One Step at a Time The Staged Development of Geologic Repositories for High-Level Radioactive Waste (2003) / Chapter Skim
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2. Staged Approaches to Project Development
2. Staged Approaches to Project Development
Pages 25-44
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From page 25... ...
The committee uses the term "Adaptive" and contrasts it with the term "Linear." Adaptive Staging is not presented as a radical departure from existing methods for managing disposal programs. Rather, Adaptive Staging includes the acknowledged attributes of any system of prudent project management and attempts to put these attributes into an enlarged, consistent framework suited to complex projects that must address or entail significant uncertainties.
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From page 26... ...
The committee's terminology does not imply that Adaptive Staging and Linear Staging are new concepts, or denies that both approaches have common features, or that there may be a continuum between approaches.5 2.2 The safety case at the heart of Adaptive Staging For radioactive waste repositories, safety is the overriding concern in at! program2The committee coined the term "Decision Point" and defines it in Section 2.4.
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From page 27... ...
A key part of the safely culture in geologic repository programs is the "safely case," used in this report as a management fool to guide the implementer's actions during repository development and to communicate the understanding of safety to a broader audience. The committee employs the term safely case in accordance with growing international practice to mean the integrated collection of arguments that support the safely of the repository system (see Sidebar 2.1 )
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From page 28... ...
Furthermore, flexibility should be built into the process of repository development, allowing account to be taken of new understanding and technical information, as well as the demands of societal review. The safety case that is provided at a particular stage in the planning, construction, operation or closure of a deep geological repository is a part of a broader decision basis that guides the repository-development process.
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From page 29... ...
regulatory context. 29 2.3 Attributes of Adaptive Staging A successful geologic repository program requires commitment to systematic learning, flexibility, reversibility, transparency, auditability, integrity, and responsiveness.
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From page 30... ...
Only the simultaneous presence of these attributes makes the staging process truly Adaptive.6 They must all be satisfied to ensure proper functioning of the stages and the decision-making process between stages. 6The reader should not infer from this report that Linear Staging, by default, lacks all attributes of Adaptive Staging.
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From page 31... ...
In contrast with Adaptive Staging, Linear Staging attempts to anticipate all options initially, chooses a path, and does not allow for generating additional options during the process unless an unexpected event forces it. Decision Points in Adaptive Staging add flexibility and opportunities for program improvement with respect to safely, costs, and schedule.
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From page 32... ...
Continual improvement indicates progression through stages and Decision Points until achieving program success, as defined in Section 1.2.2. Details of implementation and operational stages and Decision Points are described in Figure 2.1b and c, respectively.
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From page 33... ...
In summary, Adaptive Staging is a cautious and deliberate decision-making and management process, fully consistent with good engineering practices. It emphasizes continuous learning, both technical and societal, includes scientific and managerial re-evatuations and reactions to new knowledge, is responsive to stakeholder input, and is designed to continually improve the project while retaining the option of reversibility as much as possible.
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From page 34... ...
2.5 Criteria for Adaptive Staging Linear Staging is appropriate under certain circumstances; however, in projects facing significant technical uncertainties and societal challenges, an Adaptively Staged approach may offer a greater likelihood of success. The committee has developed project criteria to determine the appropriateness of Adaptive Staging for such projects.9 These criteria are interrelated, and they must be assessed simultaneously to determine whether an Adaptively Staged approach has a higher likelihood of success than a Linearly Staged process.
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From page 35... ...
Linear Staging also lacks reversibility unless it is forced by external events. The implementer may do what is predetermined but later discover unexpected or adverse consequences.
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From page 36... ...
Seemingly innocuous early decisions may commit a Linearly Staged project to a path that later proves inappropriate or even unsafe, undermining public trust and forcing institutional change. But the resilience of Adaptive Staging incorporates possible institutional changes into its planning process (Criterion 12)
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From page 37... ...
But these failures did not undermine the program's overall success. 2.5.2 Linear Staging: NASA's International Space Station Program Does this program meet the 12 Adaptive Staging criteria?
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From page 38... ...
2.6 Meeting Adaptive Staging criteria does not guarantee success Meeting the 12 criteria for Adaptive Staging does not guarantee that this approach will ensure program success. Public trust and confidence in the implementing institutions as well as institutional constancy are important requisites to achieve program goals.
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From page 39... ...
Table 2.2 summarizes means for maintaining and enhancing public trust when it has been lost.42 Reversals of institutional distrust are rare, especially when the institution manages a challenging program. In an environment of distrust and limited institutional constancy, implementing Adaptive Staging will be arduous.
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From page 40... ...
On the other hand, relying on stakeholder participation is what makes Adaptive Staging useful for rebuilding trust. 2.7 Geologic repository programs meet the Adaptive Staging criteria Geologic repository programs meet all the criteria for Adaptive Staging (Section 2.5~.
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From page 41... ...
The project of building a geologic repository for high-level waste is first-of-a-kind. Underground waste repositories for other waste types have been implemented (e.g., low-level and intermediate-level waste in Scandinavia and transuranic waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in the United States)
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From page 42... ...
The public, in general, shows limited interest in changing the status quo, namely leaving waste at reactor sites, because there is no evidence that storing commercial spent fuel on the surface is unsafe compared to storage underground or other types of waste disposal (NRC, 2001~. Indeed, as is the case in the United States, the public and the decision-makers may become agitated by proposed changes that a repository program brings (e.g., the necessity for finding a site and planning for waste transportation to the site)
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From page 43... ...
The setbacks, controversy, and loss of trust in several national programs have led observers to believe that a staged approach might provide a more resilient structure for the development of repository programs. An awareness of the potential advantages of staging has arisen, in large part, because of the setbacks of various national programs when they try to proceed without sufficient intermediate check points (i.e., when their staged approach was more Linear than Adaptive)
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From page 44... ...
Given the long time scales inherent in implementing any geologic repository program and the inherently difficult social challenges, the risk that trying an Adaptive Staging approach might lead to major delays or new problems seems small compared to the potential benefits (i.e., a successful repository program)
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