3105-3114 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Norris
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Specific Work ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Geological Disposal ◽  
Nuclear Decommissioning ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Research Studies

AbstractThis paper gives an overview of the geosphere research studies being undertaken by the Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (RWMD) of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The approach of the RWMD in the current generic phase of the UK managing radioactive waste safely (MRWS) programme is to maintain an understanding of key processes and to carry out research and development into techniques so capability can be built. Although RWMD can demonstrate a general understanding of geosphere processes at this stage in the UK project, it is recognized that this will need to be made site-specific as the MRWS programme progresses. An understanding of the geosphere at the selected site(s) will be an important part of the future programme. Where possible, the RWMD will participate in international studies so that relevant site-based information can be accessed. In this way, the RWMD will be prepared for site-specific work in stage 5 of the MRWS process.

UK Strategy for Nuclear Industry LLW

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Clark ◽  
Joanne Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Strategic Partnership ◽  
Management Service ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Nuclear Decommissioning ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Management Hierarchy ◽  
Strategic Goals ◽  
The Uk

In March 2007 the UK Government and devolved administrations (for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, from here on referred to as ‘Government’) published their policy for the management of solid low level waste (‘the Policy’). The Policy sets out a number of core principles for the management of low level waste (LLW) and charges the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority with developing a UK-wide strategy in the case of LLW from nuclear sites. The UK Nuclear Industry LLW Strategy has been developed within the framework of the principles set out in the policy. A key factor in the development of this strategy has been the strategic partnership the NDA shares with the Low Level Waste Repository near Drigg (LLWR), who now have a role in developing strategy as well as delivering an optimised waste management service at the LLWR. The strategy aims to support continued hazard reduction and decommissioning by ensuring uninterrupted capability and capacity for the management and disposal of LLW in the UK. The continued availability of a disposal route for LLW is considered vital by both the nuclear industry and non-nuclear industry low level waste producers. Given that the UK will generate significantly more low level waste (∼ 3.1 million m3) than there is capacity at the LLWR (∼0.75 million m3), developing alternative effective ways to manage LLW is critical. The waste management hierarchy is central to the strategy, which includes strategic goals at all levels of the hierarchy to improve its application across the industry.

Upstream Optioneering: Optimising Higher Activity Waste Management

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer McTeer ◽  
Jenny Morris ◽  
Stephen Wickham ◽  
Matthew Buckley ◽  
Elizabeth Kay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Phase 2 ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Phase 3 ◽  
Subsequent Work ◽  
Nuclear Decommissioning ◽  
Disposal Facility ◽  
Work Programme ◽  
Scoping Studies

The Upstream Optioneering project was created by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Radioactive Waste Management Directorate (RWMD) to support the development and implementation of opportunities to optimise the management of UK higher activity waste, spent fuel and other materials that may be disposed of in a geological disposal facility. The project works in an integrative manner with the NDA, RWMD and waste producers, and was split into three phases: • In Phase 1 waste management opportunities were identified and collated from across the NDA estate. • In Phase 2, opportunities collated during Phase 1, were further consolidated, analysed and prioritised to develop a three year work programme. Prioritisation ensured that resources were deployed appropriately and opportunities can be realised before the potential benefit diminishes. • Phase 3, which began in April 2012, comprises a three year work programme to address the prioritised opportunities. Work varies from direct implementation of opportunities to scoping studies that may pave the way for more detailed subsequent work by Site Licence Companies. The work programme is flexible and, subject to change control, varies depending on the needs of project sponsors (RWMD, NDA Strategy and NDA Delivery). This paper provides an overview of the Upstream Optioneering project (focusing particularly on Phases 2 and 3), summarises work carried out to date within the three year work programme, and provides some examples of the main findings concerning specific opportunities from Year One of the Phase 3 work programme.

The DIAMOND University Research Consortium: Nuclear Waste Characterisation, Immobilisation and Storage

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Biggs ◽  
Michael Fairweather ◽  
James Young ◽  
Neil Hyatt ◽  
Francis Livens
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Nuclear Decommissioning ◽  
University College London ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Research Consortium ◽  
The Uk ◽  
New Applications ◽  
The University

Legacy waste treatment, storage and disposal, as well as decommissioning and site remediation, from the UK’s civil nuclear programme are estimated at a cost of £70B. Within the UK, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) directs the strategy for all civil nuclear decommissioning and demanding timescales have been set for remediation of all nuclear sites. Additionally, the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) recently delivered a recommendation, accepted by Government, that geological disposal in a mined repository presents the “best available approach” for long term management of the waste legacy. There is therefore a requirement to decommission all power generation and experimental reactors, and fuel reprocessing plants, to decontaminate land, and to return nuclear licensed sites to brown or green field status. The engineering and scientific challenges that lie ahead in meeting these targets are significant, and many of the ideas required to deliver the final end state have not yet been researched. In recognition of this the UK Research Council’s Energy Programme released a call for research proposals in the area of nuclear waste management and decommissioning valued at £4M. A grant was subsequently awarded in 2008 to a consortium led by the University of Leeds, with member universities from Manchester, Imperial College, Sheffield, Loughborough and University College London. The DIAMOND (Decommissioning, Immobilisation And Management Of Nuclear Wastes For Disposal) consortium will undertake research aligned with the strategic priorities of the NDA and the CoRWM recommendations. Its primary purpose is to be adventurous and to deliver innovation. However, research is also being performed that will be of more immediate benefit to industrial stakeholders, with near-term impact achieved through the adoption of off-the-shelf technology currently implemented by other industries. Currently more than 20 industrial organisations are linked directly to the consortium. The aims of the consortium are to carry out internationally leading research in the areas of decommissioning and waste management that underpins the development of innovative and relevant technologies for industrial use. It will broaden the research base that focuses on relevant technologies, support new links within and between universities, promote multi-disciplinary collaboration and new applications of existing knowledge, and train the next generation of researchers to address a developing skills gap.

An overview of gas research in support of the UK geological disposal programme

2012 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 3271-3278 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Gas Generation ◽  
Irreversible Damage ◽  
Geological Disposal ◽  
A Value ◽  
Nuclear Decommissioning ◽  
Disposal Facility ◽  
System Pressure ◽  
The Uk

AbstractGases will be generated in waste packages during their transport to a geological disposal facility (GDF), this generation will continue during GDF operations and after GDF closure. The range of gases produced will include flammable, radioactive and chemotoxic species. These must be managed to ensure safety during transport and operations, and the post-closure consequences need to be understood. The two primary post-closure gas issues for a GDF are the need for the system pressure to remain below a value at which irreversible damage to the engineered barrier system and host geology could occur, and the need to ensure that any flux of gas (in particular gaseous radionuclides) to the biosphere does not result in unacceptable risk. This paper provides an overview of the research of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Radioactive Waste Management Directorate into gas generation and its migration from a GDF.

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