Title: Safety/risk assessment methodologies of deep geological facilities: results from a cross-national comparison

Authors: Vaclava Havlová; Andrew Simons; Georgi Georgiev; Rakesh Bajpai

Addresses: Fuel Cycle Chemistry Department, UJV Rez, a.s., Husinec-Rez 130, 250 68 Rez, Czech Republic ' Technology Assessment Group, Laboratory for Energy Systems Analysis (LEA), Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen-PSI, Switzerland ' Sofia University, GGF 15 Tzar Osvoboditel Boulevard, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria ' Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay 400 085, Mumbai, India

Abstract: Any geological disposal/storage facility must prove its safe performance prior to licensing, regardless of whether the compound is solid radioactive waste (RW) or gaseous carbon dioxide (CO₂). The disposal/storage facility is considered safe if it meets the relevant safety standards and proves its reliable safe performance over defined timescales. This paper presents a cross-national comparison of the safety/risk assessment aspects of ultimate disposal facilities for RW and CO₂ in the Czech Republic, Switzerland, India, and Bulgaria, completed in an international project. In both fields, the main goal of safety assessments is to create a reliable evaluation of the disposal system performance over long timescales. The procedures are based on the following scheme: system description - system development description - model development - consequence analyses. Due to the long temporal and large spatial effects of the substances disposed of, a call for the introduction of a broader range of safety indicators has emerged in both fields. The main emphasis of this study is on reliable models and data.

Keywords: geological disposal; waste disposal facilities; radioactive waste; carbon dioxide; CO2; carbon capture and storage; CCS; carbon storage; safety assessment; risk assessment; cross-national comparison; nuclear waste; geological storage; storage safety; disposal safety; Czech Republic; Switzerland; India; Bulgaria; performance evaluation; safety indicators; deep geological facilities.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGEI.2014.065530

International Journal of Global Energy Issues, 2014 Vol.37 No.1/2/3/4, pp.26 - 51

Published online: 30 Apr 2015 *

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