Speaker
Description
In the area of radioactive waste management (RWM) and deep geological disposal, the European Commission has been funding research and development (R&D) for over 40 years, fostering what is today a strong cooperation between European implementers, laboratories and institutions. The underpinning technical knowledgebase is sufficient to allow Europe to be on the verge of operation of its first geological disposal facilities for spent fuel and other high-level and long‐lived radioactive wastes. R&D will continue to be necessary to develop, maintain and consolidate knowledge throughout the stepwise development, operation and closure of disposal facilities.
The European Commission has promoted a step-change in cooperation between EU Member States’ (MS) National Programmes by strongly recommending the establishment of inclusive European Joint Programmes (EJP) of collaborative research.
Launched in 2019, EURAD, the 5-years long EJP on RWM, is built on the basis of activities of common importance between Waste Management Organisations, Regulatory Technical Support Organisations and nationally funded Research Entities. Guided by a shared roadmap, it supports MS at various stages of implementation and is focused on scientific and technological R&D, closely aligned to implementation needs, safety considerations and an ambitious knowledge management programme.
EURAD’s concept is to generate new and manage existing knowledge to support MS with implementation of the Directive 2011/70/EURATOM, and more specifically with the development and implementation of their national R&D programmes for the safe long-term management of their different types of radioactive wastes, taking into account different programme sizes and stages of advancement.
EURAD gathers 104 organizations across 23 countries, 51 have received a mandate by their Ministries and 53 are participating as Linked Third Parties to the Mandated Actors, all willing to share and support the EURAD Vision, Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) and Roadmap. It also aims to meaningfully interact with civil society representatives, waste producers/owners, international organisations such as NEA and IAEA, and non-European partners.
To achieve EURAD’s objectives, four different activities have been adopted: R&D, Strategic Studies, Knowledge Management and Coordination/Dissemination. They are developed in thirteen work packages that have now reached their third year of implementation and are delivering encouraging results. Three further work packages (and two extensions) will commence in June 2021, to address additional common needs captured within the EURAD SRA.
An overview of EURAD and its interactions with stakeholders and the scope of work including outcomes of the first years will be presented with an outlook of the second wave.
| Speaker's title | Ms |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Agence Nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs (Andra) |
