National Policy and Strategies for Radioactive Waste Management

1. National Policy and Strategies for Radioactive Waste Management David Bennett (David Bennett@TerraSalus.co.uk) 14 – 18 December 2014 JAEC, Amman, Jordan

2. Contents • National policy and strategy • Strategies for waste management • Examples

3. Background Every country should have some form of policy and strategy for managing its spent fuel and radioactive waste • Required/recommended in some IAEA publications and in the Joint Convention, but the contents of a national policy and strategy are not elaborated in these documents • In some Member States national policy and strategy are well established, in others they exist but without explicit statement; in many developing states they do not exist => A need to help in developing or upgrading national policies and strategies in a number of states

4. What is Policy and What is Strategy? • Policy is about goals, aims and objectives – e.g. what Government wants to do • In its simplest form a radioactive waste management policy states that radioactive waste shall be managed in a safe way • Strategy is about how to achieve policy goals, aims and objectives

5. IAEA Safety Requirements “Decommissioning of facilities and the safe management and disposal of radioactive waste shall constitute essential elements of the governmental policy and the corresponding strategy over the lifetime of facilities and the duration of activities”

6. IAEA Safety Requirements • Requirement 2: National policy and strategy on radioactive waste management • To ensure the effective management and control of radioactive waste, the government shall ensure that a national policy and a strategy for radioactive waste management are established • The policy and strategy shall be appropriate for the nature and the amount of the radioactive waste in the State, shall indicate the regulatory control required and shall consider relevant societal factors

7. IAEA Document NW-G-1.1 “Policies and strategies for spent fuel and radioactive waste management”

8. NW-G-1.1 Objectives • To set out the main elements of national radioactive waste management policy and strategy • To advise on procedures for development and implementation • To advise on policy–strategy links • To serve as an aid, resource and reference for those engaged in its development or updating of policy and strategy

9. Policy and Strategy • Policy • Determined by government • Often codified in the national legislative system • Provides principles, infrastructures • Provides formal requirements for implementation and for the development of appropriate strategies • Strategy • Normally established by the relevant waste owner or facility operator • National policy may be elaborated in several different strategies • The individual strategies may address different types of waste (e.g. reactor waste, decommissioning waste, institutional waste, etc.) or waste belonging to different owners. • The line separating policy from strategy is not always sharp => sometimes mixtures exist

10. INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS (TREATIES, AGREEMENTS, CONVENTIONS) GOVERNMENT PARLIAMENT FORMULATE POLICY STATEMENT NATIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES (ENERGY POLICY, RESOURCES, RW INVENTORY) NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM MINISTRIES REGULATORS IMPLEMENT POLICY NATIONAL RWM INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING SYSTEM RWM AGENCY and GENERATORS ELABORATE STRATEGY TECH. INFRASTRUCTURE, RESOURCES, TIME CONSTRAINTS IMPLEMENT STRATEGY TECHNICAL OPTIONS Policy – Strategy Links

11. Why do we need a Policy? • To define what is to be done (e.g. nuclear power production, waste storage, reprocessing, waste disposal) • To allow and enhance public discussion and confidence in RWM • As a basis for the preparation of related legislation • To define roles and responsibilities in radioactive waste management (RWM) • To provide for safety and security • To ensure the adequate allocation of financial and human resources • As a starting point for the development of strategies

12. National Policy • ‘What state wants to do to ensure safe management of waste’ • Reflects national priorities, circumstances, structures, human and financial resources • Policy > Strategy +/- Legislation • Should be updated from time to time

13. National Policy • Should be compatible with: • Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management • IAEA safety documents • EC Directives and other International Agreements (where applicable) • Should be based on knowledge of: • Existing wastes • Likely future waste generation • Should provide for independent regulatory oversight and public/stakeholder involvement

14. Information for Policy Development Knowledge of: • Legal framework • Institutional structures • Applicable international conventions and agreements • Other related and existing national policies and strategies • Spent fuel and radioactive waste inventory • Availability of resources • Situation in other countries • Stakeholder involvement

15. Example Policy Elements • Description of national priorities, circumstances, relevant organisational structures and infrastructure, human and financial resources • Policy on nuclear power and NPP development / decommissioning • Policy on NPP fuel management • e.g. direct disposal or reprocessing • Policy on import and export of radioactive materials and wastes • Policy on management of radioactive wastes • waste classification • options for disposing different types of wastes

16. Example Policy Elements (cont.) • Allocation of responsibilities to organisations • e.g. operators, regulators • Principles: • e.g: the polluter pays principle, waste minimization, public participation • Safety and security objectives • Arrangements for the provision of financial resources • e.g., segregated funds

17. Implementation of a National Policy • Establish an adequate and appropriate institutional framework (operators, regulators etc.) • Create a funding mechanism to provide adequate financial resources for the whole RWM lifecycle (to finance the necessary facilities, equipment and staff for RWM) • Ensure that the staff involved are sufficient, trained and competent

18. Why do we need a Strategy? • To specify how the national policy will be implemented by the responsible organizations using the available technical measures and financial resources • To define how the identified goals and requirements will be achieved and when • To identify the competencies needed for achieving the goals and how they will be provided • To elaborate how to manage the various waste types • To involve the public and build their confidence in the approach to safe and secure management of radioactive wastes

19. Information for Strategy Development • Knowledge of: • National policy on nuclear energy and waste management • Inventory of spent fuel and radioactive wastes • Waste stream characterization • Waste classification system • Existing waste management facilities • Future plans – new NPPs, mineral processing, etc • Stakeholder expectations and interests • Existing regulatory regime • Availability of resources • Waste management strategies in other countries

20. Considerations in Strategy Development • Compliance with policy • Inventory of waste types • Graded approach • Resources (financial, human, technical) • Technical options (shared, centralised, mobile facilities) • Country specifics (population, climate, neighbours) • Public sensitivity • Uncertainties

21. Assign responsibility for strategy development Assess adequacy of available information Define possible endpoints Identify possible technical options Inadequate inputs Determine optimal strategy Assign responsibilities for implementation Establish supervisory mechanism for implementation Develop strategy implementation plan Implement strategy Strategy Formulation/Implementation

22. Strategies for Waste Management It is simple to describe... • Assess the present situation • Consider waste management from generation to disposal • Identify problems / needs for development • Identify and select options • Devise a plan • Secure funding • Execute the plan

23. Strategies for Waste Management But in practice… • Need funding • Political system involved • Public trust needed on key components

24. Strategies for Waste Management Prerequisites: • Operational capability to deal with waste • Operators and facilities • Independent regulatory capability • Legal framework and regulatory body

25. Strategies for Waste Management System of waste management: • Sum of required individual components • May involve many organisations • Effective use of resources to get the best result • Different from country to country

26. Strategies for Waste Management Establishing a waste management system requires: • Identification of the parties involved in the different steps   • Control / minimisation of radioactive waste generation • Identification of existing and anticipated radioactive wastes  • A rational set of safety, radiological and environmental protection objectives  

27. Strategies for Waste Management Establishing a waste management system requires: • Identification of available methods and facilities • Consideration of interdependencies among all steps of waste generation and management • Appropriate research and development • Funding and the allocation of resources for radioactive waste management

28. Strategies for Waste Management: Important components • Independent regulatory oversight • Licensing/registration process • Waste inventory • Management system • Safety culture • Safety cases and assessments • Defined planning and decision-making processes • Research and development • Documentation and records • Staff training and qualification • Emergency planning • Institutional control

29. Strategies for Waste Management Example disposal strategies • Spent fuel wastes and HLW - geological disposal • DSRS - decay or geological disposal or borehole? • LILW (long-lived) - geological disposal • LILW (short-lived) - engineered shallow disposal • VLLW - landfill? • Mining and milling wastes – surface management? • [human intrusion, long-term radon doses]

30. Strategies for Waste Management Disposal strategies - realities • What to do with historical wastes? • What to do with small amounts of wastes? • What to do when disposal is not yet possible • Storage facilities • What to do when there are not enough resources?

31. Waste Management Strategy – Generic Example Decommissioning of Small Medical, Industrial and Research Facilities, IAEA TECDOC-1041, 1998

32. Updating Policy and Strategy • Experienced obtained • New national circumstances • New international agreements • Policy updating (government) • Strategy updating (operator)

33. National Policy/Strategy Example: Finland Finland: • 4 reactors (1 under construction) • 1 research reactor • Industrial and medical and research use of radiation • ~1,400 tonnes U as spent fuel • ~6,500 m³ L/ILW • <100 m³ ‘small users’ wastes

34. National Policy/Strategy Example: Finland Government Policy of 1983 Operational wastes: • Plans for construction of LILW disposal facilities by the end 1986 and - if needed - commissioning by 1992 Decommissioning: • Updated plans for decommissioning of NPPs at 5 year intervals Spent fuel disposal, milestones: • Site screening and selection of several sites by the end of 1985 • Prelim. site investigations and selection of most suitable sites 1992 • Detailed site investigation and site selection by the end of 2000 • Application for construction of the encapsulation and disposal facility by the end of 2010 • Planning for operation of the facilities around ~2020

35. National Policy/Strategy Example: Finland

36. Example Strategy of a Waste Producer

37. Example policy of a small-scale waste producer (1 of 4)

38. Example policy of a small-scale waste producer (2 of 4)

39. Example policy of a small-scale waste producer (3 of 4)

40. Example policy of a small-scale waste producer (4 of 4)

41. Thank you!