Public Acceptance as a Driver for Repository Design

Ian G Mckinley,Sumio Masuda,Hiroyasu Takase,Morimasa Naito,Susie M L Hardie,Hiroyuki Umeki

doi:10.1155/2018/7546158

Ian G Mckinley, Sumio Masuda + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/7546158

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Abstract

The Japanese geological disposal programme for radioactive waste is based on a volunteering approach to siting, which places particular emphasis on the need for public acceptance. This, as established in law, emphasises the development of a repository project as a partnership with local communities and involves stakeholders in important decisions associated with key milestones in the selection of repository sites and subsequent construction, operation, and closure. To date, however, repository concept development has proceeded in a more traditional manner, focusing particularly on ease of developing a post-closure safety case. In the current project, we have attempted to go further by assessing what requirements stakeholders would place on a repository and assessing how these could be used to rethink repository designs so that they meet the desires of the public without compromising critical operational or long-term safety.

Highlights

Since it is impossible to simulate geological disposal on anything close to relevant spatial and temporal scales, the performance assessment approach has been developed and used since the 1970s in order to develop and evaluate geological disposal concepts (e.g., [1,2,3])
Performance assessment requires knowledge of a diverse range of scientific and technological fields, based on earth sciences, engineering, chemistry/materials science, and mathematical modelling, extending to more exotic areas like extremophile microbiology, archaeology, and forecasting human sociopolitical evolution. Such performance assessment provides an overview of concepts for geological disposal [4,5,6] and their associated safety cases to a small number of experts, even here, the exponentially expanding knowledge base has forced increasing reliance on a further level of abstraction provided by advanced knowledge management tools (e.g., [7])
Such advances to facilitate understanding of complex solutions to the management of radioactive waste by experts contrasts with the lack of progress in educating nonexperts and involving them in the dialogue that is essential to the implementation of repository projects in many countries, including Japan

Summary

Introduction

Since it is impossible to simulate geological disposal on anything close to relevant spatial and temporal scales, the performance assessment approach has been developed and used since the 1970s in order to develop and evaluate geological disposal concepts (e.g., [1,2,3]). Performance assessment requires knowledge of a diverse range of scientific and technological fields, based on earth sciences, engineering, chemistry/materials science, and mathematical modelling, extending to more exotic areas like extremophile microbiology, archaeology, and forecasting human sociopolitical evolution (to the extent that this is possible). Such performance assessment provides an overview of concepts for geological disposal [4,5,6] and their associated safety cases to a small number of experts, even here, the exponentially expanding knowledge base has forced increasing reliance on a further level of abstraction provided by advanced knowledge management tools (e.g., [7]). Such willingness should include an openness to rethink established ideas and consider completely new approaches to repository design

Background

Stakeholder Requirements

Reconciling Apparently Contradictory Requirements

Integrating Inspectability with Resilience

Overview and Future Perspective