scholarly journals EURAD School of Radioactive Waste Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 245-246
Author(s):  
Niels Belmans ◽  
Michèle Coeck

Abstract. The European Joint Programme on Radioactive Waste Management (EURAD – H2020, grant agreement No. 847593) aims to achieve a step-wise change in European collaboration towards safe radioactive waste management (RWM) through the development of a robust and sustained science, technology and knowledge management (KM) programme. EURAD has three KM work packages. The main goals are to (i) preserve generated knowledge, (ii) transfer knowledge to Member States with early-stage RWM programmes, (iii) transfer knowledge between generations, and (iv) disseminate knowledge. The EURAD work package (WP) on “Training & mobility” aids in achieving these goals through its “School of Radioactive Waste Management”. The School of RWM supports competence building in RWM matters. Currently four distinguished initiatives can be highlighted: the organization of training courses, the hosting of webinars, the coordination of a mobility programme, and actions to support the EURAD PhD community. The School of RWM has a dedicated webpage (http://www.euradschool.eu, last access: 30 September 2021) where all information on its activities can be found. A portfolio of basic and specialized training courses was set up containing an up-to-date list of existing training initiatives and new training courses. The latter are based on a gap analysis performed within the framework of the priorities set in the EURAD Roadmap and on the end-user needs. The School of RWM gives attention to the best-fitted training format and scientific state-of-the-art is guaranteed through the lecturing by EURAD and/or external subject experts. Besides training courses, webinars on specific topics that are of relevance to the entire EURAD community are hosted on a regular basis. These so-called Lunch & Learn sessions are short, informal online get-togethers, triggering discussion and debate. Presentations are given by experts from the EURAD community and beyond, such as from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA) and can deal with all topics that link to RWM, from very specialized scientific matters to more general and overarching themes. The School of RWM also coordinates a mobility programme, allowing its beneficiaries to perform technical visits to infrastructures from EURAD partners or end-users, to undertake internships and to set up exchange programmes between organizations within EURAD. These activities serve as enhanced training as well as collaboration between all members of the EURAD community. These mobility actions can be complementary to an educational or training programme and/or part of a continuous personal development programme. Last but not least, the initiative was taken to support the EURAD PhD community. As future key players in the field of RWM, they will benefit from the possibilities for early networking with their peers and with established RWM experts. With these four initiatives, the School of RWM, and by extension the “Training & Mobility” WP, is an integral part of EURAD's KM programme. This presentation describes how the School of RWM is linked to the EURAD Roadmap, what its goal and long-term objectives are and how it aids in achieving EURAD's KM goals.

Author(s):  
Jorge Lang-Lenton Leo´n ◽  
Emilio Garcia Neri

Since 1984, ENRESA is responsible of the radioactive waste management and the decommissioning of nuclear installations in Spain. The major recent challenge has been the approval of the Sixth General Radioactive Waste Plan (GRWP) as “master plan” of the activities to be performed by ENRESA. Regarding the LILW programme, the El Cabril LILW disposal facility will be described highlighting the most relevant events especially focused on optimizing the existing capacity and the start-up of a purpose–built disposal area for VLLW. Concerning the HLW programme, two aspects may be distinguished in the direct management of spent fuel: temporary storage and long-term management. In this regards, a major challenge has been the decision adopted by the Spanish Government to set up a Interministerial Committee for the establishment of the criteria that must be met by the site of the Centralized Intermediate Storage (CTS) facility as the first and necessary step for the process. Also the developments of the long-term management programme will be presented in the frame of the ENRESA’s R&D programme. Finally, in the field of decommissioning they will be presented the PIMIC project at the CIEMAT centre and the activities in course for the decommissioning of Jose´ Cabrera NPP.


Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Umeki ◽  
Kazumasa Hioki ◽  
Hiroyasu Takase ◽  
Ian McKinley

The exponential growth in the knowledge base for radioactive waste management is a cause for concern in many national programmes. In Japan, this problem is exacerbated by a volunteering approach to siting of a deep geological repository, which requires particular flexibility in the tailoring of site characterisation plans, repository concepts and associated performance assessments. Recognition of this situation led, in 2005, to initiation by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) of an ambitious project to develop an advanced Knowledge Management System (KMS) aimed to facilitate its role as the supplier of background R&D support to both regulators and implementers of geological disposal. This overview outlines the boundary conditions and milestones for the Japanese radioactive waste management programmes, the roles of key organisations and the particular responsibilities of JAEA that led to definition of the goals of the KMS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 199-200
Author(s):  
Daniel Oross ◽  
Miklos Zala ◽  
Eszter Matyas

Abstract. The focus of the project is on how to regulate risky technologies, both old (such as nuclear waste management) and new (such as geoengineering). Thus, the project is aimed at contributing to a better understanding of the ethical, political, and socio-economic aspects of radioactive waste management-related risks. The goal of the project is to contribute to the current discussions on the case of the expansion of the Hungarian Nuclear Power Plant. The Paks II project allows us to present how to set up procedures where some radioactive waste-related risks will not derail decision-makers and how they can be held accountable by the public. The case of Paks II is also compelling; as of today there are only 19 countries in the world that are in the process of new reactor building (World Nuclear Association, 2021). The project is aimed at providing and defending a precautionary approach to radioactive waste management because it involves high levels of uncertainty and the possibility of causing irreversible harm on a global scale. When investigating procedural principles of radioactive waste management policies by three types of precautionary approaches, the project will look at risks that stem from the displacement of politics in public consultations in relation to large infrastructural projects. The practices of the emerging era of public engagement tap into the current debates on democratic politics in political theory with the emergence of deliberative democracy (Bohman and Rehg, 1997; Dryzek, 2000; Gutmann and Thompson, 2009), and radical democracy (Laclau and Mouffe, 2001; Mouffe, 1999, 2000). Specific attention will be paid to the fragmentation of public along with technical and non-technical, local and national, site-specific and general issues, and the role of different political platforms (public exhibition events, consultation documents, and public engagement sessions) in the way in which the political is displaced from the arena of public inquiries to legal challenges and debates about boundaries and geographies.


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