1. EDRAM Outline of activities and discussion topics
Meeting with NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV
NEA, Boulogne-Billancourt, December 6, 2016

2. Meeting Objectives To introduce EDRAM and its activities
To highlight the latest developments in advanced radioactive waste management programmes
To discuss experience, challenges and views between EDRAM and NEA on key radioactive waste management issues
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting

3. Who is EDRAM?
International Association for Environmentally Safe Disposal of Radioactive Materials
Since 1998, a forum to promote exchange of knowledge, experience and information among senior executives from national agencies worldwide
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting

4. EDRAM activities To discuss strategic issues among implementers
To support national efforts towards site selection and implementation of disposal strategies
To develop and promote a common understanding of waste management issues
To discuss technical and management matters, with a view to benchmarking and establishing best practices
To define positions and coordinate actions in relation with international organisations
To stimulate and promote coordinated research and development activities
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting

5. A common objective, a variety of paths
Independently of future developments in nuclear energy, nuclear waste exists and must be managed in a safe and sustainable manner – now and in the very long term
Nuclear waste includes not only high-level waste and spent fuel if declared as waste, but also operational and dismantling waste, low-level waste from medicine, industry and research, NORM, etc. (large volumes and a wide variety of wastes with specific characteristics)
Strategies are needed from “cradle to grave”, i.e. from waste generation to disposal
For L/ILW, a range of options regarding depth of disposal exists (from near-surface to deep geological disposal) and must be considered in the context of each national framework
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting

6. Disposal programmes are moving forward
LLW and ILW: Many repositories are already in operation, (surface, near-surface, intermediate depth or deep geological disposal)
SF and HLW: Disposal projects are nearing implementation in the following countries
Finland: Construction Licence granted for first deep geological repository for SF (DGR)
Sweden, France: licence application submitted or to be submitted in the next years, respectively
In other countries, the siting process is ongoing (Canada, Switzerland) or its definition is well advanced (Germany, Japan, UK)
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting

7. Continued engagement is required
Several countries still struggle with political and societal issues
Various issues are being discussed in the public and political sphere in a recurrent manner, in particular hypothetical alternatives to geological disposal and multinational approaches, but also costing / financing aspects
There is a strong need for clear and coherent messages – in particular from international organisations – that will support, or in any case not adversely affect, advanced and future disposal projects
The upcoming International Conference for Geological Repositories (ICGR) will address both progress and issues in more detail. It will also be an opportunity to disseminate such messages, as many local stakeholders will be present
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting

8. The importance of the OECD / NEA for EDRAM
The OECD / NEA (the RWMC)
Provides a forum of discussion between a wide range of stakeholders - implementers, regulatory authorities, policy-making bodies, and R&D institutions
Acts as a platform for knowledge consolidation and transfer
Delivers collective statements and opinions, based on discussions with major stakeholders, that are relevant to EDRAM members and their activities
OECD/NEA’s positions are highly respected and help raise and maintain trust and confidence among political and social stakeholders. Therefore they play an important role in the development of national programmes
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting

9. Special topic: Retrievability & Reversibility
At the meeting between EDRAM and the NEA Director General in 2006, and upon a proposal by EDRAM, it was decided to launch a dedicated working group on Reversibility & Retrievability
We would like to express our gratitude to the NEA for its support
The Reversibility and Retrievability (R&R) Project ( ) produced a major report reflecting current international understanding of R&R. In December 2010 an international conference and dialogue was organised by the NEA in co-operation with other international organisations and the support of several national bodies. Both achievements opened the way to further developments
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting

10. Special topic: Partitioning &Transmutation
We welcome the NI2050, in particular the fact that waste management issues are addressed and that waste generation and waste mitigation (Partitioning &Transmutation, P&T) are included in research on advanced reactors and fuel cycles
EDRAM has addressed Partitioning &Transmutation in a position paper and considers it as a possible complement to, but not a substitute for, geological disposal, which will always be needed (P&T does not address existing waste; the process itself will generate waste)
This message needs to be clearly included when discussing P&T with political and societal stakeholders
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting

11. Special topic: Multinational approaches
EDRAM views on multinational approaches to the management and disposal of nuclear waste are as follows:
Each country has the right to prohibit the import of foreign waste into its territory.
The successful implementation of the first national geological repositories for spent fuel and long-lived and/or high-level waste in the next decade is a top priority.
Countries may agree to share storage or disposal solutions, provided that they comply with international obligations and internationally accepted safety standards. 
The ethical considerations to be taken into account in the case of a shared or multinational repository must be the same as those applying to national repositories.
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting

12. Special topic: Cost calculations
It is important to gain an understanding of the different costing models and methodologies
Within EDRAM, a working group has recently published its 2nd progress report on the development of a Methodology for Comparing Cost Assessments of Geological Disposal Projects
However, cost estimations are typically country specific and strongly influenced by the national framework (regulatory and licensing requirements, types of waste, engineering and design approaches, nature of the geology, societal background)
Therefore, cost comparisons between individual projects and countries (rather than the comparison of methodologies) should be regarded as illustrative. To extrapolate figures from one project to another may be misleading
Ver02.09
EDRAM-NEA Meeting