International Conference on Radioactive Waste Management: Solutions for a Sustainable Future (CN-294)

Scientific Programme

1. Radioactive Waste Management – National Programmatic Perspectives

Submitted abstracts and papers should address current practices and perspectives in managing radioactive waste at a national programmatic level, including national waste management strategies, policies, and regulatory frameworks. Methods and approaches implemented to achieve significant milestones can be highlighted, including major achievements in managing specific waste streams.

2. Radioactive Waste Management –Implementation of Waste Management Strategies

Submitted papers and abstracts should focus on progress towards achieving specific programme objectives for typical waste streams (operational and decommissioning wastes from Nuclear Power Plants, institutional wastes including research reactors, and Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources (DSRSs)). Strategies, methods and approaches that have been implemented or demonstrated, ready for implementation, can be highlighted.

3. Solutions for Specific Wastes

Submitted papers and abstracts should focus on solutions for radioactive waste streams that have specific or challenging properties or characteristics, or that derive from less common or unique facilities, activities or legacies. For example, such waste streams might include high activity DSRS or neutron sources, graphite from reactor cores, waste also having hazardous properties (e.g., organic liquids and solids), waste from prototype and high temperature reactors, depleted uranium, wastes from sites that have been remediated, or sites with ongoing challenges, etc.

4. Role of the Safety Case Development in Supporting Radioactive Waste Management

Submitted papers and abstracts should focus on the underpinning science, technology and engineering programmes needed and developed to facilitate the licensing of radioactive waste management operations. Attention will be given to R&D programmes and their relationship to safety case development, optimization of designs, building on previous R&D programmes and upscaling R&D results to implementation readiness.

5. Socio-Economic Aspects of Radioactive Waste Management Programmes

Submitted papers and abstracts should focus on the non-technical aspects of radioactive waste management by highlighting experiences gained at a programmatic level and their successful application. Papers are expected to focus on examples of proven strategies and practices that can be implemented to enhance public awareness and communication with stakeholders, risk perception and understanding as well as socio-economic strategies for best addressing these.

6. Integrated Waste Management

Submitted papers and abstracts should focus on the concept of Integrated Waste Management, highlighting its advantages towards sustainable waste management. Attention will be given to innovative approaches and technologies waste minimization by design in all fields of nuclear technology. To this end advances in regulation and programme strategies aimed at early consideration of waste minimization will also be considered.

7. Multinational Cooperation in Radioactive Waste Management

Submitted papers and abstracts should focus on international perspectives in the management of radioactive waste streams through disposal. Attention will be given to trans-national solutions for different waste streams, activities by other international organizations, and advances or needs in multi-lateral agreements and arrangements. Presentations on standardization of approaches in characterization, processing, storage and disposal as further enablers of effective multinational action are welcomed.