EURAD Training Course on Safety Case Development and Review

Background information
EURAD WP13 in cooperation with NEA, IGD TP and SITEX.Network would like to invite you to participate in the EURAD Training Course on Safety Case Development and Review.
Every national programme dealing with radioactive waste management is obliged to develop the safety case in relation to the radioactive waste facility and related licensing processes.  A safety case is generally understood as a collection of safety evidence and arguments demonstrating the safety of the facility and related management process throughout its lifetime.
The modern concept of the safety case was introduced in radioactive waste disposal in the 1990s by the NEA Expert Group on Integrated Performance Assessment (IPAG).  Afterwards, the concept has been further developed by the Integration Group for the Safety Case (IGSC) as well as by the IAEA and national RWM programmes. In the present, the establishing a long-term safety case for geological disposal is widely adopted practice by the radioactive waste management community, in particular WMOs, TSOs and regulatory authorities.
The wide spectrum of different stakeholders is engaged along RW facility life cycle, including public representatives/experts. In order to ensure the highest possible level of safety of RW facility and to avoid its harmful impact on environment also involvement of research entities is necessary in the process as they mostly ensure necessary R&D.
Even though that this training course is preferably dealing with deep geological disposal some commonalities can be found with other kind of disposal options as, e.g. near surface disposal facility. The training course aims at providing a good base also for programmes not intending to construct DGR but considering near surface disposal, as SIMS, in particular to gather information on the approach and strategies to scenarios development and uncertainties management.

Training aims
The aim of the training course is that participants will master their theoretical knowledge and will learn more about safety case objectives, strategy of its development, context and components, documentation and, about the different aspects involved in the safety case process. The role of R&D’s will be discussed together with role of different stakeholders and safety case communication. They will learn why having a robust safety case for a radioactive waste disposal facility is crucial. Furthermore, they will learn about the different steps from safety case development, over review to implementation and safety requests settlement based on real life examples of safety case practise from advanced programmes. The lectures will be completed with practical exercise in supporting safety case understanding by different stakeholders.
The training aims at providing knowledge and expertise of main actors engaged in safety case process to provide participants the whole picture of safety case issue. In order to fulfil this objective, there will be engaged the lecturers from the IGD TP representing disposal repository implementor and safety case developer, SITEX.Network experts representing regulatory body and their TSOs, both ensuring safety case review and also experienced in public communication. The theoretical base of the safety case will be introduced by NEA experts engaged in the IGSC having also practical experience with safety case implementation in their national programmes.

During this training course the participants will learn what a safety case entails when related to radioactive waste disposal facility, for which phase facility lifecycle the licensing process is essential, how it is developed and how and by whom it is reviewed. These theoretical lectures are complemented by real life examples for a case study implementation from advanced programme. In addition to EURAD, the lecturers are given by subject matter experts from different organizations: OECD/NEA, IGD-TP and the SITEX. Network.

The one-week training is built on three parts:

1. Generic safety case development presented by experts from the OECD/NEA, IGSC, in cooperation with EURAD experts. The focus will be on theoretical bases of safety case development, in particular on safety case for DGR, specific aspects of safety case, safety assessment as a key element of the safety case. Special lecture will be done on the role and management of uncertainties in safety case. The communication with stakeholders will be discussed.
2. Safety case review introduced by SITEX.Network will provide regulatory expectation for safety case together with evolving safety case expectation moving from conceptualization to the implementation. The safety case review preparation will be presented. These lectures will be completed with practical feedback from French safety case review. The special tool developed by SITEX enabling better understanding of RWM and safety case by different stakeholders, especially public will be presented.
3. The experience of WMO with implementation of safety case will be addressed by IGD-TP lecturers. The practical examples from advanced programmes will be presented, in particular the development of SKB safety case within Swedish programme, the baselines of safety case from German programme and experience from Finish programme on the R&D’s role in safety case development and implementations.

Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the training course, the participants should be able to:

Describe the importance of the safety case for a radioactive waste disposal facility
Discuss the different steps of the safety case development
Discuss the different steps of the safety case review
Understand safety requirements in relation to disposal facility
Discuss safety case strategy, components and documentation depending on safety case evaluation with respect to the facility whole life cycle, in particular within each licensing process
Discuss existing safety standards, in particular those issued by IAEA, OECD/ NEA
Provide information about necessary legal framework and international regulation in RWM
Explain how the safety case in relation to geological disposal is implemented in an advanced programme.

Click here to download the preliminary programme.