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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
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Appendix B

Workshop Program

Disposition of High-Level Radioactive Waste Through Geological Isolation: Development, Current Status, and Technical and Policy Challenges

November 4–5, 1999

The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center 100 Academy Drive, Irvine, California, USA

WORKSHOP FINAL AGENDA

Thursday, November 4, 1999

Plenary Session from 08:30–12:30

08:30

Call to order and opening remarks

 

Michael Kavanaugh, Chairman, Board on Radioactive Waste Management

D. Warner North, Workshop Chairman

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
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Page 184

09:00

Keynote Addresses

Frank Parker, Distinguished Professor of Water Resources Engineering, Vanderbilt University and Chairman of authoring committee “Rethinking High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal” (National Research Council, 1990), will speak on geological repository development in the U.S. since issuance of “Rethinking.”

Charles McCombie, Former Scientific and Technical Director, the Swiss National Cooperative for Radioactive Waste Disposal, now International Consultant, will speak on international development of the geological disposition option during the past 10 years.

Paul Slovic, President, Decision Research, and Professor of Psychology, University of Oregon, will speak on perceived risk, trust, and the politics of nuclear waste management.

11:00

Perspectives on Keynote Addresses

Dan Dreyfus, Former Director of the U. S. DOE Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management

Ray Kemp, Honorary Visiting Professor of Risk Management and Communication, University of Surrey, U.K.

Yves Le Bars, President of the National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (ANDRA), France

Peter Nygårds, President of the Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB), Sweden

12:00

Format and Objectives of afternoon sessions

D. Warner North, Workshop Chairman

12:30

LUNCH AT THE BECKMAN CENTER

Afternoon Discussion Sessions from 2:00–5:00

Seven concurrent sessions organized as follows. Each session will be restricted to 30 participants to encourage open discussion, which will be initiated by invited presentations.

Session 1:

Role of total system performance assessment in establishing the acceptability of geologic repositories: An interface between technology and policy.

Organizers: Jane Long and Ghislain de Marsily

Presentations:

  • Total system performance assessment for the U.S. Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Richard Anderson

  • What went wrong at Sellafield? John Mather and John Holmes

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
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Page 185

Panel: Limits to knowledge: Examples of unexpected radionuclide transport and implications for performance assessments, Jane Long, Dave Prudic, Tom Wood, June Fabryka-Martin, Roy Gephart, Annie Kersting, Jesús Carrera, Frank Parker, Alex Pek

Session 2:

Timing and staging repository development: Maintaining technical and social balance in stepwise development from concept through implementation.

Organizers: Lars Ericsson and Peter Fritz

Presentations:

  • Timing and staging approaches in the United States program, Ron Milner

  • The role of Äspö hard rock laboratory in the Swedish siting program, Olle Olsson

  • Planning of site suitability determinations for Gorleben, Manfred Wallner

  • Retrievability and reversibility issues in deep underground repositories, Jan Vrijen

Discussion: What are the key steps in repository development? How can technical and social challenges best be balanced and met at each step?

Session 3:

The regulator's dilemma: Decision making in the presence of uncertainty.

Organizers: Robert Budnitz and Atsuyuki Suzuki

Presentations:

  • The United States regulatory approach, Robert Bernero

  • A European perspective on the regulator's dilemma, Sören Norrby

Discussion: How can a regulator meet the demands imposed by technical uncertainty, legal defensibility, transparency, formality, and public involvement?

Session 4:

Public acceptance in the context of social distrust.

Organizers: Roger Kasperson and Claire Mays

Presentations:

  • Public perceptions, Peter Allen

  • Distrust and long-term institutional performance, Todd LaPorte

  • Technology and values, Armin Grunwald

  • Institutions, William Freudenburg

Discussion: Core issues in public acceptance and distrust.

Session 5:

Lessons learned from national programs: Tracing routes to success or setback.

Organizers: Roger Kasperson and Charles McCombie

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
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Page 186

Presentations:

  • Social issues, Dan Metlay

  • United States programs, Bob Neill (WIPP), Chris Whipple and Russ Dyer (Yucca Mountain)

  • United Kingdom programs, John Holmes and Neil Chapman

  • French programs, Yves Le Bars

Discussion and questionnaire: What factors have helped or hindered these national programs?

Neil Chapman and Tom Isaacs

Session 6:

Is geological disposal required?

Organizers: John Ahearne and Nikolay Laverov

Presentations:

  • Problems in geological isolation, including matrices for HLW, Nikolay Laverov

  • The separations technology and transmutation systems (STATS) report, John Garrick

  • The accelerator transmutation of waste (ATW) roadmap, Darleane Hoffman

  • Impact of the “leave in place” option, Dee Walker; comments, Lake Barrett

Discussion: General discussion.

Session 7:

Making progress through international cooperation.

Organizers: Charles McCombie and Ghislain de Marsily

Presentations:

  • Is international cooperation more trouble than it is worth? Ian McKinley

  • What has the NEA done to improve international cooperation? Claudio Pescatore

  • What has the IAEA done to improve international cooperation? Arnold Bonne

  • Underground rock laboratories as a vehicle for international cooperation, Bernard Neerdael

Discussion: The scope and value of international cooperation, Claudio Pescatore and Ian McKinley

5:30

RECEPTION AND BUFFET AT THE BECKMAN CENTER

Evening Discussion Sessions from 7:00–9:00

The seven discussion sessions, Round 2. Each will begin with a summary of views expressed in the afternoon session.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
×

Page 187

Session 1:

Role of total system performance assessment in establishing the acceptability of geologic repositories: An interface between technology and policy.

Organizers: Jane Long and Ghislain de Marsily

Discussion: Role of regulators concerning total system performance analysis (TSPA), Tom Peake and Johan Andersson

Session 2:

Timing and staging repository development: Maintaining technical and social balance in stepwise development from concept through implementation.

Organizers: Lars Ericsson and Peter Fritz

The Thursday afternoon session is repeated.

Session 3:

The regulator's dilemma: Decision making in the presence of uncertainty.

Organizers: Robert Budnitz and Atsuyuki Suzuki

The Thursday afternoon session is repeated.

Session 4:

Public acceptance in the context of social distrust.

Organizers: Roger Kasperson and Claire Mays

Presentations:

  • Perceptions and trust in Sweden, Olof Söderberg

  • Perceptions and trust in the United Kingdom, John Holmes

  • Value issues in France and elsewhere, Claire Mays

  • Perceptions and institutions in Japan, Yasumasa Tanaka

Discussion: How have public acceptance and distrust been addressed in national programs?

Session 5:

Lessons learned from national programs: Tracing routes to success or setback.

Organizers: Roger Kasperson and Charles McCombie

Presentations:

  • German programs, Klaus Kühn

  • Japanese programs, Masao Shiotsuki

  • Belgian programs, Jean Paul Boyazis

Discussion and questionnaire: What factors have helped or hindered these national programs? Neil Chapman and Tom Isaacs

Session 6:

Is geological disposal required?

Organizers: John Ahearne and Nikolay Laverov

Presentations:

  • Selected summaries by Thursday afternoon and Friday morning presenters.

Discussion: Is a repository needed now?

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
×

Page 188

Session 7:

Making progress through international cooperation.

No evening session.

Friday, November 5, 1999

Morning Discussion Sessions from 08:30–11:30

The seven discussion sessions, Round 3. Each will begin with a summary of views expressed in the previous meetings of the session.

Session 1:

Role of total system performance assessment in establishing the acceptability of geologic repositories: An interface between technology and policy.

Organizers: Jane Long and Ghislain de Marsily

Presentations:

  • Credibility of TSPA for the public, Michèle Rivasi and Andrew Stirling

  • Can we make a repository more credible by engineering measures? Charles Fairhurst

Session 2:

Timing and staging repository development: Maintaining technical and social balance in stepwise development from concept through implementation

Organizers: Lars Ericsson and Peter Fritz

The Thursday afternoon session is repeated.

Session 3:

The regulator's dilemma: Decision making in the presence of uncertainty.

Organizers: Robert Budnitz and Atsuyuki Suzuki

The Thursday afternoon session is repeated.

Session 4:

Public acceptance in the context of social distrust.

Organizers: Roger Kasperson and Claire Mays

Discussion and comments: Moving forward in the future, Douglas MacLean, Gene Rosa, Phil Richardson

Session 5:

Lessons learned from national programs: Tracing routes to success or setback.

Organizers: Roger Kasperson and Charles McCombie

Presentations:

  • Swedish and Finnish programs, Tönis Papp

  • Spanish programs, Juan Luis Santiago

  • Swiss programs, Piet Zuidema

Discussion and questionnaire: What factors have helped or hindered these national programs? Neil Chapman and Tom Isaacs

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
×

Page 189

Session 6:

Is geological disposal required?

Organizers: John Ahearne and Nikolay Laverov

Presentations:

  • Problems in geological isolation, including matrices for HLW, Nikolay Laverov

  • Is partitioning and transmutation an alternative to geological disposition? Jean-Paul Schapira

  • Post-closure safeguards monitoring for geological repositories, Per Peterson

  • Disposal possibilities for nuclear wastes, Paul Dejonghe

  • Human Intrusion: The Achilles heel of geological disposal? Daniel Galson

  • Comments, Jane Long

Discussion: General discussion

Session 7:

Making progress through international cooperation

Organizers: Charles McCombie and Ghislain de Marsily

Presentations:

  • Seabed disposal—an international solution that foundered, Richard Anderson

  • The non-proliferation proposal for collaboration between the United States and Russia, Tom Cochran

  • An overview of past and present proposals for international storage or disposal, Fred McGoldrick

  • The Pangea project for an international repository, David Pentz and Ralph Stoll

Discussion: International disposal concepts, Ian KcKinley and Claudio Pescatore

12:00

LUNCH AT THE BECKMAN CENTER

Plenary Session from 1:30–5:00

1:30

Informing the Academies' report on geological disposition: Summaries by the chair and rapporteur of each discussion session

3:30

Francis Tombs, Chairman, U.K. House of Lords Enquiry into the Management of Nuclear Wastes. Lord Tombs will speak on how insights from the workshop can benefit national programs.

4:00

D. Warner North, Chairman's Closing Summary

5:00

Adjourn the Workshop

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
×
Page 183
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
×
Page 184
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
×
Page 185
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
×
Page 186
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
×
Page 187
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
×
Page 188
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B Workshop Program ." National Research Council. 2001. Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10119.
×
Page 189
Next: Appendix C List of Attendees »
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Focused attention by world leaders is needed to address the substantial challenges posed by disposal of spent nuclear fuel from reactors and high-level radioactive waste from processing such fuel. The biggest challenges in achieving safe and secure storage and permanent waste disposal are societal, although technical challenges remain.

Disposition of radioactive wastes in a deep geological repository is a sound approach as long as it progresses through a stepwise decision-making process that takes advantage of technical advances, public participation, and international cooperation. Written for concerned citizens as well as policymakers, this book was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and waste management organizations in eight other countries.

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