SAFETY ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGIES AND THEIRAPPLICATION IN DEVELOPMENT OF NEAR SURFACE WASTEDISPOSAL FACILITIES – ASAM PROJECT

摘要

Safety of near surface disposal facilities is a primary focus and objective of stakeholdersinvolved in radioactive waste management of low and intermediate level waste and safetyassessment is an important tool contributing to the evaluation and demonstration of theoverall safety of these facilities. It plays significant role in different stages of developmentof these facilities (site characterization, design, operation, closure) and especially for thosefacilities for which safety assessment has not been performed or safety has not beendemonstrated yet and the future has not been decided. Safety assessments also create thebasis for the safety arguments presented to nuclear regulators, public and other interestedparties in respect of the safety of existing facilities, the measures to upgrade existingfacilities and development of new facilities.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has initiated a number of researchcoordinated projects in the field of development and improvement of approaches to safetyassessment and methodologies for safety assessment of near surface disposal facilities, suchas NSARS (Near Surface Radioactive Waste Disposal Safety Assessment ReliabilityStudy) and ISAM (Improvement of Safety Assessment Methodologies for Near SurfaceDisposal Facilities) projects. These projects were very successful and showed that there is aneed to promote the consistent application of the safety assessment methodologies and toexplore approaches to regulatory review of safety assessments and safety cases in order tomake safety related decisions. These objectives have been the basis of the IAEA follow upco-ordinated research project – ASAM (Application of Safety Assessment Methodologiesfor Near Surface Disposal Facilities), which will commence in November 2002 andcontinue for a period of three years.