Description
The changes in human behaviour, e.g. habits, diet, size of communities, dwelling types, agriculture and location, in response to climate change within the region/locality of the repository.
Category
Categorisation as a Feature, Event and/or Process.
Features
are physical components of the disposal system and environment being assessed. Examples include waste packaging, backfill, surface soils. Features typically interact with one another via processes and in some cases events.Events
are dynamic interactions among features that occur over time periods that are short compared to the safety assessment timeframe such as a gas explosion or meteorite impact.- "Processes" are issues or dynamic interactions among features that generally occur over a significant proportion of the safety assessment timeframe and may occur over the whole of this timeframe. Events and processes may be coupled to one another (i.e. may influence one another).
The classification of a FEP as an event or process depends upon the assessment context, because the classification is undertaken with reference to an assessment timeframe. In this generic IFEP List, many IFEPs are classified as both Events and Processes; users will need to decide which of these classifications is relevant to their context and its timeframes.
- Event
- Process
Relevance to Performance and Safety
The “Relevance to Performance and Safety” field contains an explanation of how the IFEP might influence the performance and safety of the disposal system under consideration through its impact on the evolution of the repository system and on the release, migration and/or uptake of repository-derived contaminants.
Human responses to climate change are relevant to repository performance and safety because they influence: 1) the likelihood for humans or other potential receptors to be exposed to radionuclides or other contaminants that might leave a repository in future; 2) the nature of the radionuclides or contaminants to which humans or other potential receptors are exposed; 3) the duration of such exposures should they occur; and 4) anthropogenic processes by which radionuclides or other contaminants could be concentrated or dispersed. Climate change will impact upon the characteristics, abundances and spatial distributions of natural resources, such as agricultural land and water resources (both surface water and groundwater). Humans will respond to such changes in ways that might affect the potential for humans or other potential receptors to be impacted by radionuclides or other contaminants originating in a repository. For example, humans may change the kind of agriculture that is undertaken, or drill to greater depths to obtain groundwater. Humans may also respond to climate changes in ways that modify the sizes and spatial distributions of human populations in the area surrounding a repository. For example, some climate change, such as desertification, may make an area uninhabitable. Conversely, improving conditions for agriculture might make an area more attractive to human populations. The daily activities of humans may change as a response to climate change and influence the potential for humans to be impacted by radionuclides or other contaminants originating in a repository. For example, under colder climatic conditions, humans might spend more time indoors than under warmer climatic conditions.
2000 List
A reference to the related FEP(s) within the 2000 NEA IFEP List.
Related References
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IAEA (), Environmental Change in Post-closure Safety Assessment of Solid Radioactive Waste Repositories, Working Group 3 Reference Models for Waste Disposal of EMRAS II Topical Heading Reference Approaches for Human Dose Assessment. Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety (EMRAS II) Programme, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, IAEA-TECDOC-1799, http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/TE1799web.pdf
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Thorne M, Walke R and Kelly M (), Representation of Climate Change and Landscape Development in Post-closure Radiological Impact Assessments, QRS-1667A-1, AMEC/200041/001, RWMD/03/033, https://rwm.nda.gov.uk/publication/representation-of-climate-change-and-landscape-development-in-post-closure-radiological-impact-assessments-qrs1667a1/