WASTE MANAGEMENT | ARTEMIS REVIEWS
The end is the beginning on waste
The IAEA’s country missions help the industry manage ‘cleanup’ – and at the same time help make a positive case for new nuclear
AMONG THE IAEA’S EXPERT PEER review services is ARTEMIS, which examines radioactive waste and spent fuel management, decommissioning and remediation programmes. As well as countries with nuclear power or research programmes, missions support countries that are using nuclear materials in medicine, industry or other applications. In 2022, for example, missions visited Denmark and Malta, Cyprus and Austria, at the request of national bodies. The scope of ARTEMIS reviews vary according to the needs of the requesting organisation or facility, spanning national frameworks, regulatory systems and specific aspects of national programmes. Reviews may involve detailed assessments and technical advice on the implementation of specific programmes and project activities, with an emphasis on technology, on safety, or both. For Member States of the European Union, ARTEMIS missions help fulfil obligations that require an independent review of national frameworks and programmes for managing radioactive waste and spent fuel. An ARTEMIS mission to France in 2018 summarised some of the most important aspects of a successful waste management regime. A report from that mission summarised in IAEA’s database of best practice for ARTEMIS noted that all the successive steps in managing radioactive materials and waste “were organised in a very systematic
and structured manner, taking account of all management factors and of all stakeholders”. A comprehensive National Plan includes all radioactive materials and waste types, alternative scenarios and management routes; preparation, implementation and follow-up of the plan is well organised and stakeholders are committed to the plan. The National Plan is updated at three-year intervals and a working group follows progress and prepares the next version of the plan, which is supported by public consultation and a strategic environmental assessment.
Mission outcomes In 2022 the IAEA published brief outcomes from missions to five countries with nuclear power programmes, current of past: Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Romania and Hungary. Consistent themes among the reports are the need
for waste management programmes to be simple, comprehensive, developed with a range of stakeholders and able to evolve over time. In Hungary, for example, the mission report highlighted
“an exemplary safety improvement programme” at an existing disposal facility, based on a “comprehensive comparison”. IAEA delegates found a “systematic evaluation” of feasible options which confirmed the feasibility of retrieval and a significant improvement in long-term safety of the facility.
Above: ARTEMIS missions were an important part of obtaining an operating licence for Posiva’s spent nuclear fuel repository at ONKALO in Finland
32 | June 2023 |
www.neimagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49
