Towards best possible safety - Current regulatory research for the German site selection process for high-level radioactive waste disposal

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel Liebscher ◽  
Christoph Borkel ◽  
Ute Maurer-Rurack ◽  
Michael Jendras
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Active Faults ◽  
Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
High Level

<p>The German Site Selection Act (Standortauswahlgesetz – StandAG) defines the search for and selection of the national German site with best possible safety for a disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste. The Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) is the federal regulatory authority for radioactive waste disposal. BASE supervises the site selection process for a repository for high-level radioactive waste and is responsible for the accompanying public participation. To fulfill its tasks according to the state of science and technology, task related research forms an integral part of BASEs activities. Current research activities in the context of the site selection process address geoscientific questions, methodological aspects of the implementation of the site selection process, and public participation aspects. This contribution provides an overview on the current geoscientific and methodological research activities of BASE.</p><p>According to § 16 StandAG , the national implementer (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung  mbH) has to execute surface-based exploration and BASE has to review and define the respective exploration program. Therefore, the two projects <em>MessEr</em> and <em>übErStand</em> compiled state of science and technology with regard to surface based exploration methods. The foci were on methods suitable for addressing the criteria and requirements set out in the German Site Selection Act.</p><p>The project <em>KaStör</em> reviewed the current knowledge on active faults and fault zones in Germany and studied methodological approaches to date and identify the activity of faulting. The results support BASE to review the application of the exclusion criteria for areas with “active faults zones” according to § 22 (2) StandAG.</p><p>For the time being, § 27 (4) StandAG defines 100 °C as precautionary maximum temperature at the outer surface of waste canisters for all host rocks. The project <em>Grenztemperatur</em> compiled and studied the temperature dependency of the different THMC/B processes according to available FEP catalogues for rock salt, clay stone, and crystalline rock. The project also identified open and pending research questions and describes ways to define host rock specific maximum temperatures based on specific disposal and safety concepts.</p><p>During the site selection process, safety oriented weighting of different criteria and comparison of different potential regions and sites have to be performed. The project <em>MaBeSt</em> studied and reviewed methodological approaches to this weighting and comparison problem with special emphasis on multi criteria analysis (MCA) and multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA).</p><p>Key requirement for safe geological disposal of nuclear waste is barrier integrity. The project <em>PeTroS</em> experimentally studied potential percolation mechanisms of fluids within rock salt at isotropic conditions at disposal relevant pressures and temperatures.</p>

scholarly journals Towards best possible safety – current regulatory research for the German site selection process for high-level radioactive waste disposal

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 157-163
Author(s):  
Axel Liebscher ◽  
Christoph Borkel ◽  
Michael Jendras ◽  
Ute Maurer-Rurack ◽  
Carsten Rücker
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Rock Salt ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Fault Zones ◽  
Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽  
Methodological Approaches

Abstract. The Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE – Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung) is the German federal regulatory authority for radioactive waste disposal. It supervises the German site selection process and is responsible for the accompanying public participation. Task related research is an integral part of BASE's activities. The projects MessEr and übErStand compiled the state-of-the-art science and technology regarding surface based exploration methods suitable for addressing the criteria and requirements specified in the German Site Selection Act. The results support BASE to review and define the surface-based exploration programs to be executed by the national implementer BGE (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH). To support BASE in reviewing the application of the exclusion criteria “active fault zones” according to the Site Selection Act, the project KaStör reviewed the current knowledge on active faults and fault zones in Germany and recommends methodological approaches to date and identify the activity of faulting. For the time being, the Site Selection Act defines 100 ∘C as a draft limit on the temperature at the outer surface of a repository container for all host rocks. The project Grenztemperatur studied the temperature dependency of the different thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-chemical/biological (THMC/B) processes according to available features-events-processes (FEP) catalogues for rock salt, clay stone, and crystalline rock and describes ways to defining host rock specific maximum temperatures based on specific disposal and safety concepts. Safety oriented weighting of different criteria and comparison of different potential regions and sites are key challenges during the siting process. The project MABeSt studied and reviewed methodological approaches to this weighting and comparison problem with special emphasis on multi criteria analysis (MCA) and multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA). A key requirement for safe geological disposal of nuclear waste is barrier integrity. The project PeTroS performed the first triaxial flow-through experiments on natural rock salt samples at disposal relevant p−T conditions and studied potential percolation mechanisms of fluids within rock salt. The data substantiate that the minimum stress criterion and/or the dilatancy criterion are the prime “percolation thresholds” in rock salt. The research results support BASE in fulfilling its tasks as national regulator according to state-of-the-art science and technology and are also relevant to other stakeholders of the siting process.

scholarly journals Section 14 StandAG – Identification of siting regions and associated challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 49-50
Author(s):  
Lisa Seidel ◽  
Marc Wengler
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Phase I ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Selection Procedure ◽  
Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽  
Second Step ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Surface Exploration ◽  
Safety Assessments ◽  
High Level

Abstract. With the publication of the subarea interim report on sub-regions on 28 September 2020, the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE), as the implementer of the German site selection procedure, has completed the first step of phase I in due time. The second step of phase I is the identification of siting regions for surface exploration. In the following step 2 of phase I, the determination of siting regions for surface exploration will be carried out based on the interim results of the first step of phase I in accordance with section 14 of the regulating law (StandAG). A central component of this second step of phase I is the representative preliminary safety assessments pursuant to section 27 StandAG, the ordinances on “Safety Requirements” (EndlSiAnfV) and “Preliminary Safety Assessments” (EndlSiUntV), which are carried out for each of the sub-regions. Based on the results of the preliminary safety assessments and the renewed application of the geoscientific weighting criteria (section 24 StandAG), siting regions will be identified that have the potential to become the site with the best possible safety for a repository for high-level radioactive waste. During the second step of phase I, the planning scientific consideration criteria (section 25 StandAG) can be applied for the first time. The path to the siting regions for surface exploration can be accompanied by various challenges related to geoscientific, methodological and also societal questions. For example, the application of the representative preliminary safety assessments may be more challenging in larger subareas compared to smaller ones as subsurface properties are likely to be more variable. In this context, areas with little data coverage for example, and the treatment of these areas in the procedure may pose another challenge. Therefore, sound methodological concepts must be developed for performing the representative preliminary safety assessments as well as for applying the geoscientific weighting criteria. Furthermore, the German site selection procedure defines special requirements (section 1 StandAG): the implementation of the participatory, science-based, transparent, self-questioning and learning procedure poses challenges to all stakeholders of the procedure on the way to the best possible disposal of high-level radioactive waste.

scholarly journals Status of Deep Borehole Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste in Germany

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 2580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Bracke ◽  
Wolfram Kudla ◽  
Tino Rosenzweig
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Real Option ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Technical Equipment ◽  
Deep Borehole ◽  
Final Disposal ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
High Level ◽  
A Site

The phase-out of nuclear energy in Germany will take place in 2022. A site for final disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLRW) has not yet been chosen, but a site selection process was restarted by the Site Selection Act in 2017. This Act was based on a recommendation by a commission which also advised to follow up the development of deep borehole disposal (DBD) as a possible option for final disposal of HLRW. This paper describes briefly the status of DBD in Germany and if this option is to be pursued in Germany. Although DBD has some merits, it can only be a real option if supported by research and development. The technical equipment for larger boreholes of the required size will only be developed if there is funding and a feasibility test. Furthermore, any DBD concept must be detailed further, and some requirements of the Act must be reconsidered. Therefore, the support of DBD will likely remain at a low level if there are no political changes.

scholarly journals Preliminary safety analyses in the high-level radioactive waste site selection procedure in Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 67-75
Author(s):  
Eva-Maria Hoyer ◽  
Elco Luijendijk ◽  
Paulina Müller ◽  
Phillip Kreye ◽  
Florian Panitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Selection Procedure ◽  
Crystalline Rock ◽  
Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
Geological Conditions ◽  
High Level ◽  
A Site

Abstract. The Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE) is responsible for the search for a site with the best possible safety for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in Germany. The site selection procedure is regulated in a law that was adopted by the German Federal Parliament (Repository Site Selection Act – StandAG, 2017, last updated 2020) and aims to be a participatory, transparent, learning, and self-questioning process based on scientific expertise. The first step of the first phase of the site selection procedure was completed in September 2020 and resulted in the identification of sub-areas that give reason to expect favorable geological conditions for the long-term storage of nuclear waste in the subsurface. These sub-areas cover approximately 54 % of Germany and are located in three different host rocks: rock salt – halite, claystone, and crystalline rock. The challenge for the next step is to find suitable siting regions within the previously determined sub-areas that are then considered further in the next phase of the site selection procedure. In the following, the methodology of the so-called representative preliminary safety analyses is described, which constitute one of the tools to identify siting regions, and some first insight on how they are planned to be implemented in practice is given.

Preliminary safety assessments in the high-level radioactive waste site selection procedure in Germany

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva-Maria Hoyer ◽  
Christoph Behrens ◽  
Merle Bjorge ◽  
Julia Dannemann ◽  
Dennis Gawletta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Selection Procedure ◽  
Crystalline Rock ◽  
Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽  
Seismic Exploration ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Geological Conditions ◽  
Safety Assessments ◽  
High Level

<p>The Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal mbH (BGE mbH) is as Germans waste management organization responsible to implement the search for a site with the best possible safety for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste for at least one million years, following the amendments of the Repository Site Selection Act in 2017. The selection procedure is meant to be a participatory, transparent, learning and self-questioning process based on scientific expertise.</p><p>This contribution will provide an overview of the methodology of the forthcoming preliminary safety assessments as a major part of the next steps in the site selection procedure. This procedure overall consists of three phases with increasing level of detail for identification of the best site. The first phase consists of two steps. The objective of the first step was to determine sub-areas in the three considered host rocks, salt (halite), clay and crystalline rock, by applying legally defined exclusion criteria, minimum requirements and geoscientific weighing criteria. 90 sub-areas that cover approximately 54 % of the area of Germany were identified due to their general suitable geological conditions. The result was published in September 2020.</p><p>The second step of phase one is currently in progress and consists of representative preliminary safety assessments that aim to assess the safety of the repository system as well as its robustness. The requirements for the preliminary safety assessments in the site selection procedure are defined by a governmental directive released in October 2020. Representative preliminary safety assessments have to be performed for each sub-area and consist of the compilation of all geoscientific information relevant to the safety of a repository, the development of preliminary safety and repository concepts and the analysis of the repository system. In addition, a systematically identification and characterization of uncertainties has to be undertaken and the need for exploration, research and development must be determined. The application of the representative preliminary safety assessments as well as the following renewed application of geoscientific weighing criteria will lead to the identification of siting regions within the larger sub-areas of step one. These regions will be considered, first for surface-based geoscientific and geophysical exploration, including i.e. seismic exploration and drilling of boreholes. Subsequently the last phase of the site selection will proceed with subsurface exploration. Finally, all suitable sites will be proposed and the German government will decide the actual site. This process is expected to be finalized in 2031.</p>

scholarly journals Justice in dealing with highly radioactive waste – an empirical perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 201-202
Author(s):  
Lucas Schwarz
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Empirical Survey ◽  
High Level

Abstract. The introduction of the Site Selection Act (Standortauswahlgesetz, StandAG) marked the initiation of a new repository site-selection process as well as the elimination of injustices of past procedures. In this context, the white map of Germany served as a basis for and symbol of an unbiased search process (Hocke and Smeddinck, 2017). However, the publication of the Sub-Areas Interim Report has revealed injustices in the handling of high-level radioactive waste. For example, there is criticism that the methods used to determine the sub-areas are immature or scientifically dubious. There are still fears that rural areas with a low population density will be favored, that there are imbalances in the site-selection process between West and East Germany, or that the discrepancy in the sense of fairness between regions that drop out of the process and those that remain will lead to problems in subsequent stages of the process. All of these positions show that there is inherent injustice in the search for a repository site: at the end of the site-selection process, a single site will receive all the high-level radioactive waste of the Federal Republic of Germany and thus bear the potential risks. People at this one site will live with the uncertainties associated with dealing with high-level radioactive waste. While the debate about geological or technical factors and challenges is multifaceted and specialized, the issue of fairness in the site-selection process is rarely addressed. However, fairness is immensely important to find a socially acceptable repository site. This paper thus focuses on the following questions: What are the prevailing notions of justice among those involved in the repository site-selection process? From the perspective of the involved parties, what characterizes fairness in the site-selection process? Answering these questions should contribute to a better understanding of whether the repository site-selection process is perceived as just, and what this depends on. Starting from Rawls' theoretical perspective of justice (2005 [1971]) and Latour's contribution of the values of modern people (2014), an empirical understanding of the stakeholders' perception and understanding of justice in the site-selection process is synthesized. In the context of this work, results of an empirical survey comparing different aspects of justice, e.g., procedural, distributive, intergenerational, and interpersonal, but also justice as recognition, are presented and related to adjacent factors, such as trust, emotions, or experiences. The empirical survey is intended to provide information on whether the perception of justice is more strongly dependent on the process, on one's own affectedness, or on adjacent factors.

Comparison of Publicity Materials Pertaining to the Selection of High Level Radioactive Waste Repository Sites

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noriko Kanzaki ◽  
Koji Okamoto ◽  
Ryutaro Wada
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Capital Management ◽  
Geological Disposal ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Waste Repository ◽  
High Level ◽  
Hlw Repository ◽  
Selection Of

The high level radioactive waste was decided to the geological disposal in Japan. In addition, operating body and capital management body were decided. However, the place in the repository site has not been decided yet. The selection process in the waste repository is already advanced in Finland and Sweden. In England, some municipalities have expressed interest in HLW. The word used in publicity materials is analyzed, systems in each country are compared, and some good idea for Japanese HLW repository site selection process is studied.

scholarly journals Management of high-level radioactive waste in Germany: roads from storage towards disposal – need and options for action

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 217-218
Author(s):  
Saleem Chaudry ◽  
Angelika Spieth-Achtnich ◽  
Wilhelm Bollingerfehr
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Final Disposal ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
The Road ◽  
High Level ◽  
Design Options ◽  
Interim Storage

Abstract. The road towards final disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HAW) produced in Germany requires extensive and foresighted management. To date, HAW has been stored in dual-purpose casks inside 15 interim storage facilities. Finally, it is disposed of in a deep geological repository. A site-selection process for this repository, taking into account the whole national territory, started in 2017. The road from interim storage to final disposal is not yet planned in detail: neither temporally nor spatially nor technically. Important parameters are still unknown. The last operating licenses of the existing interim storage facilities, originally built to last for up to 40 years, will end in 2047, and a concept for prolonged interim storage does not exist. The dates for the decision on the repository site and the start of its operation are plagued by uncertainties, as well as the development of safety concepts for different potential host rocks or knowledge on the long-time behavior of disused fuel assemblies during dry interim storage. According to the German site-selection law (Deutscher Bundestag, 2017) the siting decision for the final repository is planned to be made in 2031; Thomauske and Kudla (2016) drew up timelines for the site-selection process to end between 2059 and 2096. The research project WERA – Management of high-level radioactive waste in Germany: Roads from storage towards disposal – addressed these uncertainties through the development of different design options for the four main steps of the German road to disposal and of a variety of scenarios combining these steps, covering a broad range of potential future designs of the road to disposal. These scenarios have been analyzed in detail. Need for technical and political action along the road to final disposal has been identified. Options for action were named, and their preconditions and consequences were listed. The design options and the scenarios derived form the basis of societal discourse on the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Thus, the research project WERA contributes toward the politically and societally active integration of the different disposal steps (interim storage, receiving storage facility, waste conditioning, and final disposal).

scholarly journals Alternative Disposal Options for High-Level Radioactive Waste

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 259-260
Author(s):  
Matthias Englert ◽  
Simone Mohr ◽  
Saleem Chaudry ◽  
Stephan Kurth
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Final Disposal ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Disposal Options ◽  
Deep Boreholes ◽  
High Level

Abstract. Are alternatives to the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in a geology repository conceivable? We present the results of the first phase of a research project on the state of the art in science and technology for alternative disposal options. The project is financed by the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management. Most recently, in 2015, the German Commission on the Storage of High-Level Radioactive Waste (Endlagerkommission) evaluated possible disposal technologies and classified them as either promising, conceivable, or to be pursued further. Only final disposal in a geological repository was considered promising. Conceivable, but not immediately available or not advantageous, were storage in deep boreholes (DBs), long-term interim storage (LTIS), and partitioning and transmutation (P&T). All other alternative disposal options by burial, dilution, or removal from the planet were determined not to be worth pursuing. The Disposal Commission did conclude that none of the three conceivable methods (DBs, LTIS, P&T) would result in earlier disposal of high-level radioactive waste than the preferred final disposal in a mine. However, it recommended continued tracking and regular monitoring of the future development of alternative disposal options, e.g., disposal in deep boreholes. Finally, in 2017, with the amended Site Selection Act, the federal government specified disposal in a repository mine with the option of retrieval during operation or recovery for 500 years after closure. In a learning site selection process, the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal (BASE) reviews the proposals of the project managing company, the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE), and prepares a reasoned recommendation to the federal government for a site with the best possible safety. Part of the reasoned recommendation is, among other things, a discussion of alternative disposal options to final disposal in deep geological formations. In the presentation, we report on the status of international research on alternative disposal options, discuss advantages and disadvantages of the technologies, and evaluate the potential of the technologies for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in Germany. The LTIS is designed as dry storage in a building to be constructed above ground or near the surface and is expected to last for a period of several hundred years. With LTIS it would be possible to gain time for the development of a suitable final disposal option; however, this also postpones the disposal issue indefinitely into the future with undetermined methods. DB storage would involve sinking the storage containers into boreholes with depths of up to 5000 m. This could reduce the expense and be particularly advantageous for smaller inventories, although the potential for the use of engineered barriers would be limited and retrievability precluded according to the current state of the art in science and technology. P&T is primarily intended to separate long-lived transuranic elements from high-level radioactive waste and then convert them to short-lived fission products by neutron irradiation in reactors. The main goal is to reduce the necessary containment times in the repository by changing the inventory, but the effort to treat the waste would be significant and a repository for high-level nuclear waste is still needed. More exotic ideas for alternative disposal include deep geological injection of liquid waste, waste forms that melt themselves into rock, storage inside the ocean floor or subduction zones, shipment to space, burial in ice sheets, or dilution in the atmosphere and oceans. None of these exotic options is currently being actively pursued.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document