Database for Best Practice in Waste Minimisation

1. Database for Best Practice in Waste Minimisation Environment Agency Requirements Working Group Presented by Bob Morley

2. Content • The Requirement & EARWG • The Waste Minimisation Database • Summary

3. Information & Improvement Requirement “The Operator shall provide the Agency with a detailed report of a review of national and international developments in best practice for minimising all waste disposals together with a strategy for achieving a continuing reduction in discharges.”

4. Information & Improvement Requirement “The Operator shall provide the Agency with a detailed report of a review of national and international developments in best practice for minimising all waste disposals together with a strategy for achieving a continuing reduction in discharges.” -- can be thought of as three stages: • the review; • the resulting conclusions & recommendations; • a strategy for implementation. The database is for the first stage only.

5. Comments on I&IR • Same for all Operators • Requires the same (or heavily overlapping) review(s) of national & international developments • Hence the formation of the ‘Environment Agency Requirements Working Group - EARWG - and the decision to co-operate in construction of a database for waste minimisation techniques

6. EARWG Membership • AWE • Sellafield Ltd • British Energy • LLW Repository Ltd • DML • GE Healthcare • Magnox Electric • Rolls Royce • UKAEA • Rosyth • Springfields Fuels

7. Waste Minimisation Database (1) • Resource to help each participating operator to respond to the I&IR, but also a ‘best practice’ tool • Maintained, so always up-to-date for operators • Information gleaned from: UK operators; published literature; conference proceedings; international sources • Data entered only after facts independently verified by acknowledged expert

8. Waste Minimisation Database (2) • Substantial piece of work • Operators benefit from cost-sharing while also drawing on a wider range of expertise than would be available to a single site • Now available via the Internet • www.rwbestpractice.co.uk

9. Waste Minimisation Database (3) • Over 120 hours spent reviewing national and international information sources (I.e. conference proceedings, manufacturing standards, operator technical reports etc) • ~120 datasheets produced regarding techniques that minimised the activity and/or volume of radioactive waste • Datasheets independently peer reviewed by national and international nuclear experts and national non-nuclear experts

10. Database Purpose • Operator resource • ‘Pick list’ of information, only some of which is relevant to particular sites with particular wastes • Tool to underpin the quality of information provided in the final I&IR report • Helps with ‘review’, but does not provide recommendations or strategies • ‘Best Practice’ tool for use at any stage of the authorisation cycle

11. Webpage Login Screen Shot Access controlled: Passwords reviewed biannually and a register held by the EARWG

12. Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5 Waste Type Technological area Operation Operation specifics (1) Operation specifics (2) Liquid Releases Other Technologies Ion Exchange Beds Organic Phenolic Acrylic Inorganic Zeolites Titanites Hexacyanoferrates Composite Tiered approach to categorising waste minimisation technologies. Tier 1 based upon waste type media (solid, liquid, airborne) Database Structure Expanding depth of information

13. Database Content – Liquid Waste

14. Database Content – Solid Waste

15. Database Content – Airborne Waste

16. Waste Minimisation Technique Search • Three ways of searching • Hierarchical search • Keyword search • Datasheet search • Output • Datasheet (Screen View) • Report (Print View)

17. Tier 1 folder Tier 2 folder Tier 3 folders Tier 4 folders Hierarchical Search User can open the tier folders to get to the desired technique datasheet.

18. Option to view the datasheet report (print view) Option to view the datasheet (screen view) OpenDatasheet

19. Author and date produced Categories of information Example of Datasheet - Ion Exchange

20. Date datasheet was approved Hyperlink to independent experts’ CV Example of Datasheet - Ion Exchange (cont.)

21. Datasheet Report (Print View) Datasheet examples to be distributed for your information only

22. Search for keywords in datasheet title Search for keywords in datasheet text Output Hyperlink leads to the datasheet Leads to print view of all identified datasheets Keyword Search Input

23. Report output options Datasheets listed in alphabetical order Datasheet Search

24. Report Output Datasheet examples to be distributed for your information only

25. Industry Use of Techniques • National review of industry use of waste minimisation techniques • to enable users to determine where each waste minimisation technique is/has been employed across the industry • to facilitate the sharing of specific information on the application of the technique

26. Sheet shows the EARWG members who use the technique Industry Use of Ion Exchange The detailed application statements to state howthe technique is/was used, whatfor, whereandwhen.

27. Summary • Operators (via EARWG) share information on waste minimisation • A database of peer-reviewed information has been created and is kept up-to-date • Facts from the database inform each operator in responses to the common I&IR • The database itself is not the answer to the I&IR - it merely informs the review • Use of the database is not limited to I&IR responses