HARmonised PracticEs, Regulations and Standards in waste management and decommissioning

Project Information

HARPERS

Grant agreement ID: 101060028

Project closed

EC signature date 23 May 2022

Start date 1 June 2022

End date 30 June 2025

Funded under

• Euratom Research and Training Programme (EURATOM)

Total cost

€ 2 626 896,52

EU contribution

€ 2 428 662,50

Coordinated by

STUDIECENTRUM VOOR KERNENERGIE / CENTRE D'ETUDE DE L'ENERGIE NUCLEAIRE
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HARPERS (HARmonised PracticEs, Regulations and Standards in waste management and decommissioning)

Reporting period: 2022-06-01 to 2023-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Euratom Council Directives, as well as the IAEA Safety Standards currently provide the basis for the basic legal and regulatory framework. However, with respect to nuclear decommissioning and predisposal management of radioactive waste, the implementation of international safety standards and EU directives can vary from one country to another, as they are adapted to local considerations and national policies. These national differences can create difficulties in interpreting and comparing waste management practices between Member States (MS) and establishing consistent and coherent waste management policies and implementation strategies at the European scale. Moreover, this lack of commonality may contribute to sub-optimal waste management outcomes (in terms of safety, economics, sustainability and innovation), while simultaneously hindering communication and therefore also public acceptance. A greater convergence and alignment of national standards would allow for increased international cooperation among all relevant actors in nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management and could lead to expanded international market opportunities and more rapid adoption of advanced and/or emerging technologies. Alignment and harmonisation based on EU standards would also be advantageous towards enabling more robust comparisons of the efficiency, the suitability as well as the limits of available techniques being used in similar conditions. The project aims to establish and clarify the benefits and added value of more aligned methodologies, practices and standards in decommissioning and radioactive waste management, including possibilities for shared processing, storage and disposal facilities between MS.

The project will rationale for the identified regulatory differences and establish the potential for their alignment relative to cross border services /facilities for RWM, moving to a circular economy in RWM and implementation of advanced technologies in RWM. Obstacles and issues preventing the implementation of a more common regulatory framework will be identified. The project will evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats with respect to harmonisation of the identified regulatory differences and produce reports on harmonising regulatory systems in Europe.
The project’s high-level objectives are to:
• Improve scientific- and technology-based solutions and share best practices to improve operational excellence in decommissioning and to minimise operational, dismantling and induced secondary wastes;
• Develop strategies for shared European/International treatment and storage facilities, predisposal operations, treatment solutions, repository solutions, interim storage, operations, safety and monitoring of materials and wastes;
• Engage interested players in sharing experiences on how to fulfil requirements mainly from the industry and innovator perspective;
• Support initiatives of various actors involved, while providing competent evaluation by technical support organisations (TSOs) and regulators;
• Identify the benefits of and the potential for harmonisation of national regulations in line with European and International directives and recommendations and best practices

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project has proceeded according to plan during the current reporting period, effectively achieving its scientific goals and broader impacts as outlined in the project proposal. There have been no significant deviations from the original plan. The main result achieved thus far include:

- Research and analysis: HARPERS performed an extensive internal and gap analysis in order to adress the project objectives. Sources of inputs to the HARPERS gap analysis were identified, and partners reviewed +400 sources. The outcomes of the gap analysis were further processed in the WP's and presented and discussed during the HARPERS Consortium meetings.

- Collaboration: HARPERS reached out to complementary Projects such as EJP EURAD and EURATOM PREDIS, engaged with international technical groups from NEA, IAEA, DigiDECOM community, thereby enriching project outcomes and fostering synergy.

- Stakeholder engagement: HARPERS facilitated collaboration with Stakeholders to integrate their viewpoints and prioritize Phase 2 topics based on community interest (utilizing a bottom-up approach). In Phase 1, 8 webinars with Stakeholders were held, a thorough review of the achieved results was presented, emphasizing critical discoveries and their implications, followed by interactive discussions and analysis sessions.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The gap analysis conducted in Phase 1 helped targeting project focus to generate greatest impact across several potential dimensions, including issues that may be actor-specific and those having scientific/technical, economical, societal, environmental and regulatory impacts.

It is important for the consortium members and stakeholders to evaluate overall impacts since various drivers may have conflicting influences. The main project outcomes will be a series of position papers that will provide clear guidance regarding different impacts (technology, business, economic, societal, etc.) identified during the development of the topics within WPs 3-5, as well as the analysis of (the application/interpretation of) the regulatory framework within WP6.

The project's recommendations/findings have the capacity to foster economic growth and promote a more circular approach to nuclear decommissioning and waste management. Additionally, the outcomes could lead to the development of new markets. Furthermore, they have the potential to improve efficiency, as well as attract a younger workforce. This may be achieved through the commercialization and rapid implementation of innovative technologies, the creation of employment opportunities requiring specialized skills, and the optimization of current operational procedures.

The project will have wider implications on:
• scientific impact through increasing technology readiness levels and acceptance of both established and advanced technologies,
• economic impact through increasing business growth, establishing new companies, new services and new jobs,
• societal impact through improving policies, facilitating decision making, reducing litigation, strengthening public confidence in the nuclear industry to decommissioning and final disposal for present and future generations,
• environmental impact through fostering more sustainable, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly processes and procedures,
• regulatory impact through identifying major regulatory differences across MS and pathways for harmonised requirements or standards, supporting consistency of regulations, standards and practices, implementing common regulatory compliance environment for businesses operating nationally or trans-nationally.

project structure