The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

We have bilateral agreements[i] with various international organisations that have similar responsibilities to us.  Below we identify areas for potential collaboration as well as the areas of work where we are currently exchanging learning.

The United States Department of Energy (USDOE)

DOE is responsible, through its Office of Environmental Management, for

• cleaning up sites involved in the atomic weapons development programme; and
• running the defence radioactive waste repository at Carlsbad in New Mexico.

Through its Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management it is developing the geological disposal facility for high level waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The subject areas we are particularly involved in include

• environmental restoration
• nuclear health and safety
• regulatory and policy aspects of radioactive waste management
• technical and socio-economic issues of decommissioning and clean-up
• project management
• competition and contracting strategies
• skills maintenance
• knowledge management
• regulatory issues; and
• life-cycle baseline development.

 Statement of Intent with DOE 2007 - access via DoE website (500Kb) 

Across the Pond Joint Newsletter from US Department of Energy and NDA

 Spring 2011 Newsletter (300Kb)

 Winter 2010 Newsletter (250Kb)

 Summer 2010 Newsletter (250Kb)

 Spring 2010 Newsletter (200Kb)
 
 Winter 2009 Newsletter (200Kb)

 Summer 2009 Newsletter (200Kb)

The Nuclear Waste Management Organisation of Japan (NUMO)

NUMO is responsible for developing the repositories for high level waste and intermediate level waste. Of particular interest to us is their approach to:

• repository siting; and
• stakeholder engagement.

We have also utilised their expertise on High Level Waste (HLW) repository development and they, in turn, are interested in our expertise in Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) repository development. Other areas of cooperation cover site characterisation, repository development, information management and quality assurance.

CEA (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives)

The CEA is the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives). It was established in 1945 and is involved in nuclear, non-nuclear and defence research and development. Its nuclear research and development includes

• Partitioning and Transmutation
• long-term storage
• waste packaging
• reactor technology
• and other fuel cycle activities.

Radioactive Waste Management Funding and Research Centre of Japan (RWMFC)

RWMFC undertakes some fundamental research and development, particularly related to geological disposal. They also are developing two underground research laboratories. Specific areas for co-operation include

• low, intermediate and high-level waste management topics
• waste transportation
• stakeholder engagement; and
• waste management financing.

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)

JAEA undertakes fundamental research on decommissioning and geological disposal and also has reprocessing, fuel manufacture and research reactors which are being decommissioned. JAEA is also responsible for lower activity disposal from research facilities. In particular we are collaborating on

• waste treatment technologies
• decommissioning of research reactors; and
• geological disposal activities.

Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL)

JNFL owns and operates the nuclear fuel facilities located at Rokkasho-mura, including spent fuel reprocessing, vitrification of highly active waste and the low level waste disposal facility. Specific areas of collaboration include

• nuclear fuel cycle and waste management policy and strategy development
• design and operation of waste treatment and fuel manufacturing plants
• decommissioning of redundant facilities and public acceptance activities.

Electricité de France (EDF)

EDF, through its decommissioning arm CIDEN (Centre d'Ingénierie, Déconstruction et Environnement), is responsible for

• fast breeder, gas cooled and heavy water reactor decommissioning; and
• spent fuel reprocessing plant decommissioning.

With CIDEN we undertake benchmarking exercises for

• reactor types
• decontamination and dismantling technologies
• decommissioning strategies
• stakeholder engagement
• economic regeneration activities
• graphite waste disposition
• project management activities; and
• contaminated land management.

Agence Nationale pour la Gestion des Déchets Radioactifs (ANDRA)

ANDRA is the French National Agency for the disposal of radioactive waste, responsible for

• operating very low level and low level waste facilities, and
• developing the deep geological repository for long-lived wastes for which it has constructed an underground research laboratory.

Given the similarities between the French and UK fuel cycles, ANDRA and the NDA share many similar issues with respect to the management of wastes requiring deep disposal. Key aspects of our agreement are:

• repository site selection and characterisation and repository safety assessment
• the management of very low level, low level and graphite waste
• underground research laboratory R&D
• technology demonstration
• stakeholder engagement
• financing schemesl; and
• project management.

ANDRA is also responsible for production of the national inventory of waste and nuclear materials, on which we also exchange information.

Nationale Genossenschaft für die Lagerung radioaktiver Abfälle (NAGRA)

NAGRA is the Swiss national co-operative for the disposal of radioactive waste, responsible for developing disposal facilities for its wastes. We cooperate on

• the technical aspects of intermediate and high level waste
• spent fuel disposal; and
• public acceptance and stakeholder confidence building.

DBE Technology

DBE (Deutsche Gesellschaft zum Bau und Betrieb von Endlagern für Abfallstoffe mbH) Technology is the German repository construction and operation organisation regarding geological disposal.

 

L'Organisme National des Déchets Radioactifs et des matières Fissiles enrichies/ de Nationale Instelling voor Radioactief Afval en verrijkte Splijtstoffen (ONDRAF/NIRAS)

ONDRAF/NIRAS is the Belgian agency for radioactive waste and enriched fissile materials. It is responsible for

• decommissioning activities
• siting of a disposal facility for low and intermediate level waste; and
• developing the disposal concept for high level waste.

With respect to deep disposal, we are both interested in

• safety assessment methodologies
• the effect of heat generating waste
• repository backfilling material
• disposal container design and development
• the behaviour of wasteforms under repository conditions.

We are also both interested in

• the use of Strategic Environmental Assessment in waste strategy development
• interaction with stakeholders
• knowledge management and inventory studies.

Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB (SKB)

SKB is the Swedish nuclear fuel and waste management company, which operates a disposal facility for low and intermediate level waste and is characterising two sites for a deep geological disposal facility, of which one will be chosen in 2009. It also operates a spent fuel storage facility and a spent fuel encapsulation laboratory. Our mutual interests are

• site selection and characterisation
• engineered barrier research
• performance assessment
• quality assurance
• public acceptance and confidence building

We have co-operated intensively with SKB on development of the UK reference disposal concept for high level waste and spent fuel.

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[i] The agreements with NUMO, RWMC, NAGRA, ONDRAF/NIRAS, and SKB were novated to the NDA in 2007, following the merger of Nirex.