NEA Mandates and Structures
Working Group on the Characterisation, the Understanding and the Performance of Argillaceous Rocks as Repository Host Formations (CLAY CLUB)
Chair(s): |
Bastian GRAUPNER, Switzerland
|
Secretary: |
Soufiane MEKKI (soufiane.mekki@oecd-nea.org)
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Member(s): | All NEA member countries* |
| Russia (Suspended*) |
| *Russian Federation suspended pursuant to a decision of the OECD Council. |
Full participant(s): |
European Commission Under the NEA Statute
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Observer(s)(International Organisation): |
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) By agreement
|
Date of creation: | 01 January 1991 |
End of mandate: | 31 December 2020 |
Mandate (Document reference):
- CLAY CLUB Mandate [NEA/RWM/CLAYCLUB(2002)1]
- CLAY CLUB Mandate [NEA/RWM/CLAYCLUB(2006)3]
- Summary Record of the 8th Meeting of the IGSC [NEA/RWM/IGSC(2006)5]
- Summary Record of the 11th Meeting of the IGSC [NEA/RWM/IGSC(2009)7]
- Summary Record of the 12th meeting of the IGSC [NEA/RWM/IGSC(2010)8]
- CLAY CLUB Mandate [NEA/RWM/CLAYCLUB(2009)1/PROV]
- CLAY CLUB Mandate [NEA/RWM/CLAYCLUB(2010)3/PROV]
- CLAY CLUB Mandate [NEA/RWM/CLAYCLUB(2014)3/PROV]
- Extension of the CLAY CLUB Mandate [NEA/RWM/IGSC(2014)5/PROV]
- Extension of the CLAY CLUB Mandate [NEA/RWM/IGSC(2016)5/PROV]
- CLAY CLUB Mandate [NEA/RWM/CLAYCLUB(2016)3]
- Extension of the CLAY CLUB Mandate [NEA/RWM/CLAYCLUB(2019)1/FINAL]
Mandate (Document extract):
Extract from document NEA/RWM/CLAYCLUB(2019)1/FINAL
Mandate
[...]
Objectives
The Clay Club promotes the exchange of information and shared approaches and methods to develop and document an evolving understanding of clay media as a host rock for a repository.
The Clay Club provides advice to the Integration Group for the Safety Case (IGSC) on major and emerging issues related to the understanding of the multi-scale characterisation, numerical model simulation and barrier performance of argillaceous media. In particular, the Clay Club addresses recommendations, trends and information gaps concerning issues such as:
- current knowledge regarding the long-term barrier integrity of argillaceous rocks as relevant to establishing a deep geological repository safety case on time frames of one million years;
- the development of best international practice with respect to multi-disciplinary laboratory, borehole and in situ characterisation of argillaceous sediments necessary to understand far-field phenomena governing repository evolution, behaviour and long-term performance;
- a refinement of the understanding of repository-induced effects in argillaceous rocks during excavation, operation and post-closure phases;
- the application of self-analogues, which at formation scale, provide direct up-scaled formation‑specific properties and evidence of past argillaceous groundwater system stability and resilience to external perturbations;
- performance assessment, including development of integrated conceptual geosphere models, predictive numerical simulation and abstraction and, traceability of related data and information;
- links and potential knowledge transfer between the understanding of clay as a host material and its use in engineered barrier systems for deep geological repositories;
- relevant progress in research and development on argillaceous sediments in other fields or industries, such as oil and gas exploration (performance of cap rocks, unconventional shale oil , shale gas) and CO2 sequestration (performance of enclosing clay barriers).