The NEA announces the publication of several new reports
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
An International Peer Review of the Yucca Mountain
Project TSPA-SR (*) Total System Performance Assessment for the
Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR)
ISBN 92-64-18477-5 - 96 pages
Free: paper or web (http://www.oecd-nea.org/html/rwm/reports/2002/nea3682-yucca.pdf)
The Department of Energy of the United States of America (USDOE) has
been studying the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada for more than 15 years
to determine whether it is a suitable place to construct an underground
repository for US spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste
of commercial and military origins. A number of performance assessments
have been carried out over the past decade by the USDOE, the latest
of which is the Total System Performance Assessment supporting the site
recommendation process (TSPA-SR) of December 2000. This report presents
the results of the jointly organised NEA-IAEA international peer review
of the TSPA-SR, performed upon the request of the USDOE. The review
was carried out by a team of ten international specialists.
The symbol (*) indicates English text only;
(**) indicates both English and French versions are available.
GEOTRAP - the OECD/NEA Project on Radionuclide Migration in Geologic,
Heterogeneous Media - was carried out in the context of site evaluation
and safety assessment of deep repository systems for long-lived radioactive
waste. The project was created in 1996 with the aim of developing an
understanding of, and modelling capability for, potential radionuclide
migration.
This report provides an overview of the project's main findings and
accomplishments over its five-year life. This summary should help make
the valuable information collected and generated by the GEOTRAP project
accessible to a wide readership both within and outside the radioactive
waste community. It is a reflection of the careful attention paid by
this community to the question of radionuclide transport.
GEOTRAP is the OECD/NEA Project on Radionuclide Migration in Geologic,
Heterogeneous Media carried out in the context of site evaluation and
safety assessment of deep repository systems for long-lived radioactive
waste.
Retention of radionuclides within the geosphere for prolonged periods
is an important safety function of deep geologic disposal concepts for
radioactive waste. The extent to which retention processes can be relied
upon in repository performance assessment depends upon the existence
of well-established theoretical bases for the processes. It also depends
on support for the operation of specific retention processes, and models
for their quantitative evaluation, from a wide range of laboratory and
field experiments and observations from nature. The fifth GEOTRAP workshop,
"Geological Evidence and Theoretical Bases for Radionuclide-retention
Processes in Heterogeneous Media" held in May 2001, looked at radionuclide-retention
processes and their consideration and representation in performance
assessments. Current approaches to characterising and modelling retention
processes, and suggestions for future improvements, were presented and
discussed.
In addition to the material presented during the workshop, this publication
includes a technical synthesis reflecting the discussions that took
place as well as the conclusions and recommendations made, notably during
the working group sessions.
The Information System on Occupational Exposure (ISOE) was created
in 1992 to provide a forum for radiation protection experts from both
utilities and national regulatory authorities to discuss, promote and
co-ordinate international co-operative undertakings in the area of worker
protection at nuclear power plants. The ISOE System is jointly managed
by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA).
This report provides an overview of the experience gained from, and
benefits provided by, the ISOE System over the past ten years. Active
participation of a large number of utilities in ISOE has contributed
to a reduction in occupational exposure at nuclear power plants worldwide.
Environmental remediation activities in uranium mines and mills have
become increasingly important in the last few decades due to the large
number of facilities which have been taken out of operation, the growing
interest in remediating previously abandoned sites and the increasingly
strict environmental regulations that are being put in place. Remediation
programmes are being implemented to ensure the return of affected areas
to previously existing environmental conditions or to a land use that
will be sustainable in the long term and acceptable to all stakeholders.
This report provides a summary of the most relevant issues and practices
in remediation programmes of uranium production facilities and an overview
of activities and plans in reporting countries. It covers the areas
of site characterisation, dismantling and decommissioning, waste management
facilities, water remediation, long-term stewardship and monitoring,
policies and regulations, and costs. The country profiles of remediation
activities and plans include information considered to be important
by the country and are based on survey
responses provided by 22 countries (12 OECD and 10 non-OECD countries).
Le réaménagement de l'environnement des sites des mines
et usines de traitement d'uranium a pris un tournant majeur depuis quelques
décennies. Les raisons de cette évolution sont multiples
: un grand nombre d'installations ont été fermées
; la décontamination des anciens sites abandonnés est
un souci croissant ; enfin, des règlements toujours plus stricts
sont mis en place en vue de protéger l'environnement. Des programmes
de réaménagement sont donc instaurés dans le but
de rétablir l'environnement initial des sites contaminés
ou de permettre l'utilisation libre des sols, le tout dans un cadre
qui sache respecter les objectifs du développement durable à
long terme et qui convienne à toutes les parties prenantes.
Ce rapport résume les pratiques et les enjeux les plus importants
des programmes visant à réaménager les installations
de production d'uranium, puis brosse le tableau général
des activités et des programmes spécifiques dans les pays
participant à l'étude. Les thèmes abordés
sont variés : caractérisation des sites, démantèlement
et déclassement, installations de gestion des déchets,
décontamination de l'eau, intendance et surveillance de longue
durée, politiques et réglementation, et coûts. Les
profils nationaux des activités et programmes de réaménagement
s'appuient sur les réponses fournies par chacun des 22 pays (12
pays Membres de l'OCDE et 10 pays non membres) qui ont participé
à l'enquête et comprennent des informations liées
aux questions qui sont réputées les plus importantes dans
chacun d'entre eux.
International interest in accelerator-driven systems (ADS) has recently
been increasing in view of the important role that these systems may
play as efficient minor actinide and long-lived fission-product (LLFP)
burners and/or energy producers with an enhanced safety potential. However,
the current methods of analysis and nuclear data for minor actinide
and LLFP burners are not as well established as those for conventionally
fuelled reactor systems. Hence, in 1999, the OECD/NEA Nuclear Science
Committee organised a benchmark exercise for an accelerator-driven minor
actinide burner to check the performances of reactor codes and nuclear
data for ADS with unconventional fuel and coolant. The benchmark model
was a lead-bismuth-cooled subcritical system driven by a beam of 1 GeV
protons.
This report provides an analysis of the results supplied by seven participants
from eight countries. The analysis reveals significant differences in
important neutronic parameters, indicating a need for further investigation
of the nuclear data, especially minor actinide data, as well as the
calculation methods. This report will be of particular interest to reactor
physicists and nuclear data evaluators developing nuclear systems for
nuclear waste management.
Please quote the title and reference in any review. Free publications
may be downloaded from this website (www.oecd-nea.org/html/pub/webpubs/)
or ordered by writing to:
OECD/NEA Publications Services,
12 boulevard des Iles,
F-92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux,
France.
