Online Training Sessions – Impact of Climate Change on Radioactive Waste Management
May 19 @ 9:00 am - May 20 @ 1:00 pm
Content
Within WP 11 CLIMATE Task 2, two online training sessions on the impact of climate change on radioactive waste management will be organized on 19 and 20 May 2026, from 9:00-13:00 CEST. Participants are strongly encouraged to attend both sessions (see below). Attending the first session is highly recommended to be able to understand the second session. Registrations, free of charge, can be done at the top of this page. Registrations will close on Thursday 7 May.
Description
The first session (Tuesday 19 May) is a general session. Through several lectures, fundamental concepts related to the causes of climate change will be presented, covering different time periods in the past as well as possible future developments. The session will also address how climate models and broader climate knowledge can be used in different ways to define future climate scenarios relevant for radioactive waste management. This includes both the construction and operational phases of disposal facilities, as well as the very long-term post-closure phase. Particular attention will be given to the different sources of uncertainty and to approaches for taking these uncertainties into account. The session will conclude with the presentation of the climate add-on for the PEP serious game.
The second session (Wednesday 20 May) will focus in more detail on several specific processes that are strongly driven by climate change and whose assessment can contribute to a better understanding of the long-term safety of disposal facilities. This interactive session consists of three parts and is based on the development of specific case studies.
The first case study will address the impact of climate-driven changes in precipitation on the stability of engineered multi-layer covers used for near-surface disposal facilities. The second case study will examine the effects of climate change on groundwater flow and radionuclide transport, both in shallow and deeper systems. The third case study will focus on the impact of climate change on landscape evolution over different temporal and spatial scales and its implications for safety. During this session, exercises will be provided to help participants gain a better understanding of the timing, amplitude and impact of the relevant processes and their uncertainties.
Targeted audience and background knowledge
As the impact of climate change is relevant for all types of disposal systems, across all relevant timeframes and in all possible climatic settings, participation is open to all EURAD-2 partners, including stakeholders, end-users and representatives of civil society.
The required background knowledge is a basic understanding of the main components of different types of disposal facilities (surface, near-surface, shallow geological and deep geological). No specific prior knowledge related to climate science is required. It should be noted, however, that the second session on Wednesday will include several technically detailed sections.
Learning outcomes
After completing the sessions, participants should be able to:
- Discuss of the fundamental aspects of climate change, its underlying causes, and the uncertainties associated with it.
- Translate outputs from climate models into climate scenarios, and understand how to account for extreme events and uncertainties in this process.
- Assess the magnitude and timing of climate-related processes and their potential impact on radioactive waste management under different climates and climate scenarios, including:
- the stability of engineered multi-layer covers for near-surface disposal facilities,
- groundwater flow and radionuclide transport in both shallow and deep subsurface systems,
- landscape evolution at different spatial and temporal scales.
The preliminary program is as follows:
SESSION I – Tuesday 19 May: INTRODUCTION
| Time | Title | Presenter |
| 09:00 – 13:00 | Welcome and Introduction | Leonie Peti (BGE) |
| Climate fundamentals and modelling at various scales, and uncertainties associated with future climate predictions | Johan Liakka (SKB) | |
| Break | – | |
| Climate scenarios and risks for construction and operational phases | Jin Park (VTT) | |
| Climate scenarios and risks for post-closure phase | Koen Beerten (SCK CEN) | |
| Presentation of the climate add-on of the PEP game | Alexis Geisler-Roblin (NTW) | |
| Brief summary and closure of day 1 | Leonie Peti (BGE) |
SESSION II – Wednesday 20 May: ADVANCED SESSION
| Time | Title | Presenter |
| 09:00 – 13:00 | Welcome and Introduction | Leonie Peti (BGE) |
| Climate change impact on multi-layer covers: heavy rainfall and erosion | Olivier Stab (Mines Paris) | |
| Break | – | |
| Climate change impact on groundwater flow dynamics and radionuclide transport | Álvaro Sainz (Amphos 21) | |
| Climate change impact on long-term landscape evolution at various spatial and temporal scales and implications for safety | Koen Beerten (SCK CEN) | |
| Closure of the training session | Leonie Peti (BGE) |
Practical information
Registrants will receive a MS Teams link prior to the start of the sessions. If you opt to only attend the first session, please inform us by sending an email to euradmobility@sckcen.be.
