NDA Higher Activity Waste Programme Update to RWIN Lisa Hughes HLW

1
NDA Higher Activity Waste Programme Update to
RWINLisa HughesHLW ILW Strategy
Development Engineer28 May 2008
2
Scope of presentation

• Introduction and aim
• Work programmes
• Interim storage
• Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) scheduling
• Graphite
• MRWS process

3
Waste Hierarchy and Lifetime Plans
4
Governments MRWS programme
5
CoRWMs recommendations

• Published July 2006
• - after significant public and stakeholder
  engagement
• - 15 recommendations
• Geological disposal
• Interim storage
• Voluntarism and partnership approach

6
CoRWM recommendation 2

• A robust programme of interim storage must play
  an integral part in the long-term management
  strategy. The uncertainties surrounding the
  implementation of geological disposal, including
  social and ethical concerns, lead CoRWM to
  recommend a continued commitment to the safe and
  secure management of wastes that is robust
  against the risk of delay or failure in the
  repository programme.

7
CoRWM recommendation 2

• Due regard should be paid to
• reviewing and ensuring security, particularly
  against terrorist attacks
• ensuring the longevity of the stores themselves
• prompt immobilisation of waste leading to
  passively safe waste forms
• minimising the need for repackaging of the
  wastes
• the implications for transport of wastes

8
Governments response

• Defra and Devolved Administrations
• - responded October 2006
• Accepted primary recommendations
• NDA to implement
• Nirex to be integrated into the NDA
• - maintain skills and experience

9
Governments response

• Security of stores is paramount - SLCs are
  regulated and advised by OCNS on all security
  matters.
• Design of new stores will allow for a period of
  interim storage of at least 100 years to cover
  uncertainties associated with the implementation
  of a geological repository.
• Government and regulators agree wastes should be
  made passively safe as soon as practicable to
  avoid future repackaging of wastes.
• In developing its storage and disposal strategy
  the NDA will consider the implications for waste
  transport and keep under review the packaging
  requirements, to minimise the possibility that
  waste will have to be repackaged whilst in
  storage.

10
UK waste storage review

• NDA has carried out a UK review of waste storage
  on behalf of Government
• Storage regimes for solid ILW (raw and
  immobilised) and for HLW (liquid and vitrified)
• Include storage of non-immobilised wastes in
  various legacy facilities
• Spent fuels and nuclear materials excluded

11
UK waste storage review

• Significant support from sites
• Reviewed existing and proposed interim stores
• Report sent to Government in May
• Recommendations made both to Government and to
  sites
• Further package of work proposed to address
  recommendations and Regulator feedback
• Public domain report produced

12
GDF Scheduling

• Work package arose from the LCBLi project
• Previous LTPs assumed every site disposed of
  waste from 2040
• Resulted in a demand of over twice the import
  rate capacity in 2040
• Through discussion of the issues the sites
  amended their own LTPs fair share approach
• Now have a credible baseline but still room for
  optimisation

13
Provisional GDF filling schedule
14
Provisional GDF filling schedule
15
Provisional GDF filling schedule
16
National waste modelling

• NDA compiles the UK waste and nuclear materials
  inventory
• Plan to move to near real time inventory
• Currently using waste accountancy template
  reports to monitor waste-related hazard reduction
• Planning a holistic UK model waste production,
  storage, transfers, GDF filling (cf the Magnox
  Operating Plan)
• Flex the model for new build waste, different GDF
  locations, changes to cleanup schedule, etc

17
Graphite

• Significant inventory
• Irradiated graphite contains relatively high
  concentrations of C-14 and Cl-36.
• Areas of interest
• Graphite characterisation
• Graphite treatment technologies current
  workable solutions
• Reuse possibilities
• Waste volume reduction technologies
• Alternative disposal methods to deep GDF

18
2008 White Paper

• Public consultation up to Nov. 2007
• Responses published Jan. 2008
• Broad support for governments approach
• Government MRWS White Paper June 2008?
• Local authorities will be invited to express
  interest (in being a volunteer host community)
• Information packs to be made available
• Proposals for siting process to be consulted upon

19
Baseline repository schedule
20
NDAs role

• Support MRWS generally
• Support community engagement and site selection
  (where Government will lead)
• Interact with CoRWM
• Implement the geological disposal project
• Track skills and supply chain issues
• Engage with Regulators (eg Disposal System Safety
  Case and NDAs organisational arrangements)
• Make organisational changes (eg RWMD as shadow
  SLC organization)

21
Summary

• Number of work streams ongoing covering waste
  generation through to treatment and disposal
• Only a snapshot presented
• All work streams depend upon some form of
  engagement with the sites (input/review of
  output)
• Where possible updates are published on NDA
  website
• Detailed findings will be communicated via site
  teams

22
Any questions?