[en] This presentation discussed the final repository of radioactive waste as an issue at the interface of the sciences and the humanities. Archaeologists have learned that a hundred thousand years ago abstract thought and symbolism by humans began. Since then many communities of human beings have succeeded each other. They often intended to leave a mark for eternity, but they established in fact the truism that nothing ages faster than the future. Archaeologists and historians are promoting remembering, learning and understanding of history for contemporary and future generations. Disposal sites of nuclear waste constitute a special case of heritage. We are creating a very distinctive kind of heritage that in the future may be remembered or forgotten, just like any other heritage we create. The presentation addressed what the realms of heritage and radioactive waste disposal can learn from each other regarding making provisions for the future. Rubbish reflects the conditions from which it originates. The final deposition of radioactive waste is by nature a question of historical consciousness and future uses of the past, of memory and forgetting, and of future didactics of history. Heritage studies as well as history and archaeology are thus inherently relevant. Similarities between archaeology and RWM were thus pointed out, for instance the long time frames, specific sites, dealing with the meaning of rubbish, the fact that we both like to think we are doing something good for future generations,.. But there also are differences, notably that archaeology works with precious objects one wishes to keep. How will the future use our present, which is their past, for their own future? The meaning people give to information is important, and meaning is a continuous process of reinterpreting

[en] SSI's regulations concerning final management of spent nuclear fuel or nuclear waste are very general, and leave a large number of approaches open to show compliance with the standard. SSI needs to develop more detailed issues of compliance, a guidance document, so called 'General Advice'. This document should give adequate guidance to the implementer on how to fulfil SSI's requirements, but also to meet the concerns of, and to be understood and accepted by, the concerned public. To achieve this, SSI involves the concerned public in the current work, and lets the public have influence on the guidance document in such a way that the society's values are incorporated in the process and in the Advice itself. This paper describes how SSI uses the existing research in risk communication and the lessons learned over the last decade, in the process of taking forward General Advice according to the RISCOM model for transparency. The concerned municipalities in the nuclear waste issue are - perhaps in a few years - about to take one of the most important democratic decisions ever. There will be a need for a good basis of knowledge for this decision that is well grounded, concerning both facts and value-laden elements, and how these interact. A conclusion from the Risk-seminar and Focus groups is that there is still a strong involvement in the concerned municipalities for contributing to - and developing - the process for a final repository. The risk assessment for a final repository must cover many thousands of years into the future. The choices of scenarios for the future environment, parameter values etc. are based on expert judgments, which will often be a combination of technical/scientific and value-laden elements. It is therefore important that the basis for decisions is made transparent, both concerning the implementers work and SSI's review. SSI has started a dialogue on risk and radiation protection criteria relating to the implementation of SSI's regulations, according to the RISCOM principles, so that the concerned public better can validate claims of facts, values and authenticity. Defining SSI's arena and opening it for dialogues with other actors should improve the transparency in SSI's base for decisions

[en] This paper serves as a point of departure for the discussions to be held within the Working Group of Technical Topic entitled 'Barriers and System Performances within a safety case: Their functioning and Evolution with Time'. The paper gives the SKB perspective of the issues to be discussed within the Working Group for this Topic. The following issues to be discussed by the Working Group are: What is the role of each barrier as a function of time or in the different time frames? What is its contribution to the overall system performance or safety as a function of time? Which are the main uncertainties on the performance of barriers in the timescales? To what extent should we enhance the robustness of barriers because of the uncertainties of some component behaviour with time? What is the requested or required performance versus the expected or realistic or conservative behaviour with time? How are these safety margins used as arguments in a safety case? What is the issue associated with the geosphere stability for different geological systems? How is barriers and system performances as a function of time evaluated (and presented and communicated) in a safety case? What kind of measures are used for siting, designing and optimising robust barriers corresponding to situations that can vary with time? Are human actions considered to be relevant? (authors)

[en] Safety Assessment for A Hypothetical Surface Disposal At SERPONG Site: Selection Of Scenario. The features, events and processes (FEP'S) have to be considered in doing the safety assessment of a shallow land burial (SLB) repository at hypothetical site at Serpong was investigated. The list of FEP's and the methodology that was developed by Study Centrum Voor Kernenergie-Centre D'Etude De L 'Energie Nuclaire (SCK-CEN) are used. The results indicated that from 133 FEP's, 80 of FEP's are rejected and 53 FEP's are to be considered in the normal evolution scenarios (30 FEP's), altered evolution scenarios (7FEP's) and in the biosphere evolution scenarios (16 FEP's). The description of each FEP's have to be considered was given in this article. Because the data and the information of the hypothetical site are limited at this time, the selections of these FEP's have to be reviewed in the future

[en] The 12-15 September 2006, at Tokyo, took place the fourth workshop on engineered barrier systems (EBS) in the safety case: design confirmation and demonstration. The barriers include the natural geological barrier and the engineered barrier systems. The workshop focused on strategies and methods to demonstrate that EBS designs will fulfill the relevant requirements for long-term safety, engineering feasibility and quality assurance. This document presents successively the eight invited presentations and the main focusing points of the corresponding discussions around the presentation. (A.L.B.)

[en] Partitioning-transmutation studies are covered by the 1991 French law concerning radioactive waste management. The programme is progressing with a dual approach: - What can be done in partitioning-transmutation? At what cost? In what timescale? - How can long-term gains and short-term disadvantages be qualified and quantified? The first approach concerns technical know-how. The studies based on today's technologies are continuing (reactors, fuels and targets, separation of radionuclides by solvents). The second approach involves an assessment activity, based firstly on studies of scenarios. Pertinent assessment criteria must be brought out. (authors)

[en] A key challenge in the development of safety cases for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste is handling the long time frame over which the radioactive waste remains hazardous. The intrinsic hazard of the waste decreases with time, but some hazard remains for extremely long periods. Safety cases for geological disposal typically address performance and protection for thousands to millions of years into the future. Over such periods, a wide range of events and processes operating over many different timescales may impact on a repository and its environment. Uncertainties in the predictability of such factors increase with time, making it increasingly difficult to provide definite assurances of a repository's performance and the protection it may provide over longer timescales. Timescales, the level of protection and the assurance of safety are all linked. Approaches to handling timescales for the geological disposal of radioactive waste are influenced by ethical principles, the evolution of the hazard over time, uncertainties in the evolution of the disposal system (and how these uncertainties themselves evolve) and the stability and predictability of the geological environment. Conversely, the approach to handling timescales can affect aspects of repository planning and implementation including regulatory requirements, siting decisions, repository design, the development and presentation of safety cases and the planning of pre- and post-closure institutional controls such as monitoring requirements. This is an area still under discussion among NEA member countries. This report reviews the current status and ongoing discussions of this issue. (author)

[en] The Full Scale Seal (FSS) Experiment is one of different experiments implemented by ANDRA to demonstrate the technical construction feasibility and assess the performance of the horizontal seals to be built underground, at time of the progressive closure of the French Deep Geological Repository (Cigeo). FSS is built inside a reinforced concrete drift model (at scale 1:1 of a Cigeo drift) constructed for the purpose. The test site location is a warehouse in Saint-Dizier, France. The drift model has a 7.60 m long internal diameter and is 36 m long. Representative underground ambient conditions (temperature and hygrometry) are maintained within the drift during the seal construction operations. The seal per se is made of 3 components: a 14 m long bentonitic swelling core between 2 low pH self-compacting concrete/shotcrete 5 m long containment walls. The low pH self-compacting concrete (SCC) containment wall (some 240 m³) is cast in one continuous pass (to avoid discontinuities), while the low pH shotcrete containment wall (some 240 m³) is applied in multiple layers, with minimum curing time between two layers. The swelling clay core (some 750 m³) is made of a bentonite pulverulent admixture, emplaced by using 2 augers working at a time in a continuous mode (the objective is to obtain a bentonite core as compact and homogeneous as possible before the re-saturation process start-up). On the drift model periphery, polycarbonate windows are provided for observation needs and reservations are integrated to the model structure for monitoring and coring needs. All the work sequences are video-taken and a timetable of operations is established to assess the overall time needed for building a complete seal at Cigeo. The present paper focuses on the construction story of the first low pH SCC containment wall as developed for FSS, the first technical outcomes and on the planned investigations to assess its construction compliance (via monitoring, coring and dismantling). (authors)

[en] This Working Report presents the main results of Posiva Oy's environmental monitoring programme on Olkiluoto Island in 2009. These summary reports have been published since 2005. The environmental monitoring system supervised by Posiva Oy produces input for biosphere modelling for long-term safety purposes as well as for monitoring the state of the environment during the construction (and later operation) of ONKALO underground characterization facility. Part of the monitoring is performed by the company running the nuclear power plants on the island, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Monitoring has been carried out for varying periods of time depending on the sector: some monitoring activities performed by TVO originate from the 1970s and the repository-related environmental monitoring of Olkiluoto from the early 2000s. The monitoring programme evolves according to the experiences gained from the modelling work and an increased understanding of the site. Augmentations in 2009 include e.g. establishment of a new forest intensive monitoring plot (FIP14), continuation of studies on fine roots and on the species composition and abundances of small mammals. Line transect samplings of ants, terrestrial snails and earthworms were carried out and a systematic monitoring of island birds was started. In addition, a project was started where the sediment load and factors affecting the sediment transportation into Eurajoensalmi bay is examined. Dust produced during construction of the third nuclear power unit (OL3), ONKALO and related infrastructure can be seen in the soil solution and deposition results. Furthermore, the construction works and road traffic have a raising effect on the noise levels of the immediate surroundings. The land-use continues to change, but the remaining natural environment resembles other coastal locations. The young age of the soils and the closeness of the sea are reflected in the soil properties. Mammalian fauna on the island is typical of coastal areas in Southwestern Finland. Game catches vary according to hunting pressure and natural variation in populations. The condition of the nearby marine environment is affected by the continuous land uplift, the shallowness of the area, the weather conditions, the general condition of the Bothnian Sea, the nutrient and sediment loads carried by rivers Eurajoki and Lapinjoki, and the cooling water from the nuclear power plant. (orig.)

[en] SKB is currently carrying out an assessment of the future extension of the final repository for low and middle level radioactive operational waste, SFR. The planned SFR extension lies at a relatively shallow depth (-50 to -200 masl) compared with the planned Forsmark facility for spent nuclear fuel (-400 to -500 masl). The main aim of the multidisciplinary modelling project involving geology, hydrogeology, hydrogeochemistry and rock mechanical modelling is to describe the rock volume for the planned extension of SFR that was presented in /SKB 2008a/. The results of the modelling project in the form of a forthcoming site descriptive model will supply the basis for site-adapted design including engineering characteristics, in addition to a general assessment of the site suitability. The current report presents the results of the geological work with the deterministic rock domain and deformation zone models (version 1.0) and forms a basis for the three other disciplines in the modelling work. The shallow depth of SFR and its proposed extension means that the facility lies partly within the rock volume affected by the effects of stress release processes during loading and unloading cycles, with an associated increased frequency of open sub-horizontal fractures in the near-surface realm (above -150 masl) compared with that observed at greater depths. The main report describes the data input to the modelling work, the applied modelling methodology and the overall results. More detailed descriptions of the individual modelled deformation zones and rock domains are included in the appendices. The geological modelling work during version 1.0 follows SKB's established methodology using the Rock Visualisation System (RVS). The deformation zone model version 1.0 is a further development of the previous version 0.1 /Curtis et al. 2009/. While the main input to deformation zone model version 0.1 was older geological data from the construction of SFR, including drawings of the geological tunnel mapping and eleven drill cores remapped according to the Boremap system, input to model version 1.0 has included the results from eight new cored boreholes as well as a fuller integration of Forsmark site investigation data, a further more extensive review of the drill core from an additional 32 boreholes associated with the construction of the existing SFR facility and an updated mapping of the lower construction tunnel. The current modelling work has also reviewed the older SFR data and models. While details concerning the earlier zones lying in immediate contact with the existing SFR facility have been changed, the earlier overall position, orientation and number of these deformation zones is maintained. A significant difference concerns their thickness due to the contrasting methodologies used during the different campaigns. In SFR model version 0.1, a single deformation zone model was produced, with a volume corresponding to the regional model volume. The model contained all the deformation zones modelled irrespective of size. Separate local and regional deformation zone models have been produced in SFR model version 1.0, following resolution criteria for the different model volumes. The local model contains zones with a minimum size of 300 m, while the regional model has structures that have a minimum size constraint of 1,000 m trace length at the ground surface. The selection of these size limits is related to the model volume maximum depth (local model -300 masl and regional model -1,000 masl) and the applied methodology that requires the same model resolution throughout the defined model volume (see Section 5.3.1). To assist hydrogeological modelling work, an updated combined model, including all structures from both the regional and local models, has also been delivered. The existing SFR facility and the rock volume directly to the south-east, which is proposed for the new facility extension, lies within a tectonic block that is bounded to the north-east and south-west by two broad belts of concentrated ductile and brittle deformation (Figures S-1 and S-2). The central block is less affected by deformation than the bounding belts. Within the central block, in the rock volume for the planned extension, a series of WNW-NW trending deformation zones are included in the local model (Figure S-2). These are much smaller than the bounding belts and were initiated at a later stage in a brittle regime. Even smaller zones with the same general strike and character, below the current model resolution, are inferred to permeate the entire rock volume. A NE to ENE striking set of brittle deformation zones is also present (Figure S-2). Compared with the WNW-NW set they are generally thinner and shorter, due to termination against the broad WNW-NW trending deformation belts