Overview

The Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC) was established by the NEA Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC) in 2000 and serves as a platform for understanding stakeholder dialogue and discussing methods to develop shared confidence, informed consent and approval of radioactive waste (RW) management solutions. The FSC also supports the Committee on Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations and Legacy Management (CDLM) as of 2019. A stakeholder is defined as any actor – institution, group or individual – with an interest or a role to play in the radioactive waste management process. The FSC provides a setting for direct stakeholder exchange in an atmosphere of mutual respect and learning.

Participants in this forum are government policy and regulatory officials, R&D specialists, implementers, and industry representatives from NEA member countries. Together they share experiences and challenges, identify best practices and publish reports on current and future challenges related to stakeholder involvement in waste management and decommissioning processes. Over the past years, the exchanges held during the FSC led to robust principles concerning dedicated avenues of communication.

Organisations currently represented in the FSC:

• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia
• Belgian agency for radioactive waste and enriched fissile materials (ONDRAF/NIRAS), Belgium
• Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Belgium
• Ontario Power Generation (OPG), Canada
• Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), Canada
• Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), Canada
• Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), Canada
• National Research Council of Canada, Canada
• Správy úložišť radioaktivních odpadů (SURAO) / Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (RAWRA), Czech Republic
• Danish Decommissioning (DECOM), Denmark
• Radiation & Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), Finland
• National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (ANDRA), France
• Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), France
• Electricité de France (EDF), France
• Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Management (BGE), Germany
• Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE), Germany
• Öko Institut, Germany
• Public Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (PURAM), Hungary
• Nuclear Power Plants Management Company (SOGIN), Italy
• Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), Japan
• Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NUMO), Japan
• Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD), Korea
• National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands
• Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, The Netherlands
• Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND), Norway
• Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA), Norway
• NuclearElectrica, Romania
• Institute for Nuclear Research of Pitesti (RATEN-ICN), Romania
• Nuclear Agency for Radioactive Waste (ANDR), Romania
• Ministry of the Environment, Slovak Republik
• Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), Spain
• National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management and Decommissioning (ENRESA), Spain
• Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM), Sweden
• Swedish Nuclear Fuel & Waste Management Co (SKB), Sweden
• Vattenfall, Sweden
• National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra), Switzerland
• Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), Switzerland
• Environment Agency, UK
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, UK
• Nuclear Waste Services, UK
• U.S. Department of Energy, US
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US
• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), US
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Annual meetings, national workshops and community visits

The FSC convenes every fall for its annual meeting, which allows for an exchange of experiences through lectures and topical sessions.

Additionally, FSC national workshops are frequently organised in NEA member countries to bring together national stakeholders and FSC members to provide a neutral ground for discussion, dialogue and advancement of knowledge on long-term radioactive waste management. FSC members are invited to learn about the host country’s waste management programme and provide support by giving an external reflection built on their own experience. The national workshops can be supplemented by a half a day devoted to a community visit (potential or selected site for a repository) or an open event (public meeting or debate).

The FSC currently has three task groups, which focus on the following topics:

• Youth involvement in radioactive waste management (since 2019),
• Stakeholder Involvement in decommissioning and legacy management (since 2020), and
• The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on stakeholder engagement practices (since 2022)

External link

Lessons learnt from the FSC: a synthesis provided by the European Commission/Joint Research Centre E-Track project, BRANS Marleen, FERRARO Gianluca, VON ESTORFF Ulrik (2015), "The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency’s Forum on Stakeholder Confidence, radioactive waste management and public participation. A synthesis of its learnings and guiding principles", Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.