Speaker
Description
IAEA Safety Standards and Euratom Council Directives provide the basis for the underlying legal and regulatory framework in radioactive waste management and decommissioning. This enables a framework for radioactive waste treatment within countries which are underpinned by local considerations and national policies. To further the safe advancement of waste treatment, we have embarked upon a project to establish and clarify the benefits and added value of a more aligned and harmonised regulations and standards for prioritised topics related to radioactive waste handling, including shared processing facilities. The project name is HARPERS (HARmonised PracticEs, Regulations and Standards in waste management and decommissioning) which is funded under Euratom research and training programme 2021-27 under grant agreement No 101060028.
The HARPERS project has a two-phase approach: the first phase involves engaging with Stakeholders to assess needs and pros/cons for harmonisation and to identify priority areas for deeper analysis. The second phase will pursue deeper engagement with Stakeholders to further assess the highest ranked priority areas in the three technical Work Packages.
Work Package 3 (WP3) of HARPERS project is focused on addressing the most important conditions and opportunities for promoting Cross Border Radioactive Waste treatment facilities and Services.
For the prioritisation of needs and opportunities for Cross Border facilities and service considerations, a detailed list of topics (challenges/needs - related to harmonisation of practices, regulations and standards) has been developed. Topics were clustered into 4 main categories and discussed with interested external stakeholders during dedicated on-line workshops conducted in January and February 2023.
Criteria for the prioritisation of topics, based on drivers relating to societal impacts, actor-specific impacts, scientific impacts and financial impacts, have been developed and discussed during the workshops too.
The outcome will focus on the development of 3-4 priority topics which will then be further investigated with a view to identifying recommendations, barriers, actions and opportunities to provide improvements in the cross-border services or facilities needed for radioactive waste treatment.
This exciting project brings together learning and experience from all organisational types from European and International countries. A blend of inputs from these differing perspectives provides us with a unique opportunity to bring about safe radioactive treatment. This uplift presentation will strike a chord with IAEA participants by drawing together the needs/challenges identified by the project, and how they are crucial to safe waste treatment demonstrates our commitment to a sustainable nuclear community.
